Eugenia Yuan
| Eugenia Yuan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | 原麗淇 | ||||||||
| Chinese name | 原麗淇 (traditional) | ||||||||
| Chinese name | 原丽淇 (simplified) | ||||||||
| Parents | Cheng Pei-pei (b. 1946) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Eugenia Yuan (Eugenia Yuen Lai-Kei, born January 22, 1976) is a Chinese American actress and Hong Kong Film Awards winner. Yuan is daughter of noted martial artist Cheng Pei-pei.
Career
Yuan began her career as a rhythmic gymnast for the U.S. Olympic Team and was ranked #4 in the world.
Eventually switching to acting, Yuan made her screen debut co-starring with her mother in the martial arts picture Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger.
Yuan co-starred in the dark, low-budget feature Charlotte Sometimes which garnered an honor at the Independent Spirit Awards and was publicly championed by Roger Ebert and featured in his Overlooked Film Festival.
Yuan returned to Hong Kong to star in Three where she was named "Best Newcomer" in the Hong Kong Film Awards (Hong Kong's equivalent of the Academy Awards). Soon after, Hollywood director Doug Liman hand-picked her for the title role of the cult hit mockumentary Mail Order Wife which brought her to national attention when she was named as a "Rising Star/Screen Acting Discovery" at the premiere of the film in the Hamptons International Film Festival.
She was later nominated at Hong Kong's Golden Horse Awards for her starring role in The Eye 2 and had roles in the John Dahl film The Great Raid and the Oscar-winning Memoirs of a Geisha. The jewelry retailer Me & Ro created a special edition hair ornament inspired by Yuan's character in the movie.
Yuan continues to travel back and forth between Los Angeles, New York City and Hong Kong to take studio, Chinese-language and American independent roles alike including the 2007 Gotham Awards winning film Choking Man. She also co-stars with Tony Leung Ka Fai in the Kenneth Bi film, The Drummer, and Erica Leerhsen in Slaughter. Most recently she has appeared in the Australian television drama Secret City.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2017 | She Has a Name | |
| 2016 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny | |
| 2016 | Secret City | |
| 2015 | The Man with the Iron Fists 2 | Ah Ni |
| 2015 | Jasmine | |
| 2014 | Revenge of the Green Dragons | |
| 2013 | Pupil (Short) | |
| 2013 | #1 Serial Killer | |
| 2012 | What About Us? (Short) | |
| 2012 | Strangers | |
| 2011 | Shanghai Hotel | |
| 2011 | I Don't Know How She Does It | |
| 2010 | Fog (2010 film) | |
| 2007 | The Drummer | |
| 2006 | Choking Man | |
| 2006 | Locked (1992) | |
| 2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha | |
| 2005 | The Great Raid | |
| 2004 | Mail Order Wife | |
| 2004 | My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure | |
| 2004 | The Eye 2 | |
| 2002 | 3 Extremes II | |
| 2002 | Charlotte Sometimes | |
| 2002 | Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger | |
| 1982 | Dragon Strike | Voice |