Eugenia Yuan
Eugenia Yuan is an American actress and former rhythmic gymnast who has won a Hong Kong Film Award. Early life. On January 22, 1976, Yuan was born in Inglewood, Los Angeles county, California. Yuan's mother is Cheng Pei-pei, an actress who is known for being a Shaw Brothers Studio alumnus and the role of Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yuan grew up in San Marino, California. Career. Gymnastic. Yuan began her career as a rhythmic gymnast for the U.S. Olympic Team and was ranked #4 in the world. Yuan was a member of the  team for about seven years with the U.S. National Rhythmic Gymnastics team. Entertainment. Yuan made her screen debut co-starring with her mother in the martial arts picture Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger (2002). Yuan co-starred in the dark, low-budget feature "Charlotte Sometimes" which garnered an honor at the Independent Spirit Awards and was publicly championed by Roger Ebert and featured in his Overlooked Film Festival. Yuan returned to Hong Kong to star in "Three" where she was named "Best Newcomer" in the Hong Kong Film Awards (Hong Kong's equivalent of the Academy Awards). Soon after, Hollywood director  Doug Liman hand-picked her for the title role of the cult hit mockumentary "Mail Order Wife" which brought her to national attention when she was named as a "Rising Star/Screen Acting Discovery" at the premiere of the film in the Hamptons International Film Festival. She was later nominated at Hong Kong's Golden Horse Awards for her starring role in "The Eye 2" and had roles in the John Dahl film "The Great Raid" and the Oscar-winning "Memoirs of a Geisha". The jewelry retailer Me & Ro created a special edition hair ornament inspired by Yuan's character  in the movie. Yuan continues to travel back and forth between Los Angeles, New York City and Hong Kong to take studio, Chinese-language and American independent roles alike including the 2007 Gotham Awards winning film "Choking Man". She also co-stars with Tony Leung Ka Fai in the Kenneth Bi film, "The Drummer", and Erica Leerhsen in "Slaughter". Most recently she has appeared in the Australian television drama "Secret City".