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

Miguel Discart · 2023-11-05_11-09-25_ILCE-7C_DSCBJ6508 · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Diana Lee Inosanto
- Occupation
- * Actress
- Spouse
- Ron Balicki (m. 1995)
- Born
- 1966 · Torrance.
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- Narbonne High School
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Diana Lee Inosanto is an American actress, director, former stunt performer, and martial artist. She also wrote and directed the film The Sensei (2008), and wrote the 2020 children's book The Curious Mind of Sebastian.
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Note VALÉORINE
Diana Lee Inosanto (born 1966) is an American actor, actress and director, among other activities. The actor was born in Torrance. Diana Lee Inosanto studied at Narbonne High School. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q5271213 · wikipedia · Diana Lee Inosanto
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Diana Lee Inosanto • Occupation — * Actress • martial arts choreographer • film director • children's author • Years Active — 1986–present • Other Names — D. Lee Inosanto • Spouse — Ron Balicki (m. 1995) • Father — Dan Inosanto • Children — 2 • Website — dianaleeinosanto.com
Career
Career
• Illustration — Beach photoshoot, 2004
Martial arts
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. 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.
Theatre
Theatre
Inosanto is active in Southern California theatre as a member of the Asian American theatre group Lodestone Theatre Ensemble. 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.
Writing
Writing
In 2020, Inosanto published her first book, the children's story The Curious Mind of Sebastian. The same year, she also contributed a foreword to the Fiaz Rafiq book Bruce Lee: The Life of a Legend.
Personal life
Personal life
Inosanto is married to fellow martial artist Ron Balicki. They have two children.
Selected filmography
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) • 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) • The Tiger's Apprentice (2024) (actress) • Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024) (actress – 3 episodes)

Diana Lee Inosanto (born May 29, 1973) is a Filipino American actress, stuntwoman, martial artist and film director.
Ron Balicki · submission by Diana Lee Inosanto
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. In 2020, Inosanto appeared in one episode of the second season of Disney's The Mandalorian, playing the role of Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth. She later reprised the role in Ahsoka and Star Wars: Tales of the Empire.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Diana Lee Inosanto”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5271213: Diana Lee Inosanto
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ahsoka's Diana Lee Inosanto on her transition from stunt performer to actor. cbc.ca. March 13, 2024.
- 2."The Sensei" profiled by Jane Mee Wong in Northwest Asian Weekly
- 3.Bruce Lee - Die Faust Hollywoods, documentary by Annette Baumeister in the series Too Young To Die, ZDF / Arte, Germany 2015
- 4.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.
- 5.Who Plays the Magistrate in The Mandalorian? Bruce Lee Connection Explained. screenrant.com. November 28, 2020.
- 6.Bonomolo, Cameron. Who's Who in Star Wars: Ahsoka. ComicBook.com. July 30, 2023.
- 7.'Ahsoka' star Diana Lee Inosanto literally trained her whole life to enter 'Star Wars' galaxy. EW.com.
- 8.Adventure Theatre honors API Heritage Month with streaming special events. dcmetrotheaterarts.com. May 13, 2020.
- 9.Bruce Lee: The Life of a Legend. bookdepository.com.
- 10.Director fights hatred with martial arts. nwasianweekly.com. October 25, 2008.
- 11.THE SENSEI—The Evening Class Interview with Diana Lee Inosanto. theeveningclass.blogspot.com. May 24, 2008.
- 12.Hollywood Reporter. Diana Lee Inosanto Signs with Gersh (Exclusive). April 19, 2023.
- 13.Complex, Valerie. 'Star Wars: Tales of the Empire' Trailer: Disney+ Unveils Dave Filoni's Animated Follow-Up to 'Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi'. Deadline Hollywood. April 4, 2024.
- 14.StarWars.com Team. Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Trailer Revealed. Star Wars. April 4, 2024.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
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