KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Legendary Chinese action film icon, Cheng Pei-pei, who starred in Ang Lee’s Oscar-nominated Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and King Hu’s groundbreaking wuxia classic Come Drink With Me, has passed away at the age of 78.

Variety.com reported that Cheng died in the San Francisco Bay Area yesterday.

She had bravely battled a degenerative brain disease for years and made a final act of generosity by donating her brain to medical research.

Born on January 6, 1946, in Shanghai, Cheng Pei-pei moved to Hong Kong in 1962, bringing her ballet and dance training to the renowned Shaw Brothers studio.

Her acting career took off with her debut in the drama Lovers’ Rock.

However, her breakout role came with the 1966 martial arts film Come Drink With Me, directed by King Hu, which established her as a star in action and swordplay movies.

Come Drink With Me was also Hong Kong’s submission for the international feature Oscar that year, though it was not nominated.

According to Variety.com, Cheng moved to California in the 1970s, where she raised four children and studied business at the University of California.

Cheng’s career experienced a major resurgence with her role as Jade Fox in the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie won four Oscars and grossed US$128 million (RM599 million) at the North American box office.