# Isabella Leong

Luísa Isabella Nolasco da Silva Leong Lok-yau (born 23 June 1988), better known as Isabella Leong, is a Macanese actress and former singer.

## Early life

Luísa Isabella Nolasco da Silva was born on 23 June 1988, in Macau to Luís Alberto Marques Nolasco da Silva (b. Sé, 8 August 1951; d. São Lourenço, 20 January 1989) and a croupier. She has a sister who is seven years older.
Leong's father was a descendant of one of the most prominent and long-established Macanese families, Nolasco da Silva family [zh]. Her father was a Eurasian born to Frederico Joao Moreira de Sousa Teles de Menezes, a Portuguese father and Terry Marques Nolasco, a Chinese woman living in Portugal. Frederico Joao is the sixth generation of the family and former President of the Macau Football Association. Leong's father has two elder brothers, Henrique and Frederico and one younger brother, Jose Manuel.
Leong's father had a secret drug addiction and died from an overdose when she was six months old. Leong had never received recognition from her paternal family, so she took her mother's surname. Leong's mother worked as a croupier in Casino Lisboa and Leong was responsible for contributing to the family's finances.
In 1993, she moved from Macau to Hong Kong and enrolled in Po Leung Kuk Camões Tan Siu Lin Primary School, after which she went to several schools in Hong Kong and Macao. She attended Macau Sam Yuk Middle School in 1999 but dropped out.

## Career

To help provide for her family, Leong abandoned school at age 12 to become a model for Emperor Entertainment Group.
She later began singing and released her debut album, Isabella, when she was 16 years old. Isabella did not achieve the success hoped for and Leong subsequently debuted with acting. From 2005 to 2007, she made a string of films including The Eye 10, Bug Me Not!, Isabella, Diary, and Spider Lilies.
Leong won her first American film role in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which was released in 2008.

### EEG contract dispute

Emperor Entertainment Group filed a lawsuit in the High Court on 3 April 2008, to seek damages from Leong for breaking a 10-year contract which Leong's mother signed for her when she was only 12 years old. Leong filed a writ against the company on 27 April. In November 2008, the legal battle between Leong and EEG ended in an out-of-court settlement, with the star "free to pursue her career".

## Personal life

In 2008, Leong met Hong Kong businessman Richard Li, son of billionaire Li Ka-shing, on a movie set, when she was 20 and he was 41. In April 2009, Leong gave birth to their first son Ethan Li Cheung Tsz. For this, Leong was allowed to use Li's family mansions in San Francisco. They also provided her with an entourage of caregivers, including five bodyguards, four full-time nannies and a personal attendant.
In June 2010, Leong gave birth to Li's twin sons in San Francisco.
In March 2011, Leong announced that she and Li had ended their relationship. They both declared that the split was amicable and that they would both take care of their children.

## Discography

| Album # | Album information |
| 1st | Isabella – First Album Versions A, B, C Release Date : 3 September 2004 Language : Cantonese Package Weight: 300 g Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group (HK) |
| 2nd | I am Isabella (EP) Release Date : 8 July 2005 Language : Cantonese Package Weight: 260 g Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group (HK) |
| 3rd | To Find Love (EP) Release Date : 8 July 2005 Language : Cantonese Package Weight: 210 g Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group (HK) |
| 4th | I am Isabella (Complete Version) Release Date : 16 September 2005 Language : Cantonese Subtitle : Traditional Chinese Package Weight: 380 g Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group (HK) Other Information: CD + VCD |
| 5th | Say Goodbye... Luisa (DualDisc) (CD+DVD) Release Date : 15 August 2006 Language : Cantonese Subtitle : Traditional Chinese Package Weight: 210 g Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group (HK) |

## Publication

* Product
* Isabella Photo Album
* Format : 80 Pages
* Language : Traditional Chinese
* Publisher : Megalink International Communications Ltd ISBN 988-98130-6-8
* Release Date : 12 August 2005
* EEG Artiste Crystal – Isabella
* Release Date : 29 May 2006
* Package Weight: 510 g
* Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group Showroom (HK)
* Post Card – Isabella
* Release Date : 5 May 2005
* Package Weight: 20 g
* Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group (HK)
* Isabella Artiste Profile
* Release Date : 6 May 2005
* Package Weight: 20 g
* Publisher : Emperor Entertainment Group (HK)

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2004 | Sunshine Heartbeat 赤沙印记@四叶草2 | Girl asking for fortune |
| 2005 | The Eye 10 見鬼 10 | April |
| 2005 | Bug Me Not! 虫不知 | Moon (小月) |
| 2005 | Dragon Squad 猛龍 | Kong's daughter (江綽芝) |
| 2005 | A Chinese Tall Story 情癲大聖 | Red Child (紅孩兒) |
| 2006 | McDull, the Alumni 春田花花同學會 | Wing Yan (詠思) |
| 2006 | Isabella 伊莎貝拉 | Cheung Bik-Yan (張碧欣) |
| 2006 | Dragon Tiger Gate 龍虎門 | voice |
| 2006 | Diary 妄想 | Leung Wing Na/Ho Lai Yee (梁詠娜/何麗儀) |
| 2006 | The Knot 云水谣 | Wang Xiao-rui (王曉芮) |
| 2007 | Simply Actors 戲王之王 | Guest |
| 2007 | Spider Lilies 刺青 | Takeko (竹子) |
| 2008 | Missing 深海尋人 | Chen Xiao-Kai (陳小凱) |
| 2008 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Lin (小林) |
| 2015 | 12 Golden Ducks | CEO woman (cameo) |
| 2015 | Murmur of the Hearts | Yu-mei |
| 2019 | Missbehavior | Boss |
| 2020 | Love After Love | Ji Jie |
| 2023 | Bursting Point 爆裂點 | Ying Xiu (膺秀) |

## Awards

Fantasporto (2006)
* Best Actress for Isabella
Golden Bauhinia Awards (2006)
* Best New Performer for Isabella

### Nominations

Hong Kong Film Awards (2005)
* Best New Performer for Bug Me Not
Hong Kong Film Awards (2007)
* Best Actress for Isabella
Hong Kong Film Awards (2007)
* Best Supporting Actress for Diary
Golden Bauhinia Awards (2007)
* Best Supporting Actress for Diary