Updated: June 04, 2026

Numerous entertainment and sports figures around the world have cited Lee as a major influence on their work, including martial arts actors such as Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen, actor bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor comedians such as Eddie Murphy and Eddie Griffin, actresses such as Olivia Munn and Dianne Doan, musicians such as Steve Aoki and Rohan Marley, rappers such as LL Cool J and Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA, bands such as Gorillaz, comedians such as W. Kamau Bell and Margaret Cho, basketball players Stephen Curry and Jamal Murray, skaters Tony Hawk and Christian Hosoi, and American football player Kyler Murray, among others.

Bruce Lee influenced several comic book writers, notably Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee, who considered Bruce Lee to be a superhero without a costume. Shortly after his death, Lee inspired the Marvel characters Shang-Chi ( Debuted 1973 ) and Iron Fist ( Debuted 1974 ) as well as the comic book series The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu ( Debuted 1974 ). According to Stan Lee, any character that has been a martial artist since then owes their origin to Bruce Lee in some form.