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刘嘉玲（喺湾仔会展出席《文匯报》创刊周年酒会,

Top 10 Facts about Carina Lau

Carina Lau Kar-ling who was born on 8 December 1966 in Hong Kong is a Hong Kong-Canadian actress and singer. She started her acting career in TVB, before moving on to find success in films following 2nd year at the institution. She was well-known in the 1980s for her girl-next-door parts in films. She also appears in Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee films as Empress Wu Zetian, beginning with Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame in 2010. She has received Best Actress prizes at the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Rooster Awards in Mainland China, and she has been nominated for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.

Here are the top 10 facts about Carina Lau

1. She was executive president of Hong Kong’s TVMART channel

Actress Carina Lau at Wen Wei Po’s 70th-anniversary celebration party in September 2018, Wikimedia

Due to negative losses of 40 million Taiwan Dollars since being recruited as executive president of Hong Kong’s TVMART Channel, actress Carina Lau is not expected to serve as CEO for more than seven months. She informed the reporters that because she lacked education, her judgments hurt the organization. 

2. She was among the celebrities that appeared on the Chinese reality show  Up Idol

Lau was one of the superstars who appeared on the Chinese reality show Up Idol in 2016. She has since appeared as a guest on several mainland reality TV shows. She and her husband were asked to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2017. In 2021, she hosted Reflection, a short web series that featured interviews with various female celebrities.

3. She made her screen debuts on TVB’s

刘嘉玲（喺湾仔会展出席《文匯报》创刊周年酒会,

Lau made her screen debut in TVB’s The Clones (1984), opposite her future husband Tony Leung. She rose to prominence after appearing in successful drama series like The Duke of Mount Deer and Police Cadet and shot to fame after playing a wealthy heiress in one of Hong Kong’s most-watched ever series, Looking Back in Anger (1989). 

4. She relocated to Hong Kong when she was fifteen and enrolled in TVB’s acting

 Lau moved to Hong Kong at the age of 15 knowing no Cantonese and enrolled in TVB acting classes. she thought others perceived her as a mainland girl, which made her feel inferior. When her photos were revealed during East Week in 2002, she was surprised by how supportive the showbiz and Hong Kong communities were. 

5. East Week magazine released a naked photo of an “unnamed female star” which was affirmed it was her

East Week magazine released a naked photo of an “unnamed female star” visibly in agony in October 2002, with the victim’s face partially pixelated. The snapshot was soon linked to Lau’s kidnapping 12 years before.

Massive protests erupted in the days that followed, led by various Hong Kong entertainment guilds and citizen groups. Lau appeared in front of the crowd and acknowledged that she is the person in the photo. Media ethics by Hong Kong tabloids and gossip magazines were called into question.

6. She is married to Tony Leung Chiu

Chinese Hongkong Actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai at the Berlin Film Festival 2013,By Siebbi –

She has been married to Tony Leung Chiu-wai since 1989, after meeting while working in a Hong Kong production of Run For Your Wife. The wedding cost more than HK$30 million, and Lau’s 12-carat (2.4 g) Cartier wedding ring is worth more than HK$10 million. Among the guests was singer Faye Wong, who sang for them on their big day. The event was also helmed by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai. The wedding sparked a media frenzy in Hong Kong, with corporations spending hundreds of millions of dollars to court the wedding party.

7. She was in a relationship with Hong Kong tycoon Julian Hui

From 1986 to 1988, Lau was in a relationship with Hong Kong businessman Julian Hui. Hui announced their divorce in April 1988, after they were engaged and living together. The media portrayed their relationship as Lau’s failed to desire to marry into an affluent family, but Lau has publicly said that their split was amicable, and she remains friends with Hui and his family. 

8. She and her husband were invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

She and her husband were asked to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2017.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization whose declared mission is to advance motion picture arts and sciences. A board of governors, comprised of members from each of the craft branches, oversees the Academy’s corporate management and general policy.

9. There have been rumors that she and actress Maggie Cheung were involved romantically

Actress Carina Lau at Wen Wei Po’s 70th-anniversary celebration party in September 2018, Wikimedia

Since they starred together in the film In the Mood for Love (2000), which is a popular topic among media sources in Greater China due to the trio’s reputation, there have been rumors that Leung and actress Maggie Cheung were romantically connected. When asked about the purported affair, Lau responded in a 2016 appearance on The Jin Xing Show that “it’s just a wonderful narrative” and that she “knows about the affair as much as the public.”

10. She was abducted

Lau was kidnapped for many hours during the filming of Days of Being Wild in 1990, and topless images of her were taken. Local newspapers, via the Reuters news agency, stated that Lau had been kidnapped, though no police record was filed at the time. It was believed at the time that the guy behind the kidnapping was Albert Yeung, a successful businessman with whom Lau had a financial dispute. Tony Leung Chiu-wai has stated that Lau refused to discuss what happened during those missing hours with anyone, including him.

In 2008, Lau reported that she was kidnapped by four men working for a triad boss as “punishment” for turning down a film opportunity. She said that she had not been exploited during her two-hour experience.