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Brigitte Lin. Picture By HKIFFMarketing.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Brigitte Lin

Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia born 3 November 1954, is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong films. She retired in 1994, although she had a minor role in the 1998 film Bishonen.

Brigitte was born in Taipei and was “discovered” in 1972 by a film producer, and first appeared in many Taiwanese romance films based on the novels of Chiung Yao. Her movie debut is in Chuangwai.

She later switched over to making movies in Hong Kong. At the height of her popularity, she was arguably one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry. She starred in more than 100 movies.

Here are interesting facts about Brigitte Lin;

1.  Lin made a career of playing transgender roles

In Hong Kong movies, Lin made a career of playing transgender roles: in Peking Opera Blues she plays a tomboy who dresses in male Western clothes.

In New Dragon Gate Inn she is a woman who dresses as a man, and in Swordsman II and III she plays a male character who castrates himself for power and so is now slowly turning into a woman.

She had a good working relationship with Tsui Hark, acting in many of the films he directed (like Peking Opera Blues) and produced (Swordsman II).

2. Lin is married to a Businessman and a mother of two

It’s been reported that Lin has dated both Chin Han and Charlie Chin of “Two Chins, Two Lins” back in the seventies, even sustaining a proposal from the latter before eventually canceling it.

Lin married a Hong Kong businessman Michael Ying in 1994. She is the mother of Eileen Ying Oi Lum (born 1996) and Melani Ying Yin-oi (born 2001) and stepmother to Claudine Ying.

She made her first public appearance since her marriage at the screening of Ashes of Time Redux during the 2008 New York Film Festival.

3. She is regarded as a “screen goddess” by Chinese film lovers

Beautiful Brigitte Lin. Picture By Public Domain.

Known for being a “screen goddess” by Chinese film lovers, Lin’s early collaborations with Hong Kong New Wave directors  Ringo Lam,  Tsui Hark, and  Jackie Chan in Love Massacre (1981), Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), Police Story (1985) and Peking Opera Blues (1986) brought her success. In 1990, she won the Best Actress trophy at the 27th Golden Horse Awards for her depiction of a Chinese female writer who fell in love with a Japanese collaborator in Red Dust (1990).

4.  She is one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry

Brigitte is one of the most sorted actresses. Picture By HKIFFMarketing.

At the height of her popularity, Lin was inarguably one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry.

She starred in more than 100 movies. Lin was credited for boosting Taiwan’s film production in the 1970s. This is before earning even greater popularity in Hong Kong in the 1990s, becoming a trans-island legend of her time.

She retired from acting in 1994. Her last acting role was in Ashes of Time (1994).

5. Brigitte Lin recognized her sister at the age of 36

In 1948, Lin Qingxia’s father Lin Weiliang, and his wife gave birth to their first child, the eldest daughter Lin Li. However, the domestic situation at that time was very tense and the situation changed suddenly.

Lin Weiliang is a military doctor and his daughter-in-law is a nurse, but unfortunately, they are all in Lao Jiang’s army. At that time, Lin Li was just over three months old. Due to the emergency, the eldest daughter is still swaddling and drinking milk.

Rushing to Taiwan in a hurry, the journey was exhausting, and the future was uncertain. Lin Weiliang thought that this trip would only take two or three months.

Therefore, he did not bring his eldest daughter, who was just born and left her to his grandparents and his younger brother Lin Weiyun to take care of her for the time being. It was the first time that Lin Qingxia saw her sister who had been separated for many years. She kept calling her “sister, sister”.  

6. Brigitte bought a mansion for her anniversary

A mansion. Picture courtesy of Guoharn.

Taiwanese actress Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia once received a mansion from her husband, Michael Yin as a sign of his burning love for her.

He reportedly bought the mansion in 2006 for 130 million Hong Kong dollars (~RM73 million). Michael then gifted it to Brigitte for her 60th birthday and 20th wedding anniversary.

Media have reported that the mansion covers over 50,000 square feet and is made up of several areas.

Photos of the mansion also capture a tennis court, swimming pool, and a very spacious yard. The mansion’s current market value is supposedly 1.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (~RM620 million).

7. Lins Beauty’s talent captivated the audience

Born in Sanchung near Taipei, Lin was noticed by a talent scout at the age of seventeen and was cast by renowned Taiwanese director Sung Tsun-Shou as the female lead in his film Outside the Window(1973).

Captivating the audience with her astonishing beauty and charisma, she became an overnight sensation. With the trend of romance films emerging in the seventies, the young actress, with an innocent girl image, flourished into a new idol in Taiwanese cinema through her collaborations with novelist and producer Chiung Yao, featuring in many of her productions including Cloud of Romance(1977) and A Love Seed (1979).

In the eighties, she moved her career platform to Hong Kong, where she displayed her versatile acting skills in different film genres, such as Love Massacre (1981), All the Wrong Spies (1983) and Starry is the Night (1988).

8. There’s a book about Brigitte that comes from true admiration

Star, hand prints, and autograph of Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. By BrokenSphere.

In an era of Hong Kong icons, no star shines brighter than Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia. Her talent, her grace, her professionalism, and of course, her beauty, have captivated movie audiences around the world.

Finally, there’s a book about Brigitte that comes from true admiration. Not quite a biography, the book intends simply to bring the heart and soul of the actress to fans and interested readers everywhere.

Through a collection of interviews with the author, we get personal vignettes into Brigitte’s life through the eyes of her friends, colleagues, and the author herself. Rich in passion, loyalty, and true friendship, the Hong Kong/Taiwan cinema elite give the author glimpses into Brigitte’s experiences in the entertainment industry, from her earliest days to her last film before she retreated into retirement. And last, we have Brigitte’s own interviews with the author.

Conducted over the course of years, these touch-points between “idol” and “fan” provide honest commentary from the actress on her work in the industry that spanned 22 years. It truly is a window into her world.

9. Lin had been separated from her sister for 36 years

Lin Qingxia, a famous star in the entertainment industry, also has a little-known family history. Brigitte Lin has a long-lost sister.

The two were separated for nearly 36 years before they got together. The difference is that Brigitte Lin is already a famous movie star, and her sister is just an extremely ordinary person.

The life situation of the two people instantly makes people feel as if they are separated from each other, and suddenly feel that life is like a dream, and the years are like illusions.

10. Brigitte speaks standard Chinese in her movies