Chia Ling 嘉凌

If you were born into a family where your parents, uncles, aunts and, in fact, the vast majority of your relatives perform in Peking Opera, then your future is predetermined. So it was entirely natural that at the age of seven Judy Lee found herself among the students of the Fu Sheng Opera School (Chinese: Fu Xing Ju Xiao).

Although the school bears the name of Peking Opera, its difference from other schools lies in the fact that it taught singing in the Hokkien dialect (Southern Min). Angela Mao, James Tien, Li Yi-Min and Chang Yi were in the same group as her. Incidentally, among the graduates of this school were other people who later worked in the Hong Kong film industry: the Venoms' Chiang Sheng and Philip Kwok, Charlie Chin, Jack Long, Robert Tai...

We've already heard plenty about the "horrors" of training in such schools from Jackie Chan & Co, and in her interview Judy wasn't original either: getting up at 5 a.m., and singing, acting, martial arts – until 9 p.m.! Thanks to her physique, she even made it into a special class where advanced acrobatics were taught! And all of this for seven years...

So, at fourteen she finished her course of study and stepped onto the professional stage. Quite quickly she became a star, and was even entrusted with male fighting roles! She was already 17 when director and producer Peter Yang invited her to appear in films.

Her first film, Queen Boxer, was completed in a very short time, just 18 days! Tough, in the spirit of Bruce Lee, she fought her way with hands and feet through a large group of thugs... The film was very successful, immediately earning her a good reputation and giving her the pseudonym Judy Lee for a long time.

Young actresses of that time lived in spartan, monastic conditions, constantly moving from one shooting location to another, with practically no personal life. They weren't as spoiled as today's stars, they weren't allowed to do much, and of course they had no say in the film's subsequent fate, including its promotional campaign. So Lee couldn't have vetoed it even if she had known about this promotional scam in advance.

The public at that time was going crazy; there was a real Bruce Lee boom. And the producers, without overthinking it, ran a campaign in which she was effectively "appointed" Bruce's sister. At the time, few knew about Lee's real family (and he did, by the way, have two real sisters, Phoebe and Agnes – who of course had nothing to do with either martial arts or the film industry). She had to put up with it, and even later, several years on, when the deception came to light, to apologize to outraged Bruce fans.

It's hard to believe, but they say that in some parts of the world she was more famous than Bruce himself. And later, when she returned to her real name Chia Ling in the credits, distribution in many countries still recognized her only as Judy Lee...

Although Queen Boxer is officially her first film, according to some rumors The Escape may have preceded it by a couple of months – the difference in their dates is insignificant. What fuels this suspicion is that the producers and director are the same, and also... we remember where she was spotted, and the salt of the version is that the role was written specifically for Judy on the heels of that, and she plays a Chinese opera star there, which is what she was at the time. For this film she received a Best Actress award at the annual Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, held in the capital of Taiwan. This is surprising if only because martial arts films are not a frequent guest on nomination lists – even in countries where they are popular and churned out on a production line...

From 1975 her potential was truly appreciated, and she began appearing in 5-6 films a year. Whether in a leading or supporting role, her presence always signals that a film is worth watching. Almost always these are kung fu or wuxia films, but if you want to appreciate her dramatic talent, watch The Operations of Spring Wind (1977) or Gone with Honor (1979).

From 1979 she effectively retired, appearing in films only occasionally. Her last appearance is recorded in 1996 – the semi-documentary Top Fighter 2: Deadly Fighting Dolls.

After getting married, in 1981 she emigrated to the USA with her husband. There she found herself in the real estate profession, selling property quite successfully, but she felt uncomfortable there – ill-adapted to that pace of life, a different culture, no friends. In the end, despite having a child together, this led to the breakup of the marriage.

In 1987, the actress returned to Taiwan. She found peace with herself with the help of the Japanese Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai (literally "Society for the Creation of Value"). By all appearances, it is not so much a religious as a humanitarian organization, aimed at "developing the human capacity to create value in everyday life." In 1992, as an active member of the organization, she returned to the United States, to California, where it helps her in her development. At present, its overseas branches exist in 115 countries around the world, the largest being in the United States, Southeast Asia and Latin America. In her words, she is very grateful to Soka Gakkai, which allowed her to learn self-reflection and the correction of life's events, to be able to create more happiness in life.

In 2001 she married again; her husband is an aerospace engineer. With her former husband she maintains a very good, friendly relationship, jointly raising their only child (he has now grown up and works as a dentist in Northern California).