Joan Chen

Chinese-American actress and director

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Leaning on Water

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Film & TV

Acting · Shanghai, China

Joan Chong Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose White Rose, Saving Face and The Home…

Known for

Montreal, My Beautiful — Feng Xia2026
Remarkably Bright Creatures — Janice Kim2026
No Other Love — Ms. Miao2026
The Wedding Banquet — May Chen2025
Oh. What. Fun. — Jeanne Wang-Wasserman2025
Dìdi (弟弟) — Chungsing Wang2024
Hachiko — Li Jiazhen2023
Under the Light — He Xiuli2023
A Murder at the End of the World — Lu Mei2023

Article

Joan Chen (simplified Chinese; 陈冲; born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-born American actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Taipei Golden Horse Awards and an AACTA Award. She made her film debut in the Chinese film Youth (1977) before starring in the film Little Flower [zh] (1979). She came to the attention of American audiences for her portrayal of Wanrong in the Bernardo Bertolucci historical epic film The Last Emperor (1987), which won nine Academy Awards including Best Picture.

She is also known for her leading roles in Heaven & Earth (1993), Golden Gate (1994), Red Rose White Rose (1994), Saving Face (2004), Sunflower (2005), and The Home Song Stories (2007) with supporting roles in Lust, Caution (2007), Tigertail (2020), and Dìdi (2024). As a filmmaker she directed the feature films Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998), Autumn in New York (2000), English (2018) and Hero (2022).