Taiwanese film star Brigitte Lin – how she lost herself in cinema, her most memorable roles and how, turning 65, she stays young at heart

Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia appeared in 100 films, from Taiwanese romantic dramas in the 1970s to Hong Kong action films of the 90s, before retiring 25 years ago

Playing roles from shy schoolgirl to a woman in search of love to invincible male martial arts fighter, Lin stretched the boundaries for Chinese actresses

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Taiwanese film star Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia, who acted in 100 films before retiring in 1994 when she wed Hong Kong billionaire Michael Ying Lee-yuen, turns 65 on November 3. Photo: SCMP

Published: 7:00am, 1 Nov 2019Updated: 8:46pm, 6 Jan 2020

To Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia, age is just a number. The screen goddess of Chinese-language cinema might be celebrating her 65th birthday on Sunday, but it is how she feels deep inside that matters.

“I see that you are 22 years old. But take a look at my heart, it is a 22-year-old too. As long as you have the heart of a child, you will stay as a 22-year-old forever.” Such was Lin’s advice for her then 22-year-old stepdaughter Claudine Lauren Ying, who was going through heartbreak – revealed in Inside and Outside the Window, Lin’s writing debut in 2010.

Unlike most 22-year-olds, Lin has spent a major part of her life in the limelight. From the age of 19, when she made her big-screen debut in 1973’s Outside the Window, a romantic drama based on the novel of the same name by popular author Chiung Yao, Taiwan-born Lin starred in 100 films; she retired after appearing in Wong Kar-wai’s martial arts drama Ashes of Time in 1994.

“During the busiest time of my career, I was shooting six films, playing six different roles. I forgot about playing myself. One day, I stood in front of the mirror, I only saw an estranged face. ‘Who am I?’ I asked myself. ‘What do I like? What do I not like? Why am I unhappy?’ I could not answer those questions. And it dawned on me that I had lost myself unknowingly,” she wrote in her book.

Brigitte Lin in a still from Outside the Window (1973).