Cynthia Rothrock is the queen of martial arts cinema. And this title is indisputable. Cynthia is a five-time world karate champion and has more than thirty films to her credit. She first appeared on screen in Hong Kong in 1985. At the Golden Harvest studio, of course.

Cynthia Rothrock was born in the USA in 1957. She began practicing martial arts at the age of 14 under the influence of friends. People said she would not achieve great success because she started too late. But persistent training produced excellent results. From 1981 to 1985, Cynthia Rothrock held the title of winner of the US karate championship (among men!). In addition to competing in matches, Cynthia worked with a wide variety of weapons. She was the first female martial arts master whose portraits appeared on magazine covers. Cynthia Rothrock began acting in films in Hong Kong. Her first film was "Shanghai Express". Among the Hong Kong stars appearing in it were Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. She was taken for a role for which a male actor was being sought in the USA. Cynthia pleased the filmmakers so much that they reworked the script. Thus Cynthia became the first actress from the West to appear in Hong Kong action films. She spent five years in Hong Kong, continuing to appear in films produced by Sammo Hung. Only a chance occurrence prevented Cynthia from appearing with Jackie Chan in the film "Armour of God".

By 2000, Cynthia had appeared in more than 30 films released in the USA and Hong Kong. Among them are "No Retreat, No Surrender 2", "Lady Dragon", and "Superfights". Many famous actors appeared with her - martial arts masters Richard Norton, Gerald Okamura, Billy Blanks, and Bolo Yeung. On screen, Cynthia Rothrock demonstrates the most important quality for martial arts - naturalness of movement. At the same time, she has powerful and precise strikes, especially with her legs. Cynthia Rothrock's signature strike, demonstrating her extraordinary flexibility, is a heel kick to the opponent's forehead while being grabbed from the front. Here is a semi-joking description of Cynthia that appeared in the famous American magazine "Black Belt": "...a ponytail better than Seagal's, a chest better than Arnold's, a gaze that eclipses the eyes of Van Damme and Norris. Moreover, unlike Stallone and Willis, she defeats the villains while confidently walking in very high heels!"