Bruce Lee Bruce Lee Chinese name 李小龍 (Traditional) Chinese name 李小龙 (Simplified) Pinyin L Xiolng (Mandarin) Jyutping Lei5 Siu2 Lung4 (Cantonese) Birth name Lee Jun-fan李振藩 (Traditional)李振藩 (Simplified)LZhnfn (Mandarin)Lei5 Zan3 Faan4 (Cantonese) Ancestry Shunde, Guangdong, China Origin Hong Kong Born 27 November 1940(1940-11-27)San Francisco Chinese HospitalChinatown, San Francisco Died 20 July 1973(1973-07-20) (aged 32)Kowloon Tong, HK 1 Resting place Seattle, Washington, USALakeview Cemetery Occupation Martial arts instructor, actor, philosopher, film director, screenwriter, and martial arts founder Years active 194173 Spouse(s) Linda Emery (196473) Children Brandon Lee (196593)Shannon Lee (born 1969) Parents Lee Hoi-chuen (190165)Grace Ho (190796) AwardsshowHong Kong Film Awards Lifetime Achievement Award21994 Golden Horse Awards Best Mandarin Film1972 Fist of Fury2Special Jury Award1972 Fist of Fury Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; 27 November 1940 20 July 1973) was a Chinese American3 Hong Kong actor,4 martial arts instructor,5 philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the JeetKune Do martial arts movement. He is widely considered by many commentators, critics, media and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of the 20th century, and one of the biggest pop culture icons.678 He is often credited with changing the way Asians were presented in American films.6Lee was born in San Francisco to parents of Hong Kong heritage but was raised in Hong Kong until his late teens. Lee returned to the United States at the age of 18 to claim his U.S. citizenship and receive his higher education.9 It was during this time that he began teaching martial arts, which soon led to film and television roles.His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked a major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world, as well.10 He is noted for his roles in five feature-length films: Lo Weis The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; Warner Brothers Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse.11Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese nationalism in his films.12 He initially trained in Wing Chun, but he later rejected well-defined martial art styles, favouring instead the use of techniques from various sources, in the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, which he dubbed JeetKune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist).