Ang Lee is one of the first Chinese-born directors to find critical and commercial success on both sides of the Pacific.
He has won 8 Oscars out of 27 nominations, and is one of two directors to have ever won Venice’s Golden Lion twice. Ang is the first Asian to win the Oscar’s Best Director award.
He notes, “I don’t lead a Hollywood lifestyle […] I wanted to lead a very grounded, normal life.”
Normal, of course, is relative. Trick-or-treaters to the Lees’ home fish out Mars Bars from the very same bowl that held car keys for the notorious key party in “The Ice Storm.” And several fighting sticks from his martial arts fantasy “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” are displayed in the basement.
Ang plays with recurring themes of alienation, marginalization, and repression. Many of his films have also focused on the interactions between modernity and tradition. He has often talked about fighting stereotypes:
“I had to fight with my background … but I also had to live in the general environment. People have to be categorized. That’s very annoying. Don’t you find that annoying? Life shouldn’t be like that. The world isn’t like that. There’s a lot of complexity. There are exceptions.”
Ang has said movies are a form of dissent.
Fun facts?
Ang donated his $600,000 USD prize money from the Taiwan government to help young Taiwan directors. Ang Lee, a US citizen, was born in Taiwan and has been hailed, the “Glory of Taiwan.”
Source
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187225,00.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000487/
http://movies.nytimes.com/person/166472/Ang-Lee/biography
Image from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-03/06/xin_4403030612592321841312.jpg
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/movies/news/article_1358895.php
The Asian Heroes Project 
