Sheren Tang

Sheren Tang Shui-man (; born 2 March 1966) is a Hong Kong actress. She is best known for her roles in the Hong Kong TVB drama series War and Beauty, as well as La Femme Desperado, The Family Link, Rosy Business, and No Regrets, being the first Hong Kong actress to win the Best Actress Award in two consecutive years for the latter two.

She joined TVB in 1985, beginning her acting career as the female lead in the series Legend of the General Who Never Was (1985). Throughout the late 1980s, she rose to fame for her roles in many popular Hong Kong television series including wuxia dramas, New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre (1986) and Ode to Gallantry (1989). She joined the television network ATV in 1996, filming several series including The Good Old Days (1996) and I Have A Date With Spring (1996). She has since appeared in Chinese series including New My Fair Princess (2011) and Star April (2017) before returning to Hong Kong television in 2018, filming a series for ViuTV released as Till Death Do Us Part (2019).

Early life and education Tang was born in 1966; her mother was 17 at the time. She was left with her paternal grandparents as a baby and her parents divorced when she was 5 years old. She has one paternal half-sister. Her ancestral hometown is Nanhai, Guangdong. Tang attended Heep Yunn School from primary to high school. She rarely saw her parents when she was growing up and credited her conversion to Christianity in 2005 in mending the estranged relationship between them later in her adulthood. Tang would go on to play first or second leading roles in the first few years of her career, sometimes touted as Barbara Yung successor due to Tang's comparable beauty, and look.

Tang was cast in comedy series Happy Spirit where she acted alongside Carol Cheng as her younger sister. She starred as Chow chi-yeuk in New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre, the 1986 adaptation of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber novel. She played Ching Yuet Yue in Police Cadet 1988, the second sequel to the widely popular Police Cadet series.

In 1989, she was featured in five series, three of which she starred alongside Roger Kwok; The Vixen’s Tale, I Do I Do, and The War Heroes. That same year she was cast in Ode to Gallantry, a Wuxia comedy based on the famous novel, where she starred as the character Ding Dong, reuniting with Police Cadet and New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre costar Tony Leung. In 1990, she was cast as Fong Hei Tung in the series Friends and Lovers alongside Teresa Mo. Tang had let producers know that she was interested in working with Mo if given the opportunity prior to her casting and has stated that she is extremely grateful to have been cast in the series.

Her first supporting role was in the 1994 series The Intangible Truth where she starred as the sister to Roger Kwok’s character. The role was originally a guest role but subsequently became a significant character for the first half of the series. That same year, Tang played Tong Man Yung, best friend to Amy Chan’s character in popular series at the time, Fate of the Clairvoyant and starred as Kam Yik Lin in the comedy Filthy Rich.

In 1995, Tang played Joyce Yan, a forensic pathologist in File of Justice IV, the fourth installment of the popular File of Justice series She also starred as ICAC officer Poon Wai Yan in the female-led drama Corruption Doesn't Pay, alongside Esther Kwan and Kiki Sheung.

1996–1999: Move to ATV In 1996, Tang signed a one-year contract with ATV, filming over 200 episodes in a span of one to two years. She starred in the 1996 adaptation of I Have A Date With Spring as Yiu Siu Deep. While the drama did not attract many viewers in Hong Kong, it was a huge success in mainland China and the series has acquired a cult following. The role is considered one of her earlier representative works in China and Tang has continued to appear on dozens of variety programs and award shows performing songs from the series. She also reunited with costars Amy Chan, Kiki Sheung, and Maggie Shiu in one of the few popular ATV series The Good Old Days. She was also in the drama Interpol released in 1997. When her contract with ATV ended, she went on to act in several Taiwanese drama series. In 1998, she also appeared in Liang Po Po: The Movie as a foreign talent from Hong Kong that is engaged as an expert to impart knowledge of the triad to local gangsters like Liang Po Po. In 1999, Tang played a supporting role in the widely popular film Fly Me to Polaris.

2000–2008: Return to TVB and War and Beauty Popularity In 2000, she returned to TVB and starred in the weekend drama series The Threat of Love, which featured a new plot every episode. It grew to be popular among audiences, particularly for a weekend drama and was praised for its unique and progressive storylines. A sequel was released in 2003.

In 2001, Tang starred as a film director, Koi Ying-Jing in Screen Play and as Koo Yiu in the period drama Country Spirit. She went on to play supporting roles in the 2002 drama Good Against Evil and 2003 teen drama Aqua Heroes. Tang appeared as Su Tian Xin in the 2003 Taiwanese series Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story which featured a large cast from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In 2003, she won the My Favourite Powerhouse Actress Award (renamed Best Supporting Actress Award in 2005) at the TVB Anniversary Awards for the various roles she played in The Threat of Love 2. In 2004, she repeated her win for this award and also won one of the Favourite Television Character Awards for her role in War and Beauty.

Her acting in War and Beauty as Yu Fei (如妃), an initially favoured consort who eventually falls from power, was critically acclaimed, making her a hot favourite for the "Best Actress" award in 2004. However, she did not win, with the award being given to Gigi Lai instead. Voting was closed the night before the awards ceremony, with Tang leading by a landslide; thus many people concluded that the "Best Actress" award would surely go to her. Tang, instead, went home with the My Favourite Powerhouse Actress Award (now renamed as Best Supporting Actress award). This attracted a lot of public backlash, which prompted the ICAC to conduct investigations into the award show. Her loss is considered and remembered as one of the biggest snubs in the awards show history. Tang said that although she felt a tiny bit of disappointment at the time due to the abundance of support and stated "anyone can get affected by people's words", she also said that she performed her best which audiences recognized and that is already enough for her, comparing an award to a dessert, something that is extra.

She expanded her career to mainland China in 2005 starring in two series. In the same year, Tang starred as So Sam in the costume drama The Prince’s Shadow and was also in the suspense film Slim Till Dead. She made an appearance in a flashback scene as the mother of Dragon played by Donnie Yen in the Hong Kong film Dragon Tiger Gate in 2006.

In 2006, Tang starred as a tough marketing CEO Hilda Hoi, in La Femme Desperado, which ranked number 1 in Hong Kong viewership ratings that year and won the Best Drama Award at the TVB Anniversary Awards. Tang was also nominated in the Best Actress Top 5 category and the My Favourite Female Television Role Top 5 category. In 2007, Tang went on to star in The Family Link where she was once again nominated in the Best Actress Top 5 category. The drama was ranked number 1 in average Hong Kong viewership ratings that year and was nominated for Best Drama at the TVB Anniversary Awards in 2007. That same year she also played a role in The Drive of Life, a TVB and CCTV joint grand production.

She starred as Kelly Yim in Your Class or Mine in 2008, reuniting with her File of Justice and Screenplay costar, Bobby Au Yeung. That same year, in addition to Rosy Business, Tang also filmed two Chinese series.

2009–2015: Rosy Business, No Regrets and Success in China In 2009, Tang's role as the 4th Wife (四奶奶) of a rice business owner in Rosy Business brought her much popularity, making her a hot favourite for the "Best Actress" award once again. However, it was said that TVB pushed back the award show to December so that grand production dramas Born Rich and Beyond the Realm of Conscience could be included in the nominations, diminishing Tang's chance of winning the award again. It was rumoured that TVB had initially wanted to promote female lead of Beyond the Realm of Conscience, Tavia Yeung, to become the Best Actress since Tang was not under a permanent contract with the network. However, Yeung openly said that if Tang did not get the "Best Actress" award, she would join the rest of the netizens to protest against TVB's decision. Fortunately, this time round, with TVB producer Catherine Tsang backing her, Tang was duly awarded her "Best Actress" award, much to the joy of Hong Kong citizens, whereby there was a petition signed by them for TVB to award Tang her long-overdue "Best Actress" award, failing which they will hold protests outside TVB City, the network's headquarters.

At the 2010 TVB Anniversary Awards, Tang was awarded for the "Best Actress" due to her role as Cheng Kau-mui in No Regrets. Tang has stated that her roles from Rosy Business and No Regrets are her favourite among all the characters she has played.

Already notable from War and Beauty and other TVB drama series, Tang and her co-star Wayne Lai gained even more popularity in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, and Cantonese-speaking Asian communities overseas after the release of both hit series Rosy Business and No Regrets. They have continued to work together occasionally for charity, public events, and variety shows over the years.

In 2011, she starred as the empress in the mainland China series New My Fair Princess, a remake of the 1998 hit series My Fair Princess. This role won her a Huading Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2011. Her involvement in the series prevented her from taking a similar role in Chinese hit series Empresses in the Palace. The role went to co-star and friend Ada Choi, who was originally supposed to play Tang's character in War and Beauty. Tang calls their "character swap" fantastic and fate. Tang also clarified that she was only asked to join this series, and stated rumors of her rejecting a role in another hit series Story of Yanxi Palace were false, since she was never asked to join that series.

From 2012 to 2014, she also played a supporting role as Aunt Poise in The Four film trilogy where she reunited with 2005 suspense film Slim Till Dead costar and friend Anthony Wong.

In 2012, Tang starred as Bai Yuqin in the historical drama Allure Snow. In 2013, she starred in Love Is Not For Sale as the executive of a supermarket chain. Her contract expired with TVB after filming for the indirect sequel of War and Beauty, Beauty at War in 2012.

In 2014, she starred in the costume comedy Cosmetology High playing historical figure, Wu Zetian, the only empress regnant (female emperor) of China.

Tang took approximately two years off from acting in 2014 and 2015 to focus on her health after being diagnosed with dysautonomia and minor thyroid problems. She has since made a full recovery.

2016–present: Return to Hong Kong television and New Management After a short hiatus, Tang appeared in the film Heartfall Arises in 2016; and was cast in Star April, and Once Given Never Forgotten in 2017. Tang also joined Wong Cho Lam's Tailor Made Productions Limited for a year.

Sources had reported that Tang was asked to return to TVB for several dramas since 2015 after her contract ended in 2012 which included My Unfair Lady and Wonder Women, as the network tried to revamp after a couple years of low viewership and a hefty number of artistes and employees leaving. She instead made an appearance as a presenter at the TVB Anniversary Awards in 2016 and appeared on a couple of the network's talk show programmes in 2017.

In 2018, Tang returned to Hong Kong television in Till Death Do Us Part with broadcaster ViuTV. In the drama, Tang joins former TVB cast mates Sunny Chan and Bernice Liu.

In 2021, Tang confirmed on Weibo that she has signed with Chinese management company Haohan Entertainment, with the company confirming she is part of the main cast in Chinese drama Women Walk The Line.

Tang stated over recent years that she tries to be mindful of health first, afraid of overworking herself again, and would like to read at least a partial script before taking a new role. At the 2016 TVB Anniversary Awards, she joked that she cannot handle fei tze jai (a small piece of paper) the term used to describe writers writing the next lines on small pieces of paper for the cast while shooting on location due to unfinished scripts. In addition, Tang says she only wants roles that will positively affect people's lives, and that she is taken more seriously, and professionally, as an actress in China than in Hong Kong.

In September 2023, Tang revealed she had declined to take part in the fourth installment of Rosy Business No Return. Explaining her decision, she cited an unhappy past filming experience and no longer compromising on unprofessional practices in the industry. She clarified that the decision was unrelated to money after tabloids sparked rumours that TVB could not afford her due to her popularity in mainland China after the success of No More Bets and that her decision was made prior to the film's release.

Since May 2024, Tang plays the leading female role Shou Ma in the Chinese theatre play Crocodile, written and produced by novelist and playwright Mo Yan, who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature. This is Tang's first theatre role. Crocodile is currently on tour, and has played at various venues across Suzhou, Guangzhou, and Ningbo.

Filmography TVB series

ATV series

Other series Post-production as of 2020 The Emperor's Love倾城亦清欢Madam ButterflyiQIYIPost-production

Film

Music video appearances

Variety & reality programs

Episodes: Peru, Brazil (Amazon)1999蔡瀾嘆世界Episode: South Africa公益金屋開心SHOW反斗旅游俱樂部IVSuper Trio Series (Series 4)驚天動地獎門人Taiwan Homerun台灣紅不讓TTV2000小時迎千禧之光輝紀元出狀元TVB2000Super Trio Series (Series 5)宇宙無敵獎門人2001名人蒲點食名菜Guest Host Episodes: Taiwan, Shanghai旅遊真的感受Host Special guestHello, Saturday/Hi! 6 (Season 1)你好，星期六Episode 4: Greater Bay Area 曜言派DouyinEpisode 1Memories Beyond Horizon无限超越班Zhejiang TV, Youku, TVBGuest Judge

Discography

Soundtrack appearances I Have A Date With Spring (1995)

Advertisements & endorsements

2009: La Prairie 泊妮化妆品 2009: OTO Bodycare OTO揼揼鬆 2010: Lion White Story Laundry Detergent 潔白物語洗衣粉（獅王潔白物語） 2010-2020: Meiriki Japan 日本命力強骼素 2010: Rohto Eye Moisturizer 樂敦養潤水 2010: Easy Dance 纖形22 2011: Blue Cross Insurance Hong Kong (with Wayne Lai) 藍十字保險 2012: Salon De Pro 染髮劑 2013: Noto Ginseng 樂道三七 2016–present: Rohto 50の惠 養潤育髮精華素 2020: SCHSA Medical Alarm Smartphone 2020: SCHSA Medical Alarm Smartwatch (with Helena Law)

Accolades Awards and nominations

Other awards

1986 華僑晚報 Overseas Chinese Daily News - Top 10 TV Stars 2004 My Favourite TV Character (voted by artistes/War and Beauty) 2004 娱乐满天星 - Most Popular Actress 2004 娱乐满天星 - Most Popular Villain (War and Beauty) 2004 Metro Radio - Best Classic Character (Grand Prize) 2004 Metro Radio - Best Actress 2004 Radio Television Hong Kong - Most Outstanding Actress 2004 Sina.com (Hong Kong) - Top 10 Outstanding People (4th position) 2005 FarmX Teen Power B-Day Party - Most Popular TV Personality Prize 2006 南方盛典 Southern China Award Ceremony - Best Actress (Love of Fate) 2007 Metro Radio - Best Newsworthy TV Queen 2009 My Favourite TV Character (voted by artistes/Rosy Business) 2009 Best Actress (voted by artistes/Rosy Business) 2010 My Favourite TV Character (voted by artistes/No Regrets) 2010 Best Actress (voted by artistes/No Regrets) 2010 Eileen Cha's Netizens' Choice - Best Actress 2010 Meiriki Japan Most Powerful Star TVshow2010娛樂電視大獎 - My Favourite TV Female Character 2012 星尚大典 Best Film & Television Character 2012 Meiriki Japan Most Powerful Star 2013 卓展·Lady - Top 10 Female Characters with Positive Energy (Beauty At War) 2016 Meiriki Japan Most Powerful Star 2021 OK! Magazine Awards - OK! Yearly Favourite Actress 2021 iFeng 凤凰网 Fashion Choice - Tribute Actor of the Year 2021 Rayli 瑞丽网 - 2021-2022 Quality Actress