Cecilia Cheung, born Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi, is a Hong Kong-born actress and singer who has made a significant impact in the entertainment industry.
Born to a Cantonese father and a half Cantonese-half British mother, Cheung's childhood was marked by her parents' divorce when she was still young. This led to her being sent to Australia for her studies, where she eventually graduated from RMIT Holmes College.
Cheung's career in the entertainment industry began in 1998, when she was offered a role in a TV commercial advertising lemon tea. Her captivating performance in the ad caught the attention of renowned filmmaker Stephen Chow, who later cast her in his film King of Comedy (1999). In the same year, Cheung made her film debut as a young nightclub hostess in King of Comedy, followed shortly by her role in Fly Me to Polaris (1999).
Cheung's breakthrough performance in Fly Me to Polaris earned her the prestigious award for Best Newcomer at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Additionally, she launched her singing career with her debut Cantopop album Any Weather (1999) in the same year.
In 2003, Cheung starred in Derek Yee's romantic drama Lost in Time, a performance that earned her the award for Best Actress at the 2004 Hong Kong Film Awards. In this film, she portrayed a young woman who had lost her fiancé in a traffic accident, leaving her as a grieving single mother struggling to make ends meet.
