Shannon Emery Lee, born on April 19, 1969, is an American actress, martial artist, and businesswoman, renowned for her illustrious career and strong family ties.
As the daughter of legendary martial arts film star Bruce Lee and retired martial arts teacher Linda Lee Cadwell, Shannon grew up surrounded by the world of martial arts. Her grandfather, Lee Hoi-Chuen, was a renowned Cantonese opera singer, and her younger brother, Brandon Lee, was also an actor and martial artist.
Shannon's early life was marked by a deep connection to her father's art, Jeet Kune Do, which she studied under Richard Bustillo, one of her father's students. However, her serious training did not begin until the late 1990s, when she studied Jeet Kune Do with Ted Wong to prepare for roles in action movies.
In addition to her training in Jeet Kune Do, Shannon also studied Taekwondo under Dung Doa Liang and Wushu under Eric Chen. She even received tutelage from the director of Enter the Eagles, Yuen De, Jackie Chan's Chinese opera brother. Furthermore, Benny Urquidez, a renowned kickboxer, personally taught her kickboxing to prepare her for a fight scene in the film Enter the Eagles.
Shannon made her acting debut in her father's 1993 biopic film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, playing a cameo as the party singer of the song "California Dreamin.'" She went on to appear in several films, including Cage II (1994),High Voltage (1997),and Enter the Eagles (1998),directed by Corey Yuen and co-starring Michael Wong and Anita Yuen.
On television, Shannon guest-starred in an episode of the series Martial Law alongside Sammo Hung in 1998 and appeared in the sci-fi television film Epoch, which aired on the Sci Fi Channel in 2001. She also played the leading role in the action film Lessons for an Assassin and hosted the first season of the game show WMAC Masters.
Shannon's music career began with her singing on the band Medicine's album The Mechanical Forces of Love in 2003. She also sang a cover of "I'm in the Mood for Love" for the movie China Strike Force (2000),starring Leehom Wang and Aaron Kwok.
In addition to her acting and music career, Shannon is the president of the Bruce Lee Foundation and has been involved in various projects celebrating her father's life and legacy. She was the executive producer of the 2008 television series The Legend of Bruce Lee and the 2009 documentary film How Bruce Lee Changed the World.
In recent years, Shannon has been involved in the production of The Warrior, a television series based on an original idea by Bruce Lee, which is set to air on Cinemax and is directed by Justin Lin.
