For the past few years, I was the more visible Asian performer, and I think it gave young girls a kind of role model showing it's possible to actually reach success doing movies.

She and her older brother Chase were raised during the Cultural Revolution. Her first Hollywood movie was Tai-Pan filmed on location in China. Charitable work
In May 2008 Chen appeared alongside James Kyson Lee and Amy Hanaialiʻi Gilliom in a public service announcement for the Banyan Tree Project campaign to stop HIV/AIDS-related stigma in Asian & Pacific Islander communities.

Joan Chong Chen (Chinese name: simplified Chinese: 陈冲; traditional Chinese: 陳冲; pinyin: Chén Chōng; born April 26 1961) is a Chinese actress film director screenwriter and film producer. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks Red Rose White Rose Saving Face and The Home Song Stories and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.