Profile | Who is Josephine Siao? How the popular Hong Kong actress went from child star to activist

Josephine Siao began her acting career aged 6 and made over 100 films before becoming deaf. She is an activist against child sexual abuse

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Josephine Siao at an interview with the Post in 1996. A child star who turned into one of Hong Kong’s most beloved actresses, she became an activist against child sexual abuse. Photo: SCMP

Lisa Cam

Published: 7:15am, 25 Oct 2024Updated: 7:52am, 8 Nov 2024

This is the 36th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.

When child actors are mentioned, tales of children falling victim to adult greed, losing themselves to media attention or even succumbing to addiction come to mind. Josephine Siao Fong-fong avoided such pitfalls.

Born Xiao Liang in Shanghai in 1947, she moved to Hong Kong with her parents when she was two years old. Her father died the following year, and Siao began acting at the age of six to support her family.

“I remember my mother sewing beads on clothes to make a living,” Siao said in an interview with former Hong Kong secretary for commerce and economic development Frederick Ma Si-hang for broadcaster TVB.

(From left) Bruce Lee, Wong Cho-san and Josephine Siao in a still from An Orphan’s Tragedy (1955).

“That wasn’t enough to make a living – on top of that my father left us with a lot of debt. One of my mum’s friends told her they needed children to act in some films so she took me to the studios. That’s how it all started.”

Siao was a popular actress in the 1960s, often appearing alongside Connie Chan Po-chu in wuxia films and contemporary dramas. They captivated viewers with their beauty and style. Colourful Youth (1966), in which they both appeared, was credited for making Cantonese film musicals more popular.

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