R.I.P. Cheng Pei-pei: ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ Star Dead At 78

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Cheng Pei-pei died on Wednesday (July 17) in the San Francisco Bay area, Variety reports. She was 78.

According to the outlet, the late actress had been suffering from a degenerative brain disease, and her brain has been donated to research.

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Per People , Cheng’s family posted a statement on Facebook , confirming that she “passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones on July 17.”

“In 2019, our mom was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative, atypical parkinsonism syndrome – unofficially, corticobasal degeneration (CBD),” they shared. “It is a rare disease with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, however, current treatments cannot slow the progression. She chose not to make this news public so that she could deal with her condition in private and spend her remaining time with her children and grandchildren.”

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Cheng was born in Shanghai, China, and moved to Hong Kong in 1962, where she found work with the Shaw Brothers studio, per Variety . Owing to her background in dance, she eventually became known for her work in martial arts, action and swordplay movies. While she starred in the 1964 film Lovers’ Rock , which marked her feature debut, her performance in the 1966 wuxia film Come Drink With Me is considered to be her breakout role. Although the film did not earn a nomination, Come Drink With Me was Hong Kong’s entry for the Oscars. She returned for the sequel, Golden Swallow .

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In the 1970s, she made her way to California, raising her children — all of whom have worked in the entertainment industry — and also attending the University of California, Irvine’s business school, per Variety .

One of Cheng’s most notable credits was earned in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , the 2000 action film also starring Chow Yun-Fat , Michelle Yeoh , Ziyi Zhang , and Chang Chen that took home four of ten Oscar nods, per The Hollywood Reporter . Most recently, Cheng appeared in Disney’s live-action rendering of Mulan , playing the Matchmaker. Per IMDb , Cheng earned more than 100 on-screen credits internationally over the course of her career.

Per her family’s statement, they ask that instead of flowers, donations be sent to Brain Support Network, “where her brain was donated to further the research being done on CBD and other rare neurological diseases.”

According to Deadline , Cheng is survived by her children Eugenia, Jennifer, Harry and Marsha, as well as her grandchildren.

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