Cheng Pei-pei is one of those rare names in cinema who returns to thrill and surprise audiences again and again.

Born in Shanghai in 1946, Cheng relocated to Hong Kong when she was 14. Armed with a high school education and six years of ballet training, Cheng joined the Shaw Brothers' performing arts training school, which served as a springboard for her career as an actress with Shaw Brothers.

She made her film debut playing a male character in The Lotus Lamp in 1963, but quickly made her screen presence felt when she starred in Pan Lei's Lover's Rock later that year.

During her years at Shaw Brothers, she made over 20 movies, most of which were wuxia films. Cool but passionate, poised but lethal, Cheng carved herself a reputation as the "Queen of Swords" in classics such as Come Drink With Me, Golden Swallow, Dragon Swamp, and The Lady Hermit.

She left her successful career and moved to the U.S. to get married after making The Lady Hermit in 1971. She returned to Hong Kong for good in 1992, working in television, until Taiwanese auteur Ang Lee cast her as the Jade Fox in the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film brought her the best supporting actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards and took her career to new international heights.

Filmography
(Film available in Celestial’s Shaw Brothers Film Library with year of production/ theatrical release)

The Lotus Lamp (1963)
Lover's Rock (1963)
Song Of Orchid Island (1965)
Come Drink With Me (1966)
Hong Kong Nocturne (1966)
The Dragon Creek (1966)
The Thundering Sword (1967)
Blue Skies (1967)
Golden Swallow (1968)
That Fiery Girl (1968)
Raw Courage (1969)
The Golden Sword (1969)
The Shadow Whip (1970)
The Lady Hermit (1971)