Bruce Lee ( Chinese : 李小龍 ; born Lee Jun-fan , 李振藩 ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. [2] [3] [4] He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do , a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). [5] Lee is considered by critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century,
Born in San Francisco and raised in British Hong Kong , Lee was introduced to the Hong Kong film industry as a child actor by his father. However, these were not martial arts films. His early martial arts experience included Wing Chun (trained under Yip Man ), tai chi , boxing (winning a Hong Kong boxing tournament), and apparently frequent street fighting (neighbourhood and rooftop fights). In 1959, Lee moved to Seattle . In 1961, he enrolled in the University of Washington . [7] It was during this time in
He is noted for his roles in five feature-length Hong Kong martial arts films in the early 1970s: Lo Wei 's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Golden Harvest 's The Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; and Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers ' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse . [9] Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, based upon his portrayal of Chinese nationalism in his films,