Shannon Lee

American actress (born 1969)

(m. RelativesMartial arts careerStyleJeet Kune Do
Taekwondo
Wushu
KickboxingTeacher(s)Richard Bustillo (Jeet Kune Do)
Ted Wong (Jeet Kune Do)
Tan Tao-liang (Taekwondo)
Eric Chen (Wushu)
Benny Urquidez (Kickboxing) Musical careerAlso known asShan Shan Chinese nameChinese李香凝

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Lǐ Xiāngníng
Wade–Giles	Li Hsiang-ning
Tongyong Pinyin	Lǐ Siāngníng
Yale Romanization	Lǐ Syāngníng
IPA	[lì ɕjáŋnǐŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Leíh Heūng-yìhng
Jyutping	Lei5 Hoeng1-jing4
IPA	[le̬i hœ́ːŋ jɪ̏ŋ]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Lí Hiuⁿ-gêng

Shannon Emery Lee Keasler (born April 19, 1969) is an American actress, businesswoman, singer, and martial artist. She is the only living child of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee and retired martial arts teacher Linda Lee Cadwell, and is the younger sister of actor Brandon Lee. Through Bruce Lee she is a granddaughter of Cantonese opera singer and film actor Lee Hoi-chuen.^[1]

Early life

Shannon was born on April 19, 1969, at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center in Santa Monica, California.^[2] She is the youngest child and only daughter of martial arts film star Bruce Lee and Linda Emery. In her youth she studied Jeet Kune Do, the martial art created by her father, under Richard Bustillo, one of her father's students.

Career

In 1993, Lee made a cameo appearance as a party singer performing "California Dreamin'", in her father's biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.^[3] This was followed by supporting roles in the films Cage II (1994), with Lou Ferrigno^[4] and High Voltage (1998) with Antonio Sabato Jr.^[5]

In 1998, Lee played her first leading role in the Hong Kong action film Enter the Eagles, directed by Corey Yuen, co-starring Michael Wong and Anita Yuen. In the film, Lee had a fight scene with Benny Urquidez, who went on to teach her kickboxing.^[6] That same year, she guest-starred in an episode of the television series Martial Law alongside Sammo Hung.

In 2000, Lee sang a cover of "I'm in the Mood for Love" for the film China Strike Force directed by Stanley Tong.^{[citation needed]}

Lee appeared in the sci-fi television film Epoch, which first aired on the Sci Fi Channel in 2001. In 2003, she played the leading role in the action film Lessons For An Assassin. She was also the host of the first season of the television show WMAC Masters.

Lee sang on the band Medicine's album The Mechanical Forces of Love in 2003.^[7]

Lee is president of the Bruce Lee Foundation.^[8] She was the executive producer of the 2008 television series The Legend of Bruce Lee, based on her father's life, and the 2009 documentary film How Bruce Lee Changed the World.^[9]

In 2015, Perfect Storm Entertainment and Shannon Lee announced that the series Warrior, based on an original idea by Bruce Lee, would be produced and air on Cinemax. Filmmaker Justin Lin was chosen to direct the series,^[10][11] which debuted April 5, 2019.^[11]

In 2023, Lee guest starred in Season 3, episode 6 of Warrior, which marked her return to acting after 20 years. ^[12]

Personal life

Lee's husband is Ian Keasler. Their daughter's name is Wren Lee Keasler.^[13]

Lee is the daughter of Bruce Lee, granddaughter of Lee Hoi-chuen and Grace Ho, sister of Brandon Lee, and niece of Robert Lee Jun-fai and Peter Lee Jung-sum.^{[citation needed]} Lee's paternal great-grandfather was Ho Kom Tong, half-brother of Robert Hotung.^[14]

Martial arts

In her youth, Lee studied Jeet Kune Do, with her father's disciple Richard Bustillo, but did not practice it seriously until the late 1990s. To train for parts in action movies, she studied Jeet Kune Do with Ted Wong.^[6]

She studied Taekwondo under Tan Tao-liang AKA "Flash Legs" and Wushu under Eric Chen. She also studied under the tutelage of the director of Enter the Eagles, Yuen De, Jackie Chan's Chinese opera brother. Because the film Enter the Eagles (1998) required her to fight Benny Urquidez, Urquidez himself taught her kickboxing.^[6]

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story	Party Singer
1994	Cage II	Milo
1997	High Voltage	Jane Logan
1998	Enter the Eagles	Mandy	Alternative title: Gwan Guen See Dam
	Blade	Resident
2001	Lessons for an Assassin	Fiona
2002	She, Me & Her	Paula Jemison
2020	Be Water	Self
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	WMAC Masters	Host	13 episodes
1998	Martial Law	Vanessa Feng	Episode: "Take Out"
2001	Epoch	Pamela	Television film
2012	I Am Bruce Lee	Executive producer, herself	Television documentary
2023	Warrior	Wen	Season 3, Episode 6

References

Further reading

• Wolfe, April (September 6, 2016), "How Bruce Lee's Daughter Is Sharing His Philosophies With the Digital Generation", LA Weekly

External links

• Shannon Lee at IMDb
• Shannon Lee discography at Discogs
• The Bruce Lee Foundation Official Website