When he was very young he was very energetic and his mum (Lee-lee Chan) nicknamed him Poapo (Cannonball in Chinese)
Once Jackie was 7 years old his father (Charles) took a job as a head cook for the American embassy in Austraila. Jackies father thought that it would be best for Jackie to stay in Hong Kong to develop his skills and he enrolled him at the China Drama Academy where Jackie would living. During his time at school he was able to learn martial arts, acrobats, singing and acting.
When Jackie Chan was 17,he graduated from the China Drama Academy. Unfortunately the Chinese opera was no longer very popular, so Jackie and his classmates had to find other work. This was difficult because at the school they were never taught how to read or write. The only work available to them was unskilled labor or stunt work. Each year many movies were made in Hong Kong and there was always a need for young, strong stuntmen. Jackie was extraordinarily athletic and inventive, and soon gained a reputation for being fearless; Jackie Chan would try anything. Soon he was in demand
Over the next few years, Jackie worked as a stuntman, but when the Hong Kong movie industry began to fail, he was forced to go to Australia to live with his parents. He worked in a restaurant and on a construction site. It was there that he got the name "Jackie." A worker named Jack had trouble pronouncing "Kong-sang" and started calling Jackie "little Jack." That soon became “Jackie” and the name stuck
Jackie was very unhappy in Australia. The construction work was difficult and boring. His salvation came in the form of a telegram from a man named Willie Chan. Once Jackie Chan got back to Hong Kong, Willie Chan took control over Jackie's career. To this day Jackie is quick to point out that he owes his success to Willie. However, the movies that Jackie made for Lo Wei were not very successful. The problem was that Jackie's talents were not being used properly. It was only when Jackie was able to contribute his own ideas that he became a star. He brought humor to martial arts
Jackie has been married to Lin Feng-Jiao since 1982 and has a son, actor-singer Jaycee Chan
