Donnie Yen Chi-tan (born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, film director, action choreographer and film producer. Apart from being a well-known film and television actor in Hong Kong, Yen has also gained international recognition for appearing in many films together with other prominent and internationally-known actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. He is considered to be Hong Kong's top action star; director Peter Chan mentioned that he "is the 'it' action person right now" and "has built himself into a bona fide leading man, who happens to be an action star.
Yen was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. His mother, Bow-sim Mark, is a Wushu and Tai Chi practitioner, while his father, Klyster Yen, is a newspaper editor. When Yen was two years old, he moved to Hong Kong with his family and they shifted to Boston, Massachusetts, United States when he was 11. His younger sister, Chris Yen, is also a martial artist and actress, who appeared in the 2007 film Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon.
At a young age, under influence from his mother, Yen developed an interest in martial arts and began experimenting with various styles, ranging from Taekwondo to Wushu. Yen focused on practising Wushu after dropping out of school. His parents were concerned that he was spending too much time in the Boston Combat Zone, that they sent him to Beijing on a two-year training programme with the Beijing Wushu Team. During his initial training in Guangzhou, Yen's instructor Lee Yu-man told him to change his mullet hairstyle because it was inappropriate. When Yen decided to return to the United States, he made a side-trip to Hong Kong and met action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping there.