Chan Kong-sang SBS MBE PMW known professionally as Jackie Chan is a Hong Kong actor, director, writer, producer, martial artist, and stuntman known for his slapstick acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself. Before entering the film industry, he was one of the Seven Little Fortunes from the China Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School, where he studied acrobatics, martial arts, and acting. Chan has been acting since the 1960s, performing in more than 150 films. He is one of the most influential action film stars of all time.

Chan was born on 7 April 1954 in British Hong Kong as Chan Kong-sang to Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, political refugees from the Chinese Civil War. In circa 1937, Chan's father, originally named Fang Daolong, briefly worked as a secret agent for Lieutenant General Dai Li, the chief spy in Kuomintang-ruled China. For fear of being arrested by the communist government, Chan's father fled to British Hong Kong in the 1940s and changed his surname from Fang to Chan. Chan was his wife Chan Lee-lee's surname. Chan discovered his father's identity and changed his Chinese name to Fang Shilong in the late 1990s, the name he would have been named according to his kin's genealogy book.

In 1982, Chan married Joan Lin, a Taiwanese actress. Their son, singer and actor Jaycee Chan, was born that same year. Chan had an extra-marital affair with Elaine Ng Yi-Lei and has a daughter Etta Ng Chok Lam by her, born on 18 January 1999. It turned into a scandal within the media. Although he reportedly gave Elaine HK$70,000 each month for her living expenses and HK $600,000 when she moved to Shanghai, the transactions were later claimed to be nonexistent by her lawyer. Despite regretting the results of the affair, Chan said he had "only committed a fault that many men in the world commit". During the incident, Elaine stated she would take care of her daughter without Chan.