Cecilia Cheung

Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi (; born 24 May 1980) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Cheung rose to fame for her role in King of Comedy, and won the Best Actress at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards for her role in Lost in Time (2003). Her other films include Fly Me to Polaris (1999), The Lion Roars (2002), Running on Karma (2003) and The Promise (2005). After her film career declined in the 2010s, she shifted toward Chinese reality television.

Biography

Cheung was born on 24 May 1980 at Man Wah Sun Chuen, Jordan, Hong Kong to Davies Shally, who is of half Chinese and half British descent, and Cheung Yan-yung, a triad member who is also known as Bearded Bravery or Bearded Yung. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old. She was sent to Melbourne to live with her aunt at the age of fourteen and then attended Camberwell Girls Grammar School. She has an elder half-sister, two younger brothers, and a younger half-brother from her father's side.

Career Star, hand prints and autograph of Cecilia Cheung Pak Chi on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.

In 1998, Cheung was cast in a television commercial advertising lemon tea, which caught the attention of Stephen Chow. Cheung made her film debut as a call girl in Chow's King of Comedy (1999), which became the highest grossing local film of the year and shot Cheung to fame. She then starred in Fly Me to Polaris (1999), for which she sang the theme song. She was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards for both King of Comedy and Fly Me to Polaris, and won for the latter. In the same year, Cheung released her first album Any Weather (1999).

Cheung reunited with Louis Koo in Derek Yee's film Lost in Time (2003), for which she won the Best Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. She followed with crime thriller One Nite in Mongkok (2004) by Derek Yee, where she played a prostitute who crosses paths with an assassin (played by Daniel Wu). She was nominated for the Best Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards for the third time.

Cheung played old Shanghai diva Zhou Xuan in TV series The Wandering Songstress (2008), after which she took a break from acting and gave birth to two sons. She made a comeback in 2010, but her films were commercially and critically unsuccessful.

In 2013, she announced a one-year break from acting and relocated to Singapore. Since then, Cheung mainly appeared in variety shows in mainland China. She has earned 70 million HKD in 2014, ranking number nine in the top ten list of Hong Kong's highest celebrity incomes in 2014. In 2021, Cheung joined the second season of Chinese reality series Sisters Who Make Waves.

Personal life Cheung dated Hong Kong star Daniel Chan from 1999 to 2001, after which she was romantically linked to Jordan Chan and Edison Chen. Cheung married Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse in the Philippines in September 2006. She gave birth to their first son in August 2007 and second son in May 2010. The couple divorced in 2011. They agreed to hold joint custody of their two sons. On 18 November 2018, Cheung announced that she had given birth to a third son, but the father of her son remains unknown. In March 2020, Cheung voiced her support for Xinjiang cotton after several international companies announced that they will no longer purchase cotton from the region due to concerns over Uyghur human rights.

Controversy

Disputes with Stanley Chu

In 1998, Cheung signed a contract with her first manager Stanley Chu Wing-lung, who took 30 percent of her earnings. After King of Comedy (1999), she sought to terminate the deal, leading to a public dispute and lawsuit, during which Chu was attacked by three assailants and hospitalized while Cheung declined to comment over the incident. They reached a settlement in February 2004.

Triad threat

In 1999, Cheung, then a newcomer actress, was threatened with rape by triad members due to her father's massive debts. The threat was quelled with the help of Tiffany Chen, wife of Charles Heung, after which Cheung joined the couple's China Star Entertainment.

Edison Chen photo scandal

In January and February 2008, many explicit photos were found online involving Cheung and Edison Chen. The scandal also involved Gillian Chung and Bobo Chan.

Disputes with the Heungs

In 2006, Cheung's manager Tiffany Chen sought to terminate Cheung's contract with China Star Entertainment in order to urge her to end her relationship with Nicholas Tse; instead, Cheung secretly married Tse in the Philippines. In 2007, Cheung attempted to dissolve her contract and pursued a claim of over HK$15.8 million, but the dispute was settled within a month. In 2015, Charles Heung criticized Cheung's behavior on the set of League of Gods and announced he would no longer work with her, while Chen suggested Cheung seek treatment over her mental issues. In 2016, Chen alleged that Andy Lau had complained about Cheung's unprofessional behavior during the filming of Running on Karma, and further claimed that Cheung prevented Tse's family from seeing their children. In 2019, Chen accused Cheung of pathological lying, suggesting it was a result of her divorce.

Disputes with Samuel Yu

On 1 June 2024, Cheung's former manager Samuel Yu released the song "In the Name of a Dog", alleging that she had likened herself to a dog to obtain a HK$40 million signing bonus and later failed to fulfill her contract. Cheung's studio denied the claims, stating that Yu had signed contracts without her authorization.

Filmography + Film Year English title Original title Role Notes1999 King of Comedy 喜劇之王 Lau Piu-piu Fly Me to Polaris 星願 Autumn Yue The Legend of Speed 烈火戰車2極速傳說 Nancy 2000 Tokyo Raiders 東京攻略 Saori Twelve Nights 十二夜 Jeannie Help!!! 辣手回春 Dr. Ho Wing-yan 2001 Wu Yen 鍾無艷 Enchantress / Yin Chun Master Q 2001 老夫子2001 Mandy Everyday Is Valentine 情迷大話王 Wonderful Failan 파이란 Failan Shaolin Soccer 少林足球 Dragon Player No. 7 Cameo Para Para Sakura 芭啦芭啦櫻之花 Yuriko Sakurada / Yuriko's granny The Legend of Zu 蜀山傳 Dawn / Enigma 2002 Second Time Around 無限復活 Tina Chow Mighty Baby 絕世好B Boey The Lion Roars 我家有一隻河東獅 Moth Liu 2003 Love Under the Sun 愛在陽光下 Short film Cat and Mouse 老鼠愛上貓 Bai Yutang Honesty 絕種好男人 Didi Wong Running on Karma 大隻佬 Inspector Lee Fung-yee Lost in Time 忘不了 Holly Lam 2004 Fantasia 鬼馬狂想曲 Harmy Bobo Sex and the Beauties 性感都市 Yuki Cheung Papa Loves You 這個阿爸真爆炸 Customer refused entry to café Cameo One Nite in Mongkok 旺角黑夜 Dan Dan The White Dragon 小白龍情海翻波 Black Phoenix / White Dragon Jr. 2005 Himalaya Singh 喜馬拉亞星 Peacock The Promise 無極 Qing Cheng 2006 The Shopaholics 最愛女人購物狂 Fong Fong-fong My Kung-Fu Sweetheart 野蠻秘笈 Phoenix The 601st Phone Call 第601個電話 Tian You 2011 All's Well, Ends Well 2011 最強囍事 Claire Treasure Hunt 無價之寶 Peggy Jiang Legendary Amazons 楊門女將之軍令如山 Mu Guiying Speed Angels 極速天使 You Mei The Lion Roars 2 河東獅吼2 Wang Yueying Dangerous Liaisons 危險關係 Mo Jieyu 2017 Out of Control 失控·幽靈飛車 Lucy Lin TBA 11th Day and One Night 十一天零一夜 + Television Year English title Alternative title Role Notes/ 2008 The Wandering Songstress 天涯歌女 Zhou Xuan 2018 Love Won't Wait 如果，爱 Wan Jialing

Discography Year English Title Chinese Title1999 No Matter How The Weather...Cloudy, Rainy Or Sunny (EP) 任何天氣 Destination 2000 A Brand New Me 不一樣的我 Cecilia Cheung Mandarin Album 張柏芝同名國語專輯2001 Cecilia Cheung New & Best Collection 張柏芝全新經驗新曲+精選 Party All the Time (Remix Album) Brand New Image 最新形象 2002 Real Me 真我 2003 Colour of Lip (New + Best Collection) 至愛唇色(新曲+精選)2005 C1

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Results 2000 5th Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actress Fly Me to Polaris 19th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actress Best New Performer King of Comedy 2002 39th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Failan 2003 3rd Chinese Film Media Awards Most Popular Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) The Lion Roars 2004 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actress Lost in Time Running on Karma 10th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award Best Actress 4th Chinese Film Media Awards Best Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) Lost in Time Most Popular Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) Running on KarmaLost in Time 9th Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actress Lost in Time 2005 10th Golden Bauhinia Awards One Nite in Mongkok 24th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actress 5th Chinese Film Media Awards Best Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) 2006 11th Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actress The Promise 2011 1st LeTV Entertainment Awards Most Popular Film Actress (Asia Pacific) Most Commercially Valuable Actress