Cheng Pei-pei, the Chinese actress best known for her roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Come Drink with Me, has died at age 78.

Cheng, a martial arts pioneer considered to be the first Chinese female action hero, died peacefully surrounded by family on Wednesday from a rare neurodegenerative disease known as corticobasal degeneration, her family shared in a statement posted on social media.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines the condition as a form of dementia that involves the loss of cognitive functions, causing nerve cells to die and areas of the brain to shrink. There are currently no treatments to slow the progression.

Cheng's family said she "chose not to make this news public so that she could deal with her condition in private and spend her remaining time with her children and grandchildren."

Liang Weiye/VCG via Getty

The family's statement continued: "To all her friends, colleagues, and fans, thank you for all the support you showed her over the years. Our mom wanted to be remembered by how she was: the legendary queen of martial arts... a versatile, award-winning actress whose film and television career spanned over six decades, not only in Asia but internationally as well."

Cheng "loved being an actress and knew, even with her hard work, how fortunate she was to have the career she had," they said.

In lieu of flowers, the family is encouraging charitable donations to the Brain Support Network.

Born in Shanghai in 1946, Cheng trained in ballet before moving to Hong Kong, where she became a star for Shaw Brothers Studios, storied for their martial arts films. She starred in 20 of the studio's wuxia action films, including Come Drink With Me, The Last Woman of Shang, and The Jade Raksha, and was dubbed the "Queen of Martial Arts."

Cheng gained international recognition as assassin Jade Fox in Ang Lee's Academy Award winner and box-office hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Other notable credits in a career that spanned six decades include Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Lilting, and Meditation Park.

"I’m always up for a fight,” the martial arts icon told Time Out in a career retrospective in 2015. “It’s exhilarating. I’ve always been an active person, so when I got a chance to act out fight scenes, I was happy to oblige."

Cheng's last role was as the matchmaker in Disney's 2020 live-action remake of Mulan starring Liu Yifei.