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Star Avenue Anita Mui Sculpture. Image by Wing1990hk –

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Anita Mui

Anita Mui Yim-fong was a Hong Kong singer and actress. She made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honors. She remained an idol throughout her career. She is regarded as a Cantopop diva.

She was born on October 10, 1963. She was born into a humble family together with her three siblings. After the death of her father, things became worse financially. She and her sister started singing at amusement parks in order to make money. Her mother was not the best out there. She found parenting hard being a single mother. She was often abusive.

Mui became popular during the 1980s and 1990s. She was a versatile actress. She appeared in several high-quality Hong Kong films and became known to audiences in the United States through her work with Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan.

She won an enormous number of “Best Female Singer” and “Most Popular Female Singer” awards in the 1980s, and her acting career’s climax was winning “Best Actress” awards (Golden Horse Award and the inaugural Golden Dragon Awards in Taiwan, Hong Kong Film Award, and the Pan-Asia Pacific Film Festival) in 1987 for Stanley Kwan’s “Rouge” Rouge (1987).

On September 23, 2004, she publicly announced that she had cervical cancer. She performed a series of eight shows in November at the Hong Kong Coliseum. She died on December 30, 2003.

1. Mui dropped out of school early to sing in nightclubs

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on

Her father died when she was three years old. She barely knew him. The family had been poor but things became worse after his death.

Her mother, a manager of street performers, put her daughters to work quickly. At age 4 years she started singing Chinese pop songs and operas in nightclubs, theatres, and on the streets to help her family make a living.

Working only made her perform poorly in school and even worse was ostracised by her fellow students who saw her as little more than a street urchin. With academic life seemingly leading her nowhere, Mui dropped out of school at 13 and focussed on singing instead.

2. Her most successful music genre was Canto-pop

Sign of Anita Mui at the Tsim Sha Tsui East Waterfront Podium/ Garden of Stars. Image by
Ahamoaetar –

Mui sang mostly in the Cantonese dialect of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong. The genre in which she scored most of her musical successes is known as Canto-pop. This genre was popular across many Asian countries.

She later added Mandarin Chinese and Japanese to her music. By the time she released her fourth album, the racy Bad Girl, in 1986, Mui had become a major star. The album was banned in mainland China, but the publicity that came with the ban only increased her popularity.

3. Mui was a dedicated artist

Star of Anita Mui Yim Fong on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. Image by BrokenSphere –

Her musical career continued to flourish. In 1987 she performed for an unprecedented 28 consecutive nights at concerts in Hong Kong! The following year she performed at the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

In 1991, she was worn out. She had spent 10 years touring and being in the limelight. She decided to take a break and only perform at charity events. She also cut back on her acting.

Her fans could hear none of that. In late 1991 and 1992, due to public demand, she performed at 33 consecutive concerts. She then began her temporary retirement.

4. Mui was slapped by a Hong Kong gangster after refusing to perform for him

Sign of Anita Mui at the Tsim Sha Tsui East Waterfront Podium/ Garden of Stars. Image by Ahamoaetar –

During her three-year break, she still remained in the headlines. She was romantically linked with a succession of Hong Kong movie stars. One time she left for Singapore after a bizarre incident in which she was slapped by a Hong Kong gangster. This was after refusing to perform for him.

Three days later the gangster showed up dead. He had been shot by unknown assailants. Mui was known to be tough and with even tougher friends. She was however never convicted or charged with the crime.

5. She often looked different with each new album and concert

The outfit Eddie Lau designed for the opening section of the concert ‘Anita Classic Moment Live 2003’ (displayed at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum ‘Fashion. Image. Eddie Lau’ Exhibition in 2013. Uploaded by Mk2010-

Mui just like Madonna was famous for her fashion.  She was best known for extravagant live performances and concerts, changing costumes throughout, with each outfit more outrageous and gorgeous than the last.

After her break, her fans still adored her. She looked different with each new album and concert, dressing for example as an aristocratic woman, a schoolgirl, an Arab seductress, or an athlete.

The films she acted in brought her international popularity and respect. She appeared opposite Jackie Chan in the international hits Drunken Master 2 and Rumble in the Bronx, and she made several films with Hong Kong director Ann Hui. One of them, 2002’s July Rhapsody, was her last.

6. Mui was diagnosed with cervical cancer

Sign of Anita Mui at the Tsim Sha Tsui East Waterfront Podium/ Garden of Stars. Image by Ahamoaetar –

In 2003 she announced she had cervical cancer. She had developed the disease due to a familial genetic disposition. Her sister Ann died of the same condition in 2000 at age 40.

This came as a shock and resulted at the end of her career. She started working on her autobiography, Heart of the Modern Woman, in 2003.

At first, she refused treatment from Western-style doctors, although she did consult a Chinese traditional healer. She was still depressed over the deaths of her friends, singers Leslie Cheung and Roman Tam, and her sister. They had all died of cancer.

She later changed her mind and decided to fight it. She underwent chemotherapy while still going on with a series of concerts at the vast Hong Kong Coliseum, some of which benefited victims of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.

7. She was called the Asian Madonna

Madonna at Rebel Heart Tour 2015 – Stockholm. Image by chrisweger –

Just like Madonna, she wore strange outfits, remade her image constantly, was

often in the middle of controversy, and was independent. She was often referred to as ‘The Chameleon’ or ‘Anita of 100 Faces.’

She began as a sexy tomboy, her songs were considered too risqué, just like Madonna.  One of them, “Bad Girl” was banned from airplay due to its suggestive content!

She was bold and didn’t simply command the stage, she took over! She set attendance records with concert series in 1987 and 1991, and her 40-plus albums sold more than 10 million copies. She had a sultry alto voice and could really sing.

8. Mui was extremely generous

Anita Mui Day Care Centre for the Elderly at Bridge Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.Photographer & author: zh:User:BITBITSW)-

Her success did not make her proud. She used it for good causes, being notably pro-democracy throughout her life.

In 1989 Mui donated the proceeds from some of her concerts to a student pro-democracy movement in mainland China and was also a generous supporter of various charitable causes.

She once helped activists escape China after the Tiananmen Square incident.  She even performed in Beijing to raise funds for victims of a catastrophic flood in 1991. Even when she was not in the best health-wise she still continued to perform for charity causes.

9. At one time was called ‘The Ugly Queen of Pop’

Most Hong Kong artists are good-looking or at least what is socially acceptable as handsome/beautiful. Mui was different. She had large eyes, a beaky nose, and a small, lurid gash of a mouth. They named her the Ugly Queen of Pop. That was supposed to make her inferior. She was a survivor and a proud one for that matter.

Her vocal authority and concert-stage charisma served her well when she made films. She lightened up in action films.

10. Her final bow was nothing but extraordinary

Photo by Jordon Conner on

At her final concert in November, she appeared frail. At the concert’s end, she left the stage in a white wedding gown, telling the crowd it was apparent that she would never marry.

Fans feared the worst when she failed to show up for the launch of her autobiography in early December, and she died on December 30, 2003.

Many attended her funeral and Jackie Chan delivered her eulogy.  Her last message to her fans was not to cry for her and to let her go on in peace.