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Jackie Chan’s parents actually had unbelievable past and he only found out about it when he was older

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Published 14:51 17 Apr 2025 GMT+1

Jackie Chan’s parents actually had unbelievable past and he only found out about it when he was older

Fans have been left seriously stunned after finding out about the A-lister's wild family history

Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle

Featured Image Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images / Universum Film

Topics: Celebrity, Parenting, Social Media

Rhiannon Ingle
Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle is a Senior Journalist at Tyla, specialising in TV, film, travel, and culture. A graduate of the University of Manchester with a degree in English Literature, she honed her editorial skills as the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the UK’s largest student newspaper. With a keen eye for storytelling, Rhiannon brings fresh perspectives to her writing, blending critical insight with an engaging style. Her work captures the intersection of entertainment and real-world experiences.

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Now, as we know, parents live a rich and already-full life before welcoming their children into the world.

Some, however, enjoy a more - let's say - eventful life than others and Jackie Chan's parents definitely fit that mould given their unbelievable past that fans are likening to some kind of action movie plot!

And, to make the whole thing even more interestingly bizarre, the now-71-year-old A-lister, from Hong Kong, didn't even know about it until he was much older in adulthood.

Over a decades-spanning career, Chan has comfortably cemented himself in the cinematic hall of fame after starring in countless box-office smash-hits including Rush Hour, Police Story, The Karate Kid and Kung Fu Panda.

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Chan's parents have a wild background (Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)
Chan's parents have a wild background (Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)

And the action clearly doesn't stop when the cameras start rolling for Chan, whose family history is even wilder than many of his movies' plots over the years.

That's because his mother, Lee-Lee Chan, was involved in opium smuggling and gambling in Shanghai’s underworld.

Meanwhile, in a stark contrast, his father, Charles Chan Chi-Ping, was a Nationalist spy and gang leader.

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So, you may ask, how on earth did such a pair meet?

Jackie Chan's family history is almost as wild as a plot of one of his action movies! (Universum Film)
Jackie Chan's family history is almost as wild as a plot of one of his action movies! (Universum Film)

Well, it was far from your bog-standard meet-cute situ as they met when Charles arrested Lee-Lee for smuggling opium.

Despite this dramatic start to first crossing paths, the pair incredibly later got married and started a new life together, welcoming Chan into the world in 1954.

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After catching light of Chan's fascinating family history, it's clear fans couldn't wait but rush to social media to share their reactions.

One Instagram user quipped: "This sounds like a plot to one of his films!"

"Ok we need a 10 part docu series on MAX or Apple TV asap," demanded a second while a third chimed in: "Well, Jackie can make a movie based on his parents story!"

A fourth joked: "damn, his films make so much more sense now!"

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"Haha can we have an movie about this lol," chirped a fifth while a sixth declared: "Now THAT’S a love story!"

Jackie Chan with his father Charles Chan Chi-Ping (Universum Film)
Jackie Chan with his father Charles Chan Chi-Ping (Universum Film)

Another echoed: "Bro took 'that's how I met ur mum' to the next level!"

And a final Instagram user gushed: "So Jackie been living his dad’s life this whole time!"

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Chan went on to tie the knot with his wife, former Taiwanese actress, Joan Lin, in 1982.

Together, the pair share one son named Jaycee Chan, who was welcomed to the world that same year.

Chan also shares a 25-year-old daughter, Etta Ng Chok Lam, from a reported previous affair with actress, Elaine Ng Yi-Lei.

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