The Most Famous

Actors from China

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This page contains a list of the greatest Chinese Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 13,578 Actors, 142 of which were born in China. This makes China the birth place of the 14th most number of Actors behind Australia and Mexico.

Top 10 Actors

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Actors of all time. This list of famous Chinese Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Actors.

  1. #1
    Photo of Toshiro Mifune

    Toshiro Mifune

    1920 - 1997

    HPI 79.11121 langs

    Toshiro Mifune is most famous for his role as the bandit leader in Akira Kurosawa's film "Seven Samurai."

  2. #2
    Photo of Jet Li

    Jet Li

    b. 1963

    HPI 74.76111 langs

    Jet Li is most famous for his martial arts films, such as "Hero," "Kiss of the Dragon," and "The One."

  3. #3
    Photo of Bolo Yeung

    Bolo Yeung

    b. 1946

    HPI 71.4332 langs
    Bolo yeung is a Cantonese dish that is made from deep-fried breaded pork cutlets, cabbage, and a sauce that includes soy sauce, oyster...Read moreShow less

    Bolo yeung is a Cantonese dish that is made from deep-fried breaded pork cutlets, cabbage, and a sauce that includes soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar.

  4. #4
    Photo of Donnie Yen

    Donnie Yen

    b. 1963

    HPI 69.3862 langs
    Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director, producer, and action choreographer. He is best known for his roles in the...Read moreShow less

    Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director, producer, and action choreographer. He is best known for his roles in the films "Ip Man", "Flash Point", "SPL", "Bodyguards and Assassins", "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers", "Curse of the Golden Flower", "Warcraft: The Beginning", and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story".

  5. #5
    Photo of Gong Li

    Gong Li

    b. 1965

    HPI 67.3765 langs

    Gong Li is most famous for her roles in "Raise the Red Lantern" and "Hero."

  6. #10
    Photo of Yoshiko Yamaguchi

    Yoshiko Yamaguchi

    1920 - 2014

    HPI 63.9729 langs

    Yoshiko Yamaguchi is most famous for being the first woman to represent Japan in the Olympics.

People by Birth Decade

Browse notable Chinese Actors grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.

Overlapping Lives

Which Actors were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Actors since 1700.

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