List of Famous Martial Artists
Updated October 14, 2019 63.6K views488 items
List of famous martial artists, with photos, bios, and other information when available. Who are the top martial artists in the world? This includes the most prominent martial artists, living and dead, both in America and abroad. This list of notable martial artists is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these historic martial artists were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but what they all have in common is that they're all renowned martial artists.
Examples of people on this list include Steven Seagal and Jet Li.
From reputable, prominent, and well known martial artists to the lesser known martial artists of today, these are some of the best professionals in the martial artist field. If you want to answer the questions, "Who are the most famous martial artists ever?" and "What are the names of famous martial artists?" then you're in the right place. {#nodes}
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- Taylor Daniel Lautner (; born February 11, 1992) is an American actor, voice actor, and model. He is known for playing Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series based on the novels of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. Lautner began his acting career playing bit roles in comedy series such as The Bernie Mac Show (2003) and My Wife and Kids (2004), before having voice roles in television series like What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2005) and Danny Phantom (2005). In 2005, he appeared in the film Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and starred in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. He also starred in the 2011 action film Abduction. From 2014 to 2018, Lautner starred in the BBC sitcom Cuckoo as the son of the titular character. In 2016, he played a leading role, Dr. Cassidy Cascade, in the second season of FOX black comedy series Scream Queens. The late 2000s saw Lautner become a teen idol and sex symbol, after extensively changing his physique to keep the role of Jacob Black in further Twilight installments, and generating media attention for his looks. In 2010, he was ranked second on Glamour's "The 50 Sexiest Men of 2010" list, and fourth on People's "Most Amazing Bodies" list. Also in the same year, Lautner was named the highest-paid teenage actor in Hollywood.
- Steven Frederic Seagal (born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician who holds American, Serbian, and Russian citizenship. Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan, becoming the first foreigner to operate an aikido dojo in the country. He later moved to Los Angeles, California, where he had the same profession. In 1988, Seagal made his acting debut in Above the Law. By 1991, he had starred in four successful films. In 1992, he played Navy SEAL counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback in Under Siege. During the latter half of the 1990s, Seagal starred in three more feature films and the direct-to-video film The Patriot. Subsequently, his career shifted to mostly direct-to-video productions. He has since appeared in films and reality shows, including Steven Seagal: Lawman, which depicted Seagal performing his duties as a reserve deputy sheriff. Seagal is a guitarist and has released two studio albums, Songs from the Crystal Cave and Mojo Priest, and performed on the scores of several of his films. He has worked with Stevie Wonder and Tony Rebel, who both performed on his debut album. He has also been involved in a line of "therapeutic oil" products and energy drinks. In addition, Seagal is a known environmentalist, animal rights activist, and supporter of 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. He is known for his outspoken political views and support of Vladimir Putin, to whom he once referred as "one of the great living world leaders". He was granted Russian citizenship in 2016. In 2018, he was appointed Russia's special envoy to the U.S.From 1996 to 2018, multiple women accused Seagal of sexual harassment or assault.
- Carlos Ray Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist, actor, film producer and screenwriter. After serving in the United States Air Force, he won many martial arts championships and later founded his own school of fighting named Chun Kuk Do. Norris is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and Judo.Norris appeared in Way of the Dragon alongside Bruce Lee, Good Guys Wear Black, The Octagon, Lone Wolf McQuade, Code of Silence, The Delta Force, and Missing in Action 1, 2, & 3. He was The Cannon Group's leading star in the 1980s. He played the title role in the television series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 until 2001. Since 1997, he and model Christie Brinkley have been the main spokespersons for the Total Gym infomercials. Norris has written several books on martial arts, exercise, philosophy, politics, Christian religion, western novels, and biography. He was twice a New York Times best-selling author, first with his book on his personal philosophy of positive force and the psychology of self-improvement based on personal anecdotes called The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story (1988). His second New York Times Best Seller, Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America (2008), was about his critique on current issues in the USA. Originally starting in early 2005 on an internet forum and later on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Chuck Norris facts became an internet meme documenting fictional and often absurd feats of strength and endurance. Although Norris himself did not produce the "facts", he was hired to endorse many products that incorporated Chuck Norris facts in advertising, and the phenomenon resulted in six books (two of them New York Times Best Sellers) and two video games.
- Lee Jun-fan (Chinese: 李振藩; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973), known professionally as Bruce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍), was a Hong Kong-American actor, director, martial artist, martial arts instructor, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee is considered by commentators, critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is often credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films.The son of Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-chuen, Lee was born in the Chinatown area of San Francisco, California, on November 27, 1940, to parents from Hong Kong, and was raised with his family in Kowloon, Hong Kong. He was introduced to the film industry by his father and appeared in several films as a child actor. Lee moved to the United States at the age of 18 to receive his higher education at the University of Washington in Seattle, and it was during this time that he began teaching martial arts. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films dramatically changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in the US, Hong Kong, and the rest of the world.He is noted for his roles in five feature-length martial arts films in the early 1970s: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Golden Harvest's Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse. Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, based upon his portrayal of Chinese nationalism in his films and among Asian Americans for defying stereotypes associated with the emasculated Asian male. He trained in the art of Wing Chun and later combined his other influences from various sources into the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, which he dubbed Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist). Lee held dual nationality in Hong Kong and the US. He died in Hong Kong on July 20, 1973 at the age of 32, and was buried in Seattle.
- Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor and film producer. Typecast as the antihero, he is known for his action-thriller roles and portraying tough, irredeemable, and machiavellian characters. Throughout his film career, Statham has regularly performed his own stage combat and stunts. Born in Derbyshire, England, he began practicing kung fu, kickboxing and karate recreationally in his youth while working at local market stalls. An avid footballer and diver, he was selected by Britain's national diving team to compete in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Shortly after, he was asked to model for French Connection, Tommy Hilfiger, and Levi's in various advertising campaigns. Statham's past professional history working in market stalls inspired his casting in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000). The commercial success of these films led him to star as Frank Martin in The Transporter trilogy (2002–08). After starring in a variety of heist and action thriller films such as The Italian Job (2003), Crank (2006), War (2007), The Bank Job (2008), The Mechanic (2011), Spy (2015), and Mechanic: Resurrection (2016), he established himself as a leading actor in Hollywood. He found further commercial success in the action series The Expendables (2010–14) and the Fast and the Furious franchise. He has played his character in the latter, Deckard Shaw, in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019). His career as an actor and producer has been criticized for lacking depth and variety; however, he has also been praised for leading the 2000s and 2010s action movie resurgences. According to a BBC News report, his film career from 2002 to 2017 generated an estimated US$1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) in ticket-sales, making him one of the movie industry's most bankable stars.
- Chan Kong-sang (born 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan, is a Hong Konger martial artist, actor, film director, producer, stuntman, and singer. He is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself, in the cinematic world. He has trained in Wushu or Kung Fu and Hapkido, and has been acting since the 1960s, appearing in over 150 films. Chan is one of the most recognisable and influential cinematic personalities in the world, gaining a widespread following in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and has received stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has been referenced in various pop songs, cartoons, and video games. He is an operatically trained vocalist and is also a Cantopop and Mandopop star, having released a number of albums and sung many of the theme songs for the films in which he has starred. He is also a globally known philanthropist, and has been named as one of the top 10 most charitable celebrities by Forbes magazine. In 2004, film scholar Andrew Willis stated that Chan was "perhaps" the "most recognised star in the world". In 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $350 million, and as of 2016, he was the second-highest paid actor in the world.
