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
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.
