Bruce Lee was far more than just an action-movie star. In a film career that spanned just four years and five completed films, he symbolized a new kind of movie stardom before his untimely death at just 32 years old.
Born in San Francisco in 1940, Lee moved back to his parent's native Hong Kong when he was just three months old. His father, Lee Hoi-chuen, was a famous Cantonese opera star and film actor, and Bruce was acting in Hong Kong movies from childhood. He returned to America at 18, enrolling at the University of Washington and marrying an American woman, Linda Emery.
Lee was first and foremost a kung fu expert, even developing his own style, Jeet Kune Do, or "the way of the intercepting fist." A Hong Kong-American with a Eurasian mother, he broke down racial barriers, teaching his fighting technique to students from all backgrounds. His strength was never just brute force—Lee also preached flexibility, grace and precision. His martial arts prowess earned him his first acting role, as the masked sidekick Kato on TV's The Green Hornet.
