Joan Chen

Joan Chen's biography

Joan Chen is 61 years old actor born at Shanghai. She was born on Wednesday 26th of April 1961. According to year of birth 1961 she belongs to Boomers. Birthday on 26th of April means she is Taurus. Taurus is most stable sign of Zodiac, that is the reason it is also included in the earthy sign of the Zodiac Belt. One born with this Moon Sign (Not a Rising Sign) is very stable and balanced through their mind.

She is native english speaker. Her primary profession is to be actor. You can know her also as screenwriter, film director, television actor, film producer. She is recently known as film actor. She received Golden Horse Award for Best Director Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl in 1998

Joan Chen's dad

Joan Chen's father's name is Chen Xingrong.

Joan Chen's mom

Joan Chen's mother's name is Zhang Anzhong.

Joan Chen's family

Joan Chen's ex spouse

Jim Lau

Joan Chen and Jim Lau have been together since 1985 for 5 years. He is known as actor.

Joan Chen's schools

We found 3 schools She attended. Complete list of schools: California State University, Northridge, Shanghai International Studies University, State University of New York at New Paltz.

Joan Chen's career

Her main focus is to be actor. She is famous thanks to Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl. You could see her also in Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, The Sun Also Rises, The Home Song Stories, Red Rose White Rose and many more. She is also a member of Committee of 100.

Awards and competitions

Joan Chen's Awards

• Her performance in The Home Song Stories (2007) earned her 5 awards and 2 nominations for Best Actress.
• Headed the Altadis-New Directors Award Jury at the 56th San Sebastian Film Festival. [September 2008]
• (March 27, 1993) Attended the 8th Annual Independent Spirit Awards.
• (March 23, 2009) Attended the 3rd Annual Asian Film Awards, in which she presented with Oliver Stone the award for Best Director to Hirokazu Koreeda.
• Recipient of Cal State Northridge's Distinguished Alumni Award. [April 2012]

Joan Chen's Rankings

• Chosen by Goldsea Asian American Daily as one of the "100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time" (ranked #44).

Joan Chen's Nominations

• She was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for work On Deadly Ground in 1994
• She was nominated for Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for work Red Rose White Rose in 1995
• She was nominated for Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for work Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl in 2000
• She was nominated for Asian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for work The Sun Also Rises in 2007
• She was nominated for Asian Film Award for Best Actress for work The Home Song Stories in 2007
• She was nominated for AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for work The Home Song Stories in 2007
• She was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for work Tai-Pan in 1987
• She was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star for work Tai-Pan in 1987

What Joan Chen has done for a first time

• Joan was first spotted by Qing Jiang, the wife of Zedong Mao at a Chinese rifle range. She then recommended Joan to movie producers.
• Her Chinese first name "Chong" means "charge on!" and "to rush".
• (January 8, 2010) Attended the ceremony for the Family Violence Prevention Fund's International Center, in the Presidio of San Francisco, which is the world's first international center aimed at eliminating violence against women and children.
• (January 26, 2010) Attended the ceremony for the opening of the first luxury brand MCM store in Shanghai. Chen was wearing an MCM couture evening dress which is the only piece in the world.

Joan Chen's quotes

• There are only so many roles as empresses . . . but I've had a lot of offers to play vampires.
• My life is good. Often I look for someone to thank.
• When you see me walking out here, wearing gorgeous clothes, remember these evening gowns are really just my work clothes, they go with hyping the movies.
• On Sino-US relations - We need to be open-minded and farsighted. We need to make more friends than enemies.
• All teenagers have this desire to somehow run away.
• All Asian parents are into your children having a respectable, decent stable job. Acting was unimaginable to my parents.
• Acting for me is not a bad habit like smoking that I must make an effort to quit. I love acting; I love directing.
• There are a lot of stereotypes to be broken which I think a lot of us are doing. What I do is, as soon as people try to pin me down to one kind of part, I'll play a very different kind of role, so it explodes that stereotype.
• The romantic love we feel toward the opposite sex is probably one extra help from God to bring you together, but that's it. All the rest of it, the true love, is the test.
• I know what actors fear, what they like; I know how to get things out of them and I listen to them better, since I've been there.
• The lowest budget U.S. films are ten times times better than shooting in Tibet.
• As an actress I find the most enjoyable part of acting is really just to please the director. I just want to please my director.
• There are many ways you can make money. Certain ways will make you happy, certain other ways will make other people happy. But if you go in because there's money in there, you're bound to fail, bound to fail!
• Beauty is the result of having been through an experience all the way through to the end - therefore it has a poignancy. Beauty that is singular always comes from following an experience to the point where you can go no further.
• I never went on an audition - when they were really looking at everybody.
• My fairy-tale life ended the moment I wanted to apply for a passport.
• There is no theoretical study of motherhood. You know, before I became a mother, I did play a mother, but I was like - I was more thinking of my own mother. I was doing my mother.
• I don't find intimate scenes more difficult than other scenes.
• I will always have a career. I believe in working. I don't believe that taking care of your house and children is enough for a woman. You don't feel complete.
• For the past few years, I was the more visible Asian performer, and I think it gave young girls a kind of role model showing it's possible to actually reach success doing movies.
• Physical hunger and physical poverty is something I could only imagine. I've been poor when I was in China... As kids we never had to starve, but just didn't have enough meat, enough rice.
• Acting is actually private.
• If you know how to do a job very well, you keep doing it.
• I would never offer advice without the person asking for it. I, in general, don't believe in giving advice, actually, as a human being I don't.
• How do you explain certain physical qualities that somehow sell on screen? You're born with it... Certain people are just more watchable, and I was more watchable, but I don't think I understood acting or drama very well when I was a kid.
• When you feel so strongly about something and other people feel equally strongly, you have to feel stronger about it in order to succeed.
• How I was raised is what I am today.
• The difference between me and American-born actors is that I came here with the expectation of not being treated fairly.
• I don't want to tell people what I make. It's a lot more than I ever dreamed of as a kid. I never think about it.
• See also Other Works |  Publicity Listings |  Official Sites

Joan Chen's body shape

Lets describe how Joan Chen looks. We will focus on her body shape. Body build is average.