Jet Li Addresses Long-Running Rumors on 'Yang Lan One on One': Says Divorce Was Peaceful, Assets Went to Ex-Wife, He Raised Both Daughters
In an interview on Yang Lan One on One aired on October 11, 63-year-old martial-arts star Jet Li addressed, at length and on the record, the long-running rumors that he had "abandoned his wife and daughters." Li said that when he and his first wife, Huang Qiuyan, divorced in 1991, the two parted on peaceful terms — in his words, they shook hands and separated amicably. On the division of property, he said he left nearly all of their assets, including property in the United States, to his ex-wife, keeping almost nothing for himself, while he continued to bear all the costs of raising their two daughters, Li Si and Li Taimi.
Li said he had not explained himself publicly for three decades because his two elder daughters are private people who strongly dislike media attention; they had once offered to speak up for him, he said, and he stopped them, wanting to protect their quiet lives. In his view, one's life is one's own to live, and rumors require no rebuttal.
On perceptions that he favors the two younger daughters he has with his current wife, Nina Li Zhi, Li said all four daughters get along well, regularly eating and traveling together; the elder daughters rarely appear in public simply because they do not want to face cameras, while the younger ones enjoy sharing their lives, creating a misleading public impression. He added that Nina Li took charge of the elder daughters' upbringing plans and living arrangements early on, set up long-term financial security for them, and told them they owed filial duty only to their birth mother, Huang Qiuyan, and none to her.
Li and Huang were both trained at Beijing's Shichahai sports school, married in 1987, and had their daughters in 1988 and 1989 before divorcing in 1991. Li married Nina Li in Los Angeles in 1999; they have two daughters. (GSM, based on Sina Entertainment and China.com reporting of Li's own statements in the interview)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：李连杰（摄于2009年1月）。图片来源：Robert Scoble／Wikimedia Commons（CC BY 2.0）。Photo: Jet Li (taken in January 2009). Credit: Robert Scoble / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
