[8] Alongside Kung fu, particularly Wing Chun, Yen is also known for incorporating mixed martial arts (MMA) elements into his action choreography.

His mother, Bow-sim Mark, is a Fu-style wudangquan (internal martial arts) and tai chi grandmaster, while his father, Klyster Yen (甄雲龍), was a newspaper editor.

[12][non-primary source needed] His younger sister, Chris Yen, is also a martial artist and actress, and appeared in the 2007 film Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon.

[13] At age 18, when Yen was returning to the United States to visit his family, he made a stop in Hong Kong, where he met and auditioned for action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping.

After filming Drunken Tai Chi and Tiger Cage (1988), Yen made his breakthrough role as General Nap-lan in Once Upon a Time in China II (1992), which included a fight scene between his character and Wong Fei-hung (portrayed by Jet Li).

In 1997, Yen started the production company Bullet Films, and made his directorial debut[17] in Legend of the Wolf (1997) and Ballistic Kiss (1998), in which he played the lead character.

Yen went back to the United States, where he was invited to choreograph fight scenes in Hollywood films, such as Highlander: Endgame (2000) and Blade II (2002).

Later that year, Yen co-starred with Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue in Wilson Yip's Dragon Tiger Gate, an adaptation of Wong Yuk-long's manhua series Oriental Heroes.

Yen continued to work with Wilson Yip in Flash Point (2007), in which he starred as the lead character and served as producer and action choreographer for the film.

Ip Man marked Yen's fourth collaboration with director Wilson Yip, reuniting him with his co-stars in SPL: Sha Po Lang, Sammo Hung and Simon Yam.

In August 2011, while Yen was on a vacation with his family in the United States, he reportedly received an invitation by producer Avi Lerner to star in The Expendables 2.

In 2012, Yen returned to the movie industry and commenced the filming of Special ID, in which he played the main lead, an undercover cop, and also took on the role of action choreographer.

[26] In February 2013, the Weinstein Company confirmed that it had purchased the rights to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and contacted Yen to play the male lead.

"[27] In May 2013, during the annual Cannes Film Festival, the Weinstein Company announced that Yen would play the lead role of Silent Wolf in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, alongside leading female action star Michelle Yeoh reprising her role as Yu Shu Lien, and with director Yuen Woo-ping, Yen's mentor.

[28] It was revealed during the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II press conference that the Weinstein Company had obtained rights to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, was planning a remake and was negotiating with Yen, George Clooney, and Zhang Ziyi to star in the film.

[33] Principal photography for Ip Man 3 began on 25 March 2015, and the finished film was released in December 2015 in parts of Asia and around the world in early 2016 to generally favorable reviews.

Yen eventually accepted the offer and played a non-traditional role of a villain with limited fighting scenes and the opportunity to work alongside Andy Lau.

In September 2017, Chasing the Dragon was released with positive reviews from critics, citing Yen's versatility as an actor and his portrayal of Ng Sek Ho, the main character of the film.

[47] In 2017, Yen received a call from Li and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma about a potential collaboration on a short martial arts film known as Gong Shou Dao – to promote a new form of tai chi as an Olympic sport in the future.

The full GSD 20 minutes short film was released on 11 November – China's Singles' Day, debuting on Youku and Li's official Facebook page, garnering a total of more than 100 million views worldwide.

[61][7] Yen has exemplified his aptitude, expertise, and skill in an array of combat and martial arts disciplines, being well-versed in Tai Chi, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Mixed Martial Arts, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Amateur Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Hung Ga, Sanda, Judo, Shaolin Kung Fu, Wudangquan, Wing Chun, and Wushu.

[65] Over the course of his life, Yen embarked on a quest to explore and acquire expertise in various other forms of martial arts disciplines; he obtained black and purple belts in Judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, respectively, and went on to study Parkour, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Boxing under various instructors.

[72] Yen was a rebel in his youth due to the huge expectations and pressures from his parents, as his mother is the founder of the Chinese Wushu Research Institute in Boston, and his father was a scholar and a musician.

[73] Other martial arts film stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li have stated that Yen may be the best fighter in terms of practical combat in East Asian cinema.

Yen also stated that the concept behind Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do is similar to that of MMA, hence the incorporation of many forms of martial arts was a necessity in the film.

He has won awards for his choreography in films such as The Twins Effect, SPL: Sha Po Lang, Flash Point, and Kung Fu Jungle.

[90][non-primary source needed] Yen met his first wife, Hong Kong advertising executive Leung Zing-ci (Chinese: 梁靜慈), in 1990.

[94] In October 2014, Yen was invited to be a guest speaker in front of a crowd of 20,000 youths for We Day Vancouver, where he spoke about the hardships he faced growing up and how he overcame difficulties.

[97] In February 2020, in light of the coronavirus pandemic in China and the rest of the world, Yen stepped in to donate HK$1 million to frontline medical workers in Wuhan.

[98] In 2023, Yen was appointed to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as a representative of the "Literature and Arts" sector, replacing outgoing fellow action star Jackie Chan.