Donnie Yen was born in Canton, China, on July 27, 1963. The son of martial arts master Bow Sim Mark and Klyster Yen, Donnie moved to Boston, MA, with his family while still a child. At four years of age his mother taught him the art of tai chi. Donnie went on to experiment with various martial arts, from taekwondo to wushu. He was invited to Beijing to train in wushu, where he met 'Woo-Ping Yuen' . Donnie got his first film role in Xiao tai ji at the age of only 19. He gained notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s, working for the D&B Film Co. in films like the first two installments of the Tiger Cage trilogy and Huang jia shi jie zhi IV: Zhi ji zheng ren.

He gained his breakthrough role in 1992 as Gen. Lan in _Wong Fei-hung ji yi: Naam yi dong ji keung (1992)_ . His finale against Jet Li remains a classic of its kind. In 1997 he made his directorial debut in Zhan lang chuan shuo, which was also the first film from his new company, Bullet Films.

In 2000 Donnie made his American film debut as the immortal Jin Ke in Highlander: Endgame. He has also appeared in Blade II and will be seen next in Jackie Chan's Shanghai Knights and Hero with Jet Li.
Grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Classically trained pianist Has a daughter named Jasmine. Billed as Michael Ryan in his earlier films (until Gao ya xian) released in the Philippines. Can speak fluent Cantonese, English and Mandarin. Can also speak casual Korean, since he learned it as a requirement for his character during the filming of Chat Gim (Seven Swords). Brother of Chris Yen Current wife Cissy Wang was the winner of the Miss Chinese Toronto Pageant 2000. She also represented Toronto in 2001 for the Miss Chinese International Pageant. Current wife Cissy Wang is nearly 18 years his junior. Has a son from a previous marriage.