Diana Lee Inosanto

Diana Lee Inosanto
Inosanto in 2023
Other names	D. Lee Inosanto
Occupations	Actress martial arts choreographer film director children's author
Spouse	Ron Balicki (m. 1995)
Children	2
Father	Dan Inosanto
Website	dianaleeinosanto.com

Diana Lee Inosanto is an American actress, director, former stunt performer, ^[1] and martial artist. ^[2] She also wrote and directed the film The Sensei (2008), ^[3] and wrote the 2020 children's book The Curious Mind of Sebastian. ^[4]

Personal life

Inosanto is married to fellow martial artist Ron Balicki. They have two children. ^[5]

Career

Beach photoshoot, 2004

Martial arts

Inosanto grew up surrounded by the martial arts world, studying many forms, including Jeet Kune Do and Eskrima, which she learned from her father, Dan Inosanto, a student of Jeet Kune Do founder Bruce Lee, who was also her godfather. ^[6] She has appeared on the cover of numerous martial arts magazines, including Black Belt Magazine , Martial Arts, Inside Karate, Self Defense, and Inside Kung Fu. She was named Woman of the Year by Black Belt Magazine in 2009.^{[ citation needed ]}

Film and television

Apart from doing stunt work and choreography in numerous films and television productions, Inosanto has also acted in a number of movies and series. Her directorial debut, The Sensei , was released in 2008. ^[3]

In 2020, Inosanto appeared in one episode of the second season of Disney's The Mandalorian , playing the role of Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth. ^[7] She later reprised the role in Ahsoka and Star Wars: Tales of the Empire . ^[8] In the mid 2020s, she played Morgan Elsbeth in Star Wars: Ahsoka . ^[9]

Theatre

Inosanto is active in Southern California theatre as a member of the Asian American theatre group Lodestone Theatre Ensemble.^{[ citation needed ]} In 2008, she worked with East West Players, serving as martial arts choreographer on the world premiere of Dan Kwong's play Be Like Water .^{[ citation needed ]}

Writing

In 2020, Inosanto published her first book, the children's story The Curious Mind of Sebastian. ^[4] The same year, she also contributed a foreword to the Fiaz Rafiq book Bruce Lee: The Life of a Legend. ^[10]

Selected filmography

• Moonlighting (1986–87) (actress – 7 episodes)
• Barb Wire (1996) (stunts)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2002) (stunts – 7 episodes)
• Spy Game (1997) (stunts)
• Face/Off (1997) (stunts)
• Team Knight Rider (1997) (stunts)
• Red Corner (1997) (stunts)
• The Roseanne Show (1997) (stunts)
• Walker, Texas Ranger (1997–98) (stunts – 4 episodes)
• Blade (1998) (stunts, actress)
• The Patriot (1998) (stunts)
• The Last Man on Planet Earth (1999) (stunts)
• Wild Wild West (1999) (stunts)
• Mystery Men (1999) (stunts)
• MADtv (1999) (actress – 1 episode)
• Life Streams (2000) (actress, co-producer)
• Black Scorpion (2001) (stunts)
• Fists of Cheese (2002) (assistant stunt coordinator, associate producer)
• The Time Machine (2002) (actress)
• On Sundays (2002) (co-producer)
• A Ribbon of Dreams (2002) (associate producer)
• Modern Warriors (2002) (herself)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (2002–05) (stunts)
• Hulk (2003) (actress)
• 10-8: Officers on Duty (2003) (stunts)
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) (fight choreographer)
• The Vault (2005) (actress)
• Rent (2005) (actress)
• The Prodigy (2006) (actress, associate producer)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) (actress)
• The Sensei (2008) (writer, director, producer, actress) ^[11]
• Sinners and Saints (2010) (co-producer, assistant stunt coordinator)
• I, Frankenstein (2014) (martial arts trainer to Aaron Eckhart / Socratis Otto)
• Spy (2015) (Martial arts trainer to Melissa McCarthy)
• The Mandalorian (2020) (actress – 1 episode)
• Ahsoka (2023) (actress – 7 episodes) ^[12]
• The Tiger's Apprentice (2024) (actress)
• Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024) (actress – 3 episodes) ^{[13] [14]}

References

1. "Ahsoka's Diana Lee Inosanto on her transition from stunt performer to actor". cbc.ca. March 13, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
2. "The Sensei" profiled by Jane Mee Wong in Northwest Asian Weekly
3. "A Different Kind of Martial Arts Film: D. Lee Inosanto's 'The Sensei' battles prejudice and homophobia in 1980s small town in Colorado". asianweek.com. May 2, 2008. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
4. "Adventure Theatre honors API Heritage Month with streaming special events". dcmetrotheaterarts.com. May 13, 2020. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
5. "Director fights hatred with martial arts". nwasianweekly.com. October 25, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
6. Bruce Lee - Die Faust Hollywoods, documentary by Annette Baumeister in the series Too Young To Die, ZDF / Arte, Germany 2015
7. "Who Plays the Magistrate in The Mandalorian? Bruce Lee Connection Explained". screenrant.com. November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
8. Bonomolo, Cameron (July 30, 2023). "Who's Who in Star Wars: Ahsoka". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
9. "'Ahsoka' star Diana Lee Inosanto literally trained her whole life to enter 'Star Wars' galaxy". EW.com. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
10. "Bruce Lee: The Life of a Legend". bookdepository.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
11. "THE SENSEI—The Evening Class Interview with Diana Lee Inosanto". theeveningclass.blogspot.com. May 24, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
12. "Diana Lee Inosanto Signs with Gersh (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. April 19, 2023.
13. Complex, Valerie (April 4, 2024). "'Star Wars: Tales of the Empire' Trailer: Disney+ Unveils Dave Filoni's Animated Follow-Up to 'Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
14. StarWars.com Team (April 4, 2024). "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Trailer Revealed". Star Wars . Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Diana Lee Inosanto at IMDb