Angela Mao

In 1973, Angela Mao played Bruce Lee's doomed sister Su Lin in "Enter the Dragon." Yet, while her cameo was pivotal to the most famous kung fu movie ever made, Mao was only paid $100 for her efforts. She was already a major star in Hong Kong action cinema by the time she paired with Lee, although she had started out studying Peking Opera at the age of five, as her father was the celebrated actor Mao Yung Kang, who had escaped from China to Taiwan the year she was born. In addition to training for 14 years in stagecraft, Mao also took lessons in the Korean martial art hapkido and this led both to her discovery in the late 1960s by director Huang Feng and a contract with the famous Golden Harvest company. Following the "wuxia pian" swordplay picture "The Angry River," Mao was teamed in 1972 with Carter Wong and Sammo Hung in "Hapkido," after which she became known as "Lady Kung Fu." She acquired another nickname after the 1972 revenge flick, "Lady Whirlwind," and further hits followed, including "The Himalayan," "Dance of Death" (with fight scenes choreographed by Jackie Chan), and master director King Hu's "The Fate of Lee Khan." Mao also collaborated with ex-007 George Lazenby on "Stoner" and reunited with Wong on "When Taekwondo Strikes" and "The Association" and Hung on "Broken Oath," which influenced Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" duology. However, after a short spell in Taiwanese actioners, Mao married actor Kelly Lau and retired.