Carina Lau Kar-ling (Chinese: 劉嘉玲; pinyin: Liú Jiālíng; born 8 December 1966) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She started her acting career at TVB, before achieving success with her girl-next-door roles in the 1980s' Hong Kong films. She also plays Empress Wu Zetian in Tsui Hark's Detective Dee films, starting with Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame in 2010. She won Best Actress at the Nantes Three Continents Festival for Days of Being Wild (1990), at the Golden Rooster Awards for Curiosity Kills the Cat (2006), and at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2011).
Carina Lau | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
劉嘉玲 | |||||||||||
 Lau in 2018 | |||||||||||
| Born | Liu Jialing 8 December 1966 | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | Kiangsu-Chekiang College | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Actress | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1983–present | ||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||
| Musical career | |||||||||||
| Genres | Mandopop | ||||||||||
| Instrument | Vocals | ||||||||||
| Labels | EMI (1994–1996) Carina Lau Studio (present) | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 劉嘉玲 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 刘嘉玲 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Early life
editLau was born on 1965 in Suzhou, Jiangsu, with her ancestral home in Rong County, Guangxi, to Liu Guiming (1940–2006) and Wang Fumei (born 1944).[1]
Her grandfather, Liu Ji, moved to Thailand in 1935 to make a living and later moved to the country with his wife in 1938, just before the Canton Operation during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Lau's father, Liu Guiming, was born in Thailand on 1940. Lau's father returned to China in 1955 and with the help of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, he studied at a junior high school in Guangzhou and high school in Suzhou. Following the start of Cultural Revolution in 1965, overseas Chinese who returned to China were targets of criticism. Lau's father moved to Hong Kong in 1976, while Lau moved to Hong Kong with her mother and brother in 1978, and joined TVB's acting class in 1983.[2][1]
Career
editLau made her on-screen debut in TVB's The Clones (1984) where she starred opposite of her future husband, Tony Leung. She gained wider recognition after a series of appearances in successful drama series such as The Duke of Mount Deer and Police Cadet and skyrocketed to fame following her role as a wealthy heiress in one of Hong Kong's most-watched ever series, Looking Back in Anger (1989).[3]
Lau then expanded to films. She was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for her role in Her Beautiful Life Lies (1989). She received acclaim for her role in Days of Being Wild (1991), one of her many collaborations with film director Wong Kar-wai. She continued to showcase her versatility with impressive performances in the martial arts epic Saviour of the Soul (1991), the biopic Center Stage (1991), the cross-dressing comedy He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994), and the offbeat romance Gigolo and Whore (1994). Following parts in the wuxia classic Ashes of Time (1994) and James Bond pastiche Forbidden City Cop (1997), Lau once again attracted the attention of various awards juries with her measured portrayals of bisexual silk factory owner Wan in Intimates (1997) and a prostitute in the 19th-century epic Flowers of Shanghai (1998).[3]
Her roles as Hon Sam's wife in the two Infernal Affairs sequels and an android in Wong Kar-wai's 2046 (2004) further increased Lau's international recognition. Lau then stepped in the shoes of Sarah Jessica Parker for the Hong Kong version of Sex and the City, named Sex and the Beauties (2004). She won rave reviews for her performances as unhappily-married Rose in the low-budget thriller Curiosity Kills the Cat (2006) and as Wu Zetian in the blockbuster Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010),[3] which earned her a Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress and a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress, respectively. She reprised her role as Wu Zetian in two Detective Dee prequels. She received a Best Actress nomination at the Cannes Film Festival for her role as a rich housewife abandoned by her husband in Bends (2013).[4]
In 2016, Lau was one of the celebrities that appeared on the Chinese reality show Up Idol. Since then, she has made guest appearances in other mainland reality TV shows. In June 2017, she and her husband were invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2021, she hosted Reflection, a short web series interviewing various female celebrities.[5]
In 2024, she hosted the Jiangsu TV talk show Jia Ren Zi You Yue.
Other activities
editShe was executive president of Hong Kong's TVMART channel, but was replaced by the board after a loss of 40 million Taiwan Dollars.[6] She told the media that because she had no education, the decisions made by her had some negative influences on the company.[6]
Incidents
edit1990 abduction
editWhile filming Days of Being Wild in 1990, Lau disappeared, and Reuters news agency later reported that the actress had been kidnapped, although a police report was not filed.[7][8] She was safely retrieved after two hours, and in 2008 revealed that she had been abducted by four men working for a triad boss who forced her to strip and took photos of her topless as punishment for refusing a film offer.[2] Lau stated that no sexual assault took place.[9]
2002 East Week magazine photo
editIn October 2002, East Week magazine published a nude photo of an "unnamed female star" in visible distress whose face was partially blurred. The public quickly connected the photo to Lau's abduction 12 years prior,[10][11] and Lau confirmed that she was the person in the photo.[12][13]
Massive protests broke out in the following days, led by various Hong Kong entertainment guilds and citizen groups.[14] Media ethics by Hong Kong tabloids and gossip magazines were questioned.[11] Hong Kong police became involved and East Week was forced to shut down a few days later. It eventually restarted in late 2003 under new ownership.[7][15] In 2009, Mong Hanming, the chief editor of East Week at the time of the incident, received a 5-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to publishing obscene photos.[10][16]
Personal life
editLau had a relationship with Hong Kong tycoon Julian Hui from 1986 to 1988. They were engaged and lived together, until Hui announced their split in April 1988. The media characterized their relationship as a failed attempt on Lau's part to marry into a wealthy family, but Lau has publicly stated that their breakup was amicable, and she remains friends with Hui and his family.[17]
She has been in a relationship with Tony Leung Chiu-wai since 1989, after working together on a Hong Kong production of Run For Your Wife.[18] They married on 21 July 2008, at the COMO Uma Paro hotel in Bhutan.[19] The wedding itself cost more than HK$30 million and Lau's 12-carat (2.4 g) Cartier wedding ring is worth over HK$10 million. Guests included singer Faye Wong, who performed for them on their special day. Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai also directed the ceremony.[20] The wedding created a media frenzy in Hong Kong, with companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue the wedding party.[21]
There have long been rumours that Leung and actress Maggie Cheung were romantically involved, ever since they starred together in the film In the Mood for Love (2000), which was a hot topic among media outlets in Greater China due to the trio's fame. The alleged feud between Lau and Cheung was put to rest in 2013 when Lau uploaded a photo of them together to social media.[22] When asked about the rumored affair, Lau said in a 2016 interview on The Jin Xing Show that "it's just a beautiful story" and she "knows about the affair as much as the public does".[citation needed]
Filmography
editFilm
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Legend of the Condor Heroes | ||
| 1984 | The Clones | Zhong Jieyi | |
| The Duke of Mount Deer | Fong Yee | ||
| Police Cadet | Cheung Ka-man | ||
| Pau Ching Tin The Law Enforcer | Bao Ling | ||
| Hero Without Tears II | Die Wu | ||
| 1985 | The Young Wanderer | ||
| Police Cadet '85 | Cheung Ka-man | ||
| To Each Its Own | Gu Ruishan | ||
| The Yang's Saga | Princess Chai | ||
| Take Care, Your Highness! | Suen Fuk-yu | ||
| The Middle Aged Fancy | |||
| Tough Fight | |||
| 1986 | The Feud of Two Brothers | ||
| Du Xinwu | |||
| The Turbulent Decade | |||
| 1988 | Naked Ambition | ||
| Lemon Husband | |||
| Police Cadet 1988 | Cheung Ka-man | ||
| 1989 | Shanghai Storm | ||
| Looking Back in Anger | Sandy Ngai Chor Gwun | ||
| Fate in Our Hands | |||
| 1990 | When the Sun Shines | Cameo | Episode 94 |
| 1996 | Once Upon an Ordinary Girl | ||
| Hua Zhi | |||
| 2000 | Showbiz Tycoon | Lui Mung-wah | |
| 2001 | My Love, Rose | ||
| 2005 | The Spring River Flows East | ||
| 2016 | Up Idol | As Herself | Season 2 |
| 2018 | The Destiny of White Snake | Queen Mother of the West | |
| 2019 | The Love by Hypnotic | cameo | |
| 2020 | Eighteen Springs | Gu Manlu | |
| 2021 | Reflection | As Herself | host |
Discography
edit| Year | Album | Notes |
| 1994 | My Real Love (真情流露) | with Tony Leung |
| 1995 | Believe in Love (相信愛情) | |
| 1996 | Cooling Love (情冷卻) |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Hong Kong Film Award | Her Beautiful Life Lies | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 1990 | Hong Kong Film Award | Days of Being Wild | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 1991 | Nominated | |||
| Golden Horse Awards | Nominated | |||
| Three Continents Festival | Won | |||
| Hong Kong Film Award | Gigolo and Whore | Nominated | ||
| 1998 | Intimates | Nominated | ||
| Golden Bauhinia Awards | Won | |||
| 2004 | Hong Kong Film Award | Infernal Affairs II | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Golden Horse Awards | Curiosity Kills the Cat | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Golden Rooster Awards | Won | ||
| 2011 | Hong Kong Film Award | Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame | Won | |
| Golden Horse Awards | Let the Bullets Fly | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Asian Film Award | Nominated | ||
| Asian Film Critics Association Awards | Nominated | |||
| Hong Kong Film Award | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Osaka Asian Film Festival | Bends | Best Actress | Won |
| Hong Kong Film Award | Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon | Best Supporting Actress
|
Nominated |
References
edit- ^ a b "出生于苏州，在香港成名，为何说刘嘉玲祖籍是广西的？". Sohu. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ a b Clara Mak (19 July 2008). "Lau tells of kidnap". South China Morning Post.
- ^ a b c "Carina Lau". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "Actress Carina Lau on the gamble that took her to Cannes". South China Morning Post. 8 October 2013.
- ^ "【对照记 第一季】6集全 | 刘嘉玲/何超莲/惠英红/郭采洁/薇娅| 优酷 YOUKU - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Carina Lau to be short-lived CEO". China Daily. 9 August 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ a b Brown, Andrew (5 November 2002). "Media shake-up after topless shots". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 February 2004.
- ^ "HK celebrities protest secret filming of pop star". Channel NewsAsia. 29 August 2006. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Triads made me pose in the nude: HK star Carina Lau". The Straits Times. 13 July 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2008.
- ^ a b "Editor jailed for publishing obscene photo of kidnapped actress", South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 May 2009. Archived 23 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Journalism requires ethics: expert", Taipei Times. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "香港娱乐圈千人大游行 抗议《东周刊》裸照事件". www.chinanews.com.cn. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "自揭当年受虐事件 刘嘉玲感谢绑架者没有侵犯她-搜狐娱乐". yule.sohu.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "香港《东周刊》"裸照事件"激发公愤被立即停刊". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Hong Kong police arrest suspect in connection with racy star photos case. Associated Press", Sina Corp. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "嘉玲裸照案《東周刊》前總編昨收監 ｜ 蘋果新聞網 ｜ 蘋果日報". 蘋果新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 5 May 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ 《金星秀》第20160928期: 刘嘉玲回应婚姻传闻 精彩人生四十顿悟The Jinxing Show EP.20160928【东方卫视官方超清】, retrieved 28 December 2021
- ^ "金牌监制潘嘉德：梁朝伟性格内向因太矮而自卑_影音娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ Vivienne Chow (22 July 2008). "After 20 years, stars wed in royal style". South China Morning Post. p. C1.
- ^ "Royal treatment for bridal couple". The Straits Times. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Actors' wedding leads to Hong Kong media frenzy". International Herald Tribune. 20 July 2008.
- ^ "高招 劉嘉玲 拉張曼玉逆襲 世紀合照 破13年僵局". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ Yi ching chun dik ming yi (2017) - IMDb, retrieved 29 December 2021
- ^ Carina Lau at hkmdb.com
- ^ Carina Lau at chinesemov.com
External links
edit
- Carina Lau at IMDb