# Cecilia Cheung

Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi (Chinese: 張栢芝; born 24 May 1980) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Cheung is considered a "Sing girl"—an actress who first received media attention through starring alongside Stephen Chow, and later went on to her own successful career.

## Biography

Cheung was born on 24 May 1980 at Man Wah Sun Chuen, Jordan, Hong Kong to Davies Shally, who is of half Chinese and half British descent, and Cheung Yan-yung, a triad member who is also known as Bearded Bravery or Bearded Yung. Her parents divorced when she was nine years old. She was sent to Melbourne to live with her aunt at the age of fourteen and then attended Camberwell Girls Grammar School. She has an elder half-sister, two younger brothers, and a younger half-brother from her father's side.

## Career

In 1998, Cheung was cast in a television commercial advertising lemon tea, which caught the attention of Stephen Chow. Cheung made her film debut as a call girl in Chow's King of Comedy (1999), which became the highest grossing local film of the year and shot Cheung to fame. She then starred in Fly Me to Polaris (1999), for which she sang the theme song. She was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards for both King of Comedy and Fly Me to Polaris, and won for the latter. In the same year, Cheung released her first album Any Weather (1999).
Cheung made inroads into the Korean market with Failan (2001) co-starring Choi Min-shik. The film earned her a nomination at the Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress. She then starred opposite Louis Koo in the comedy film The Lion Roars (2002), for which she won the Most Popular Actress award at the Chinese Film Media Awards.
Cheung reunited with Louis Koo in Derek Yee's film Lost in Time (2003), for which she won the Best Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. She followed with crime thriller One Nite in Mongkok (2004) by Derek Yee, where she played a prostitute who crosses paths with an assassin (played by Daniel Wu). She was nominated for the Best Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards for the third time.
Cheung played old Shanghai diva Zhou Xuan in TV series The Wandering Songstress (2008), after which she took a break from acting and gave birth to two sons. She made a comeback in 2010, but her films were commercially and critically unsuccessful.
In 2013, she announced a one-year break from acting and relocated to Singapore. Since then, Cheung switched her career focus to variety shows in mainland China. She has earned 70 million HKD in 2014, ranking number nine in the top ten list of Hong Kong's highest celebrity incomes in 2014. In early 2021, Cheung joined the second season of Chinese reality series Sisters Who Make Waves.

## Personal life

Cheung dated Hong Kong star Daniel Chan from 1999 to 2001, after which she was romantically linked to Jordan Chan and Edison Chen.
Cheung married Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse in the Philippines in September 2006. She gave birth to their first son in August 2007 and second son in May 2010. The couple divorced in 2011. They agreed to hold joint custody of their two sons.
On 18 November 2018, Cheung announced that she had given birth to a third son, but the father of her son remains unknown.
In March 2020, Cheung voiced her support for Xinjiang cotton after several international companies announced that they will no longer purchase cotton from the region due to concerns over Uyghur human rights.

## Incidents
### 1999 Triad threat incident

In 1999, Cheung, then a newbie actor, was reportedly threatened with rape by triad members due to her father's massive debts.

### 2008 Edison Chen Photo scandal

In January and February 2008, many explicit photos were found online involving Cheung and Edison Chen. The scandal also involved Gillian Chung and Bobo Chan.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | English title | Original title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | King of Comedy | 喜劇之王 | Lau Piu-piu | |
| 1999 | Fly Me to Polaris | 星願 | Autumn Yue | |
| 1999 | The Legend of Speed | 烈火戰車2極速傳說 | Nancy | |
| 2000 | Tokyo Raiders | 東京攻略 | Saori | |
| 2000 | Twelve Nights | 十二夜 | Jeannie | |
| 2000 | Help!!! | 辣手回春 | Dr. Ho Wing-yan | |
| 2001 | Wu Yen | 鍾無艷 | Enchantress / Yin Chun | |
| 2001 | Master Q 2001 | 老夫子2001 | Mandy | |
| 2001 | Everyday is Valentine | 情迷大話王 | Wonderful | |
| 2001 | Failan | 파이란 | Failan | |
| 2001 | Shaolin Soccer | 少林足球 | Dragon Player No. 7 | Cameo |
| 2001 | Para Para Sakura | 芭啦芭啦櫻之花 | Yuriko Sakurada / Yuriko's granny | |
| 2001 | The Legend of Zu | 蜀山傳 | Dawn / Enigma | |
| 2002 | Second Time Around | 無限復活 | Tina Chow | |
| 2002 | Mighty Baby | 絕世好B | Boey | |
| 2002 | The Lion Roars | 我家有一隻河東獅 | Moth Liu | |
| 2003 | Love Under the Sun | 愛在陽光下 | | Short film |
| 2003 | Cat and Mouse | 老鼠愛上貓 | Bai Yutang | |
| 2003 | Honesty | 絕種好男人 | Didi Wong | |
| 2003 | Running on Karma | 大隻佬 | Inspector Lee Fung-yee | |
| 2003 | Lost in Time | 忘不了 | Holly Lam | |
| 2004 | Fantasia | 鬼馬狂想曲 | Harmy Bobo | |
| 2004 | Sex and the Beauties | 性感都市 | Yuki Cheung | |
| 2004 | Papa Loves You | 這個阿爸真爆炸 | Customer refused entry to café | Cameo |
| 2004 | One Nite in Mongkok | 旺角黑夜 | Dan Dan | |
| 2004 | The White Dragon | 小白龍情海翻波 | Black Phoenix / White Dragon Jr. | |
| 2005 | Himalaya Singh | 喜馬拉亞星 | Peacock | |
| 2005 | The Promise | 無極 | Qing Cheng | |
| 2006 | The Shopaholics | 最愛女人購物狂 | Fong Fong-fong | |
| 2006 | My Kung-Fu Sweetheart | 野蠻秘笈 | Phoenix | |
| 2006 | The 601st Phone Call | 第601個電話 | Tian You | |
| 2011 | All's Well, Ends Well 2011 | 最強囍事 | Claire | |
| 2011 | Treasure Hunt | 無價之寶 | Peggy Jiang | |
| 2011 | Legendary Amazons | 楊門女將之軍令如山 | Mu Guiying | |
| 2011 | Speed Angels | 極速天使 | You Mei | |
| 2011 | The Lion Roars 2 | 河東獅吼2 | Wang Yueying | |
| 2011 | Dangerous Liaisons | 危險關係 | Mo Jieyu | |
| 2017 | Out of Control | 失控·幽靈飛車 | Lucy Lin | |
| TBA | 11th Day and One Night | 十一天零一夜 | | |
Television :
| Year | English title | Alternative title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | The Wandering Songstress | 天涯歌女 | Zhou Xuan | |
| 2018 | Love Won't Wait | 如果，爱 | Wan Jialing | |

## Discography

| Year | English Title | Chinese Title |
| 1999 | No Matter How The Weather...Cloudy, Rainy Or Sunny (EP) | 任何天氣 |
| Destination ||
| 2000 | A Brand New Me | 不一樣的我 |
| 2000 | Cecilia Cheung Mandarin Album | 張柏芝同名國語專輯 |
| 2001 | Cecilia Cheung New & Best Collection | 張柏芝全新經驗新曲+精選 |
| Party All the Time (Remix Album) ||
| 2001 | Brand New Image | 最新形象 |
| 2002 | Real Me | 真我 |
| 2003 | Colour of Lip (New + Best Collection) | 至愛唇色(新曲+精選) |
| 2005 | C1 | C1 |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Results |
| 2000 | 5th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actress | Fly Me to Polaris | Nominated |
| 2000 | 19th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Fly Me to Polaris | Nominated |
| 2000 | 19th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best New Performer | Fly Me to Polaris | Won |
| 2000 | 19th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best New Performer | King of Comedy | Nominated |
| 2002 | 39th Grand Bell Awards | Best Actress | Failan | Nominated |
| 2003 | 3rd Chinese Film Media Awards | Most Popular Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | The Lion Roars | Won |
| 2004 | 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Lost in Time | Won |
| 2004 | 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Running on Karma | Nominated |
| 2004 | 10th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award | Best Actress | Running on Karma | Won |
| 2004 | 4th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | Running on Karma | Nominated |
| 2004 | 4th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | Lost in Time | Won |
| 2004 | 4th Chinese Film Media Awards | Most Popular Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | Running on Karma Lost in Time | Silver Prize |
| 2004 | 9th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actress | Lost in Time | Won |
| 2005 | 10th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actress | One Nite in Mongkok | Nominated |
| 2005 | 24th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | One Nite in Mongkok | Nominated |
| 2005 | 5th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actress (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | One Nite in Mongkok | Nominated |
| 2006 | 11th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actress | The Promise | Nominated |
| 2011 | 1st LeTV Entertainment Awards | Most Popular Film Actress (Asia Pacific) | — | Won |
| 2011 | 1st LeTV Entertainment Awards | Most Commercially Valuable Actress | — | Won |