Maggie Cheung
Hong Kong screen legend and first Asian actress to win Best Actress at Cannes.
Hong Kong actress Cheung Man-yuk, known professionally as Maggie Cheung, was born on 20 September 1964.[1][2] Wong Kar-wai's 2000 film In the Mood for Love marked her international breakthrough; this movie was placed fifth on Sight & Sound magazine's 2022 ranking of the greatest films ever made.[3]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 20 September 1964
- Birthplace
- British Hong Kong
- Education
- St. Paul's Primary Catholic School
- Happy Valley; St Edmund's School
- Canterbury
- Occupation
- Actress
- Years active
- 1984–2004; 2010
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Cheung was born in Hong Kong to Shanghainese parents and attended St. Paul's Primary Catholic School there.[2] Her family emigrated to the United Kingdom when she was eight, and she spent part of her childhood and adolescence in Bromley, London.[4] Jackie Chan cast her as May in Police Story (1985), which catapulted her to overnight stardom.[5][6] Cheung sought more dramatic roles and worked with Wong Kar-wai on As Tears Go By (1988), which she often cites as the film that began her serious acting career.[6][7]
In 2004, she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Clean (2004), becoming the first Asian actress to win this honor.[8][9] In 1982, when she was 18, Cheung went back to Hong Kong intending a holiday, but remained there for modeling jobs and also had a temporary position at the Lane Crawford department store.[4] During 1983, Cheung participated in the Miss Hong Kong competition, achieving first runner-up status and the Miss Photogenic prize; that same year she also advanced to the semi-finals of the Miss World contest.[10] Her entry into film acting came with the lead role in the 1984 comedy Prince Charming, a movie that performed very well at the box office.[6]
For her portrayal in the 1991 film Center Stage, Cheung received the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1992, making her the first Chinese actor to earn that honor.[5][11] Following her hiatus, Cheung came back to acting in Olivier Assayas' 1996 film Irma Vep, a project that aided her entry onto the international stage.[5][12] Cheung stopped acting in 2013 and has maintained a very private life since then.[13]
What the cited sources add
The China.org.cn account notes that Jackie Chan cast Cheung in Police Story because he thought "she wouldn't mind me kicking her down a flight down the stairs"[5] The same source states that Cheung got "revenge" in The Heroic Trio (1992) by proving she could stand toe-to-toe with Michelle Yeoh in martial arts.[5] The Independent article reports that Cheung grew up in West Wickham, near Bromley, and describes her as "the South London girl"[9] Stephen Phelan's article quotes Cheung saying, "I don't actually enjoy making films, to be honest"[14]
According to a BFI article, when Cheung's family relocated to Kent, England, she was six years old and was "the only Chinese kid on the block," where she experienced being "teased a lot."[15]
References
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Maggie Cheung", IMDb; "Maggie Cheung", chinesemov.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Style File: Maggie Cheung", Vogue Hong Kong (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sight and Sound's Greatest Films of All Time 2022", letterboxd.com, 2022-12-01; "The 54 all-time greatest acting performances…that Oscar ignored" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Maggie Cheung: The Lady Is A Vamp", The Independent, 5 October 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Hong Kong Actress Maggie Cheung", China.org.cn. facts only, no text reused. china.org.cn
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hong Kong Actress Maggie Cheung", China.org.cn; "Maggie Cheung: A Multi Award-Winning Actress from Hong Kong", Women of China (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Maggie Cheung: A Multi Award-Winning Actress from Hong Kong", Women of China (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Maggie Cheung Snatches Best Actress Award at Cannes", Sina (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Maggie Cheung: The Lady Is A Vamp", The Independent, 5 October 2011. facts only, no text reused. independent.co.uk
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Miss Hong Kong 1983", misshkbeauties.com; "Miss World Previous Title Holders - 1983", missworld.tv, July 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rockwell, "'Grand Canyon' Wins The First Prize At Berlin Festival", The New York Times, 1992-02-25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hong Kong Actress Maggie Cheung", China.org.cn (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Maggie Cheung" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Honorary degree for Maggie Cheung"; "Maggie Cheung Gets Unfairly Slammed by Netizens After Someone Posts This Photo of Her" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Beauty Of Reluctance: Maggie Cheung", Stephen Phelan. facts only, no text reused. stephenphelan.co.uk
- ""I'm proud of being me": Maggie Cheung, from As Tears Go By to Irma Vep", BFI, 3 September 2024. facts only, no text reused. bfi.org.uk
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Maggie Cheung (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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