Bruce Lee was a renowned Hong Kong and American actor, film director, philosopher, martial artist, martial arts instructor and founder of the martial art Jeet Kune Do, a genre of kungfu. He is known as the man who brought kungfu to North America and one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century. Lee featured in a host of actions films and even after his tragic passing, he continues to influence the world of martial arts.
Bruce Lee – Bio
Born on November 27, 1940, in Chinatown, San Francisco, he was raised with the rest of his siblings in Kowloon, Hong Kong with his parents being from Hong Kong. His father, Lee Hoi-chuen is Han Chinese by descent and his mother, Grace Ho is half Chinese and half Caucasian. Lee has four siblings, two brothers, Robert and Peter Lee and two sisters, Phoebe and Agnes Lee. His birth name was Lee Jun-fan and the name “Bruce” was given to him by a nurse at the hospital of his birth. His family never used the name in his early years. The Lees soon moved back to Hong Kong in the early 40’s.
Lee began his acting career when he was as little as three years old, the family had ties to the theater as his father was a Cantonese opera star. Lee’s first appearance was in 1941’s Golden Gate Girl. Starting from 1946, Lee appeared in a host of films as a child actor veering into other aspects like poetry and dance.
During his teenage years, Lee was involved with a street gang. His father, in a bid to prevent his boy from losing focus ensured Lee began training in martial arts, studying “gung fu” in 1953 under the tutelage of Master Yip Man. By the early 60’s, Lee was back in the US, staying with family members in Seattle, Washington. He took up the study of philosophy at the University of Washington and also began to teach the Gung fu style of Wing Chun he had learned back in Hong Kong.
Lee had a great measure of stardom through his films which include Fists of Fury, Return of the Dragon, The Green Hornet amongst others. Enter The Dragon was meant to make him a Hollywood icon but he passed on a month to its premiere. He died of cerebral edema on July 20, 1973, in Hong Kong and was buried at Lake View Cemetery.
Wife
Linda Lee Caldwell was the wife of Bruce Lee, she was born on 21 March 1945 in Everett, Washington. She met Lee while he taught “gung fu” in Cantonese to the students of her college. In her early years, she went by the name, Linda Emery. They began dating in October of 1961 and even though it seemed off at the time for a white woman to marry an Asian man, the pair got married on August 17, 1964. After Lee’s death in 1973, Linda has been remarried twice since but has kept his surname in his memory.
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Bruce Lee’s Son, Daughter
Linda and Lee had two kids together, Brandon and Shannon who both became martial artists following in their father’s footsteps.
Brandon Bruce Lee is the first and only son of Bruce Lee. He was born on February 1, 1965, in Oakland, California. He was an American actor and martial artist. He began his acting career in 1985, featuring in a few films like Crime Killer, Kung Fu: The Movie, Legacy of Rage amongst others. He was engaged to Lisa Hutton and the pair were to be married a week after the shooting of his breakthrough movie, The Crow. Brandon was accidentally shot on the set of the movie and died a little later. He is buried next to his father at Lake View Cemetery in Seattle, Washington.
Shannon Emery Lee was born on April 19, 1969, and is an American actress, businesswoman, and martial artist. She cut a career for herself in acting starring in films like Enter the Eagles, Cage II, High Voltage amongst other projects. Shannon is the President of the Bruce Lee Foundation, a foundation dedicated to aiding the needy and teaching the philosophy of Bruce Lee. Shannon has been married to Ian Keasler since August 1994 and they have a daughter together, Wren Keasler.
Height, Weight, Body Measurements
Bruce Lee was a martial artist who dedicated his life to his craft. Fit as a fiddle, Lee was renowned for his flexibility. He stood at a height of 5 feet 7½ inches. He weighed in at 141 pounds but was at 121 pounds at the time of his passing. He wore shoes of size 9 US.
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