Bruce Lee was born at the Jackson Street Hospital, San Francisco, California, USA in 1940, when his parents were making a performance tour with their Cantonese opera troupe. His given name Jun Fan (Jhenfan in Mandarin) meaning to be famous overseas was named by his father, a well-known comic actor Lee Hoi Chuen (Li Haicyuan). His stage name Siu Lung (Siaolong), little dragon, was from the cartoonist, Yuan Buyun, who made a film called 'The Kid, Silu Siang,' in which Bruce Lee as a boy played a role in 1950. "Long" means the mysterious dragon in Chinese. The dragon was a symbol of power, masculine and inviolable, and it is said that Bruce loved this name.

      Growing up in an acting family, he had opportunities to act. As a boy he played in the movies such as 'The Kids, Silu Siang,' 'Infancy, Renjhihchu,' 'An Orphan's Tragedy,' and 'Wealth is Like a Dream, Fugui Fuyun.' Later on, he learned martial arts to defend himself from being attacked in street fights. When he grew up he played a role called Jhou Chou in 'Thunderstorm, Lei Yu,' and a role called Ah Sum in 'The Orphan, Renhai Guhong.' Because he was involved with more and more street fights, his parents sent him to study in the US. He enrolled at the University of Washington and majored in philosophy. At the same time he taught Chinese martial arts. He was discovered by Bill Doziher (the producer of "Batman 1966 T.V. series") after he gave a demonstration of martial arts at Ed Parker's Long Beach International Karate Championship. Then he started his filming career in America, including the big hit series in Asia, 'The Green Hornet.' The States could not offer what he wanted, so he returned to Hong Kong and looked for opportunities.