Who were Anita Mui’s best celebrity friends? Besides Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong’s Canto-pop icon was close to singers Andy Lau and Matchy, stylist Eddie Lau and her sister Ann Mui

Nov 30 , 2021

Anita Mui with her sister Ann (left). Photo: Handout

After TVB’s New Talent Singing Awards in 1982, Mui was introduced to Eddie Lau who styled her across her career and many Hong Kong films, including Kawashima Yoshiko with Andy Lau

Matchy, or Masahiko Kondo, was dating Japanese actress Akina Nakamori when they met; Mui also dated Benjamin Lam Kwok-bun, a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team

The current screening of biopic Anita just reminds us how much we miss Anita Mui Yim-fong, the late legendary diva of Canto-pop.

The film not only captures her rise to fame, but also tries to portray different sides of Mui through people who were close to her. Besides actor Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, famously a good friend for many years, there were others who were also important over the course of her eventful life, tragically cut short at age 40. Let’s take a look at those close relationships and what they meant to her.

Eddie Lau

Without a doubt, Eddie Lau Pui-kei was one of the biggest influences on Mui throughout her career.

On winning the first of TVB’s New Talent Singing Awards in 1982 and signing to Capital Artists, record company manager So Hau-leung introduced Mui to Lau, who was one of the hottest local fashion designers at the time.

Lau did not just provide stunning clothes for Mui, he went on to create and direct her overall style starting from her first album. Without Lau, we might not have seen Mui develop the ever-changing image she became famous for.

Canto-pop diva Anita Mui Yim-fong modelling a dramatic outfit designed by Eddie Lau Pui-kei at the 1987 Hong Kong Fashion Week, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Photo: SCMP Archives

Most importantly, he designed the wedding gown she wore for her final concerts in November 2003, even though he was already retired by then.

On a personal level, Lau was a mentor and a big brother. In a recent interview, he mentioned that he was much stricter with Mui than it is portrayed in the film due to the care and closeness he felt towards her.

Ann Mui