Profile | How Kelly Chen, Cantopop star and beloved Hong Kong actress, has captured the hearts of music and movie fans for three decades
- It is no surprise that Kelly Chen, with more than 30 albums to her name and acting credits that put her alongside Donnie Yen, remains an ever popular celebrity
- Having first appeared in a Jacky Cheung music video in 1994, Chen has a loyal fan base that spans Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and mainland China
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While the title of Asia’s pop diva may be more commonly associated with singers like Faye Wong and Anita Mui Yim-fong, Hong Kong artist Kelly Chen Wai-lam can lay claim to that mantle too.
The singer and actress – who has recorded more than 30 albums over the years – remains ever popular, with a loyal fan base that spans Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and mainland China.
Born in Hong Kong in 1972 to a jewellery merchant father and a housewife mother, Chen grew up in the city but spent several years studying abroad in Japan. Inspired by her father, she dreamed of becoming a graphic and interior designer and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York in 1994.
Shortly after graduating, she returned to Hong Kong – and the entertainment offers came in almost immediately.
She appeared in a music video for Jacky Cheung Hok-yau’s 1994 song “Stolen Heart”, and made her film debut in Whatever Will Be, Will Be. The 1995 film, which also starred Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, saw Chen play a junior-school teacher who dreams of becoming a dancer.
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