Linda Emery Lee Cadwell (née Emery; born March 21, 1945[1]) is a retired American teacher and writer, the widow of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee (1940–1973), and the mother of actor Brandon Lee (1965–1993) and actress Shannon Lee (born 1969).[2] She is the author of the Bruce Lee biography Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew, upon which the film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) is based, as well as the founder, a former trustee of, and an unpaid advisor of the Bruce Lee Foundation.
Linda Lee Cadwell | |
|---|---|
 Lee in 1998 | |
| Born | Linda Emery March 21, 1945 Everett, Washington, U.S. |
| Other names | Linda Lee |
| Alma mater | University of Washington |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, martial artist, writer |
| Years active | 1964–2001 |
| Notable work | Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew (1975) The Bruce Lee Story (1989) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | Brandon Lee, Shannon Lee |
| Website | bruceleefoundation |
Life and career
She was born in Everett, Washington, the daughter of Vivian R. (née Hester) (1911–1998)[3] and Everett Emery (1910–1950).[4][5] Her family was Baptist and of Swedish, Irish, and English descent.[6][7]
She met Bruce Lee while she was attending Garfield High School, where Bruce came to give a kung fu demonstration; he was attending the University of Washington at the time. Eventually, she became one of his kung fu students when she was attending the University of Washington, studying to become a teacher.[citation needed]
They married on August 17, 1964. Linda was a few credits short from graduation. They had two children, Brandon Lee and Shannon Lee. Bruce Lee died suddenly on July 20, 1973, of an allergic reaction to an analgesic.[8][9]
Linda married Tom Bleecker in 1988, and they divorced in 1990. She later wed stockbroker Bruce Cadwell in 1991 and they lived in Rancho Mirage, California.[citation needed]
On March 31, 1993, her son Brandon was accidentally shot to death by a prop gun while filming The Crow.[10]
Cadwell has continued to promote Bruce Lee's martial art Jeet Kune Do. She retired in 2001, and her daughter Shannon (who now heads the Lee family estate), together with son-in-law Ian Keasler, run the Bruce Lee Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching Bruce Lee's philosophy on martial arts and his writing on philosophy.[citation needed]
Books
Cadwell wrote the 1975 book Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew (ISBN 0-446-89407-9), on which the 1993 feature film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was based. She was portrayed by actress Lauren Holly in the film adaptation.[11] She also wrote the 1989 book The Bruce Lee Story (ISBN 0-89750121-7).