International star Donnie Yen has been a part of the entertainment industry for almost 40 years now, appearing in many Chinese and Hollywood blockbusters. It was during his rise to stardom that he met his wife, former model Cecilia “Cissy” Wang.
The couple recently celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary. Yen and Wang spoke about their relationship on Chinese talk show, A Date With Luyu. On the show, Yen, 58, shared that during courtship, he had no idea Cissy was 18 years younger than him.
“She didn’t tell me her age and I didn’t tell her mine either. I only found out later that she was so young,” he said. Wang was quick to respond by jokingly stating: “I didn’t know he was so old either!”
The star proposed in August 2003 but revealed that he had previously felt insecure about getting married as his first marriage ended in divorce. However, the Ip Man star recalled feeling a strong connection with Wang which led to the proposal. The couple now have two children, teenagers, Jasmine and James.
Yen also spoke on Ip Man, the film that ultimately propelled his career. He recalled the risk of doing the film as it was also announced during the same time that famed Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai was also working on a similar project titled The Grandmaster with Tony Leung playing Ip Man.
Luckily for Yen, his film turned out to be a major box office success. He went on to play the character in three sequels, with the final chapter of the saga, Ip Man 4: The Finale, released in 2019.
Yen credits his success to the support of his wife, calling Wang his “lucky star”. “My good luck was all thanks to my wife, after we got married, my career progressed well,” he said.
