Books
Grace Chang was born in Beijing, China, into a family of famous entertainers. She learned magic tricks as a child from her grandfather in the courtyards of The Forbidden City to which she lived next door. Some years later, Grace became the ringmaster and star illusionist in an internationally acclaimed Chinese circus. As a little girl, she often sat with her father while he wrote his shows, and she dreamed of becoming a writer herself one day.
The tale of Jin Jin the Dragon is based on a bedtime story that Grace used to tell her son Chad. Now Jin Jin is a character that has come to life not only in Grace’s books but as a puppet at her book readings. Grace has captivated audiences by literally breathing life into Jin Jin as a ventriloquist puppeteer. Her book readings are a mix of storytelling and magic tricks. It should be no surprise that Grace has also appeared on stage and screen in both China and the United States, including the film, The Joy Luck Club. She has also spent many years helping families to adopt babies from China and estimates that she has placed over 2,000 in the U.S. Grace lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son. Jin Jin the Dragon is her first book. Through the Jin Jin book series, readers will learn about Chinese culture, the origin of Chinese characters and the lore of Chinese dragons.
Grace is the author of Jin Jin the Dragon and Jin Jin and Rain Wizard. Now a growing children book series, more Jin Jin books are in the works. The Jin Jin books are available at
Press
Radio Interview
Interview with News 12 New Jersey
Interview with Community Impact
About
Grace Chang is an Asian-American performing artist, equally at home on stage, as a puppeteer, behind the camera, and starring in award-winning films. Ms. Chang was born and raised in Beijing and studied theatre in the United States. Part of the third generation of a Manchurian show business family (her father and uncles were the “Abbott and Costello” or the “Marx Brothers” of China), she grew up watching them perform and learning to perform at a young age. Performing professionally at age thirteen as a “Cirque de Soleil” type magician ultimately brought her to film acting in New York City.
, Grace was featured in numerous short films for decades. While raising her family, she returned to her roots as a magician puppeteer and became a published children’s book author, touring shows across the United States featuring her original characters. Now in the new century, she has translated that work to Instagram, producing weekly micro-shows for all ages.
In 2006, Ms. Chang reinvested in filmmaking by producing and directing her own work, beginning with directing a TV pilot for Chinese National Television. She went on to climb the producing ladder and also serve as a featured actor in a myriad of short films shot in New York City and Los Angeles, including those directed by HBO Taiwan director Daniel Fu Dong, Disney director Hao Zheng, and award-winning director Antonio Tibaldi.
In 2018, Grace became the toast of many international festivals and won multiple awards for her short film The Missing Piece , which she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in. Other notable credits include a lead role and executive producing credit in Peier Tracy Shen’s Like Flying , remarkably shot on Kodak film, and an emotionally challenging lead role in Sunburnt Summer , directed by Zicheng Li. In addition to The Missing Piece , she also produced the upcoming release Dishwasher under the banner Howell Point Productions.
Ms. Chang resides in New York City with her family and continues to develop multimedia performances and productions.