Background and career
Cheng Pei-pei (6 January 1946 – 17 July 2024) was a Hong Kong-American actress who was considered cinema's first female action hero. Popularly known as "Queen of Swords" and "Queen of Martial Arts Films", Cheng starred in numerous successful wuxia and martial arts films in Hong Kong, including the Shaw Brothers-produced Come Drink with Me (1966), which launched Cheng into stardom, Golden Swallow (1968), Lady Hermit (1971), Flirting Scholar (1993), and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). For the latter, she won a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In addition to her Chinese-language works, Cheng also appeared in English-language productions, including Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009), Lifting (2014), Meditation Park (2017) and Mulan (2020). In television, she appeared in the Wong Fei Hung Series (1996), Young Hero Fong Sai Yuk (1999), Legendary Fighter: Yang's Heroine (2001), Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge (2002), Chinese Paladin (2004), Li Wei Resigns from Office (2005), The Patriot Yue Fei (2012), and the reality show Divas Hit the Road (2014), among others.
Cheng died in the San Francisco Bay Area on 17 July 2024, at the age of 78. She was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 61st Golden Horse Awards.
