Profile | How Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung emerged from the shadow of his singer wife Kay Tse
Hong Kong tabloids painted Louis Cheung as dependent on singer wife Kay Tse, but as an acclaimed actor he’s standing on his own two feet now
There is a Cantonese slang phrase for men who are less successful than their female spouses, “eating soft rice”, which describes when a man is perceived to be financially reliant on a woman.
Cheung, now 44, admitted years later that the negativity got to him, especially in the 2000s. “After I turned 30, I figured it out – am I what people say I am, or am I the one who decides who I am?” he said in a 2023 radio interview.
The couple did not let public opinion sway their relationship – they celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
And in recent years, Cheung has forged a path of his own as a serious film actor.
