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
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.
“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.”