Cecilia So

Cecilia So Lai-shan (; born 6 August 1992) is a Hong Kong actress. She made her acting debut as Gigi in the romance film She Remembers, He Forgets, for which she received nominations for Best New Performer in the 52nd Golden Horse Awards and 35th Hong Kong Film Awards. She then landed leading roles in the films Never Too Late (2017), Napping Kid (2018), Hell Bank Presents: Running Ghost (2020), and Far Far Away (2021).

Early life and education So was born on 6 August 1992. She grew up in a single-parent family, with her father leaving before she was old enough to remember. Raised by her grandparents at a young age, she later lived with her mother and cousin from primary school onward, So had learned piano and began entering singing contests, aspiring to become a singer as a child. She attended Tin Ka Ping Secondary School, and considered herself to have good academic results. In Form 5, she signed with a talent agency as a model, citing "curiosity" as her motivation, but eventually stopped taking jobs to prepare for the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination in Form 7. She continued modeling during her university years, So studied at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development. She originally intended to pursue a career with environmental protection NGOs after graduation. However, after completing her graduation exam in May 2014, she happened to see an open casting call for Adam Wong's new film, which she applied for, describing her motivation as "trying to see what acting is like".

Career In 2015, So made her acting debut in the romance film She Remembers, He Forgets, where she shared a lead role with Miriam Yeung as the younger version of Gigi, a member of a close-knit trio of friends who secretly loves Ng Siu-hin's character but ultimately ends up marrying Neo Yau's character in the future. She was personally cast by director during the audition, and So credited her previous modeling experience with helping her feel comfortable in front of the camera. while Edmund Lee of South China Morning Post also acknowledged So's casting, describing it as "adding a further sheen to the story". She starred as the female lead alongside Alex Fong in Patrick Kong's romance film , playing the younger version of Gigi Leung's character in The Monkey King 3, and appeared in , the spinoff web series of the Infernal Affairs film series, as a police detective and the daughter of the deceased Chan Wing-yan (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai in Infernal Affairs). In late 2019, So initially planned to take a hiatus from acting and enrolled in a two-year acting program in the United States. However, after one semester, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, leading to the suspension of classes and forcing So to quit and return to Hong Kong.

In 2020, So landed a starring role alongside Wong You-nam in the horror comedy film , portraying Chiu Ling-kay, a woman who can communicate with the dead. while Tay Yek Keak of Today compared her character to Whoopi Goldberg's in Ghost. The following year, she had a main role in the ViuTV drama series , In 2022, she appeared in the anthology film as a social media influencer. but her performance in the series was negatively received. That same year, So signed with Warner Music Hong Kong and debuted as a singer with songs she had written during the pandemic. She received a bronze prize for Most Promising Artist in the 2023 Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards.

Personal life So began dating her She Remembers, He Forgets co-star Neo Yau in December 2015, and they broke up in October 2016. In 2022, she opened a massage café with her boyfriend.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes/ 2015 She Remembers, He Forgets Gigi (余鳳芝) 2017 Boey (細寶) The Brink Sai Gau's daughter 2018 The Monkey King 3 Young Advisor (國師) Angela Lam (林楚楚) Chung Ka-bo (鍾嘉寶) Cameo Siu-yu (小儒) 2019 Guilt by Design Fong Wai-shan (方慧珊) 2020 Chiu Ling-kay (趙凌琪) 2021 All U Need Is Love Chu-chu (豬豬) Far Far Away A. Lee 2022 Garuda (金翅鳥)

Television Year Title Role Notes/ 2018 Chan Yuet-kei (陳玥琪) Main role 2021 Mok Tsz-yui (莫梓蕊) Main role 2022 Fan Siu-fung (范兆風) Main role

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2015 52nd Golden Horse Awards Best New PerformerShe Remembers, He Forgets 2016 35th Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Performer 2023 2023 Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards Most Promising Artist