| Charlene Choi 蔡卓妍 |
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Choi in 2007 |
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| Chinese name | 蔡卓妍 | ||||
| Pinyin | Cài Zhuóyán (Mandarin) | ||||
| Jyutping | Coi3 Coek3-jin4 (Cantonese) | ||||
| Ancestry | Dongguan, Guangdong, China | ||||
| Origin | Hong Kong | ||||
| Born | 22 November 1982 [1] Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
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| Other name(s) | Ah Sa, Sasa | ||||
| Occupation | Singer, actress | ||||
| Genre(s) | Cantopop | ||||
| Instrument(s) | Piano | ||||
| Voice type(s) | Alto | ||||
| Label(s) | Emperor Entertainment Group | ||||
| Years active | 2001–present | ||||
| Associated acts | Twins | ||||
| Spouse(s) | Ronald Cheng (2006-2010) | ||||
| Partner(s) | William Chan (2010-) | ||||
| Official Website | www.eegmusic.com | ||||
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Charlene Choi (born 22 November 1982) is a Hong Kong based actress and singer. She is a member of Cantopop group Twins, along with Gillian Chung.
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Choi was born in Vancouver, Canada. She moved with her family to Hong Kong a few years later. She is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin but not so in English.[1] Choi was educated at a number of institutions. After graduating from Rosaryhill School, where many other pop stars had attended, she started working full-time as a model in Hong Kong. She was scouted by Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), and was then linked with Gillian Chung to form the Cantopop group Twins.
Aside from her musical career, Choi has become a successful actress in the Hong Kong film industry, co-starred alongside actors such as Andy Lau, Eason Chan, Jay Chou, Mike He, Wu Chun and Nicholas Tse. She wrote an article describing her acting career:
Earlier before, I have shared with everyone some of my acting experiences. This time, I want to talk about movies. As an artist, whenever I'm working, I have to show the best side and give the best performance to everyone. I have to show the most fit side of me and hence, I'm often in "battling mood". When free, I like to watch slow-pace movies. The too exciting movies I can't stand. I'm the type who can be easily thrown into the world of the movie. Those type of fast-pace movies will end up making me tense and nervous so comedy, romance or humanity issue discussion movies are all more suitable for me."
Choi's first acting gig was a starring role in the 2000 television drama Youth Y2K. Then, Choi made her first film debut in 2001 in Funeral March (filmed prior to Twins' debut), which drew rave reviews from critics and earned her a Best New Artist nomination at the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards. Choi's next big acting break was in 2003 with her earnest and pretence-free portrayal of a young girl who battles through all odds in hopes of becoming a singer in Diva - Ah Hey.
Since then, Choi has taken Jim Chim as a mentor, and has been in the comedy film Simply Actors as a kind and comedic porn star. Her breakthrough role in the Pang brothers' psychological thriller Diary (2006) earned her many film award nominations and she received the Best Actress award at the 11th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PIFAN Korean Movie Award).
Choi's acting has been once again duly identified by an abundance of film critics with her portrayal of Dani Dan in Simply Actors. Only months later, she won the Best Actress and Favourite Actress awards at the 2007 Golden Bauhinia Awards for his performance in Simply Actors. Choi has also appeared alongside the Taiwanese singer Jay Chou in Kung Fu Dunk.
Choi has appeared in The Butterfly Lovers, based on the Chinese legend of the same name. Appearing alongside Wu Chun and Hu Ge, The Butterfly Lovers was released on October 9, 2008. Throughout the filming, rumors of an off-set romance between Choi and Wu Chun (the leading actress and actor) developed. Though they have denied such rumors, Wu has stated that the pair has reached an agreement with director Jingle Ma to collaborate once again in the future.
In December 2008, she began filming her first Taiwanese television drama, Calling For Love, produced by Angie Chai, co-starring with Mike He. The series was first aired in May 2010.
Finally in December 2009 after over a year of post-production, positive response at the Shanghai International Film Festival, The Storm Warriors was released with Choi taking on the main female lead role as Second Dream and starring alongside Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Simon Yam and Nicholas Tse. Though it was only released on 10 December, The Storm Warriors was ranked fifth in the list of Top 10 Hong Kong Movies of 2009 based on box office results.
In 2010, after having concentrated heavily on music in the previous year, Choi started taking on more acting projects. Her first film for that year was Beauty on Duty, which she co-starred with Sandra Ng. Following that, Choi appeared in Triple Tap with Daniel Wu and Louis Koo. Choi's next film, The Jade and the Pearl, saw her co-starring with Raymond Lam and her close friends Joey Yung and Wong Cho-lam, as well as a collaboration between Choi and Lam in singing a duet theme song. Choi has concluded work on God of Fortune's Inn with Nicholas Tse and Nick Cheung. As of July 2010, she has started a three to four months long project, Mainland Chinese television series Sword Heroes' Fate, with Nicholas Tse again.
Choi's first solo song, Diva, Ah Hey!, was released in Twins' 2003 album Touch of Love. The song received a nomination for Best Song at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards and won a place in the Top 10 Songs at the Jade Solid Gold Songs Awards Ceremony. Choi's second solo song, Watching Movie Alone, was released in Twins' 2006 Mandarin album Around the World with 80 Dollars. Choi's third solo song, You are Not a Good Lover, was released in Twins' 2006 Cantonese album Ho Hoo Tan. This was Choi's first recorded personal composition and Twins' recorded version earned the place of Hit Song at the Metro Showbiz Hit Awards and one of the Top 10 Songs at the Jade Solid Gold Songs Awards Ceremony.
Choi's remaining two solo songs, Little Sister and 60 Percent, were released before the Edison Chen photo scandal in their 2008 Mandarin album Tong Hua Yan Yu. Both solo songs were extremely personal, Little Sister, in particular, recounts Choi's relationship with her mother throughout the years despite her parents' divorce at a young age and won Choi several music awards at the Metro Showbiz Hit Awards and TVB8 Music Awards.
Choi's first solo single was released in 2008 with the award-winning Make a Wish, which sold 5000 copies within a span of 30 minutes with all proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Meanwhile, her two hit songs, Little Sister and Make a Wish ranked first in music charts and remained in the top 10 for four music charts over 11 weeks. With Twins placed on hiatus, Choi went on to be awarded with a variety of solo singer awards in 2008: Favorite Idol and Most Voted Singer at the Metro Showbiz Hit Awards, Most Popular Female Singer at the Vanguard Music Awards and Most Popular Hong Kong Female Artist at the Sprite Music Awards.
Towards the end of 2008, Choi further expanded her career, entering new fields of the entertainment industry. As an entertainer, not only is she an actress and singer, but she is now a theater star. In the musical, Knight Star, she stars as the female lead Rose. Acting as her lover, she has finally reunited with Jimmy Lin after 7 years. Lin first collaborated with Choi in her first series The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra when she first entered the industry. Other stars in the musical include Julian Cheung, and Alice Liu. The musical served as a promotional event for the Chivas company to expand in China with their "Live with Chivalry" campaign.
Choi's first musical collaboration as a solo singer with another artist was the duet Little Dimples, released in late September 2008, which she performed with JJ Lin. The song received six awards in the remaining three months of 2008.
Choi released her debut solo album Two Without One on 9 April 2009. In less than one week, the album sold 10,000 copies in Hong Kong and has been certified "Gold" in Hong Kong. In less than a month, the album sold a total of 30,000 copies in Hong Kong and was certified "Platinum". Due to high sales and demand, a second version of the album is slated to be released on 6 May as a limited edition with 5,000 copies available.
Following the success of Two Without One, Choi released her next EP, titled Another Me, on 15 October 2009. Consisting of five tracks and three music videos, the overall theme of the EP is an evolving process as an individual. The release of Another Me marked new territory for Choi with a black-and-white cover and a largescale photo exhibition open to the public. As with Two Without One, Another Me was also certified "Platinum", selling nearly 60,000 copies in Hong Kong, in addition to high sales in Asia and overseas. Choi's success as a solo female singer in 2009 was best displayed at the 2009 IFPI HK Top Sales Music Awards, where she was awarded "Top 10 Best Selling Hong Kong Singers of 2009". In addition, Two Without One and Another Me were each awarded "Top 10 Best Selling Cantonese Albums of 2009."
Following her success in 2009 as a solo singer, Choi released her debut Mandarin album As A Sa in 2010. With more than HK$1 million spent on producing the album, As A Sa was released across China on June 15. Consequently, Choi launched her country-wide promotional tour with a multitude of mini-concerts, autograph sessions, performances, recorded television programs, national radio interviews, and talk shows.
Choi has released her third Cantonese album Beauty Remains on 15 October 2010.
As a donor to the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2001 and a Make a Wish ambassador in 2008, Choi released the hit single and award-winning Make a Wish, which sold 5000 copies within a span of 30 minutes with all proceeds going to the foundation. Choi also sold clothing from her own "SAL" clothing line to fans to raise more money for the foundation.
Choi also wrote an autobiographical book about her teenage years as a child of divorced parents. Although she remains close to both her parents, Choi lived with her father after her parents' divorce. However, following her decision to become a singer-actress, the time she spent at home and with her parents rapidly diminished. As a result, the means of communicating with her father became all the more special. In her book Single Family's Love, many little notes exchanged between her and her father over the years can be seen. Through the autobiography, readers are encouraged to find happiness in single parent families. The money raised from the 5000 Limited 1st Edition copies sold were all donated to the Make a Wish Foundation. Choi thanked her friends and fans for the good sales of her autobiography. Her friends such as Jay Chou (who wrote her book's introduction), bandmate Gillian Chung (who also put her thoughts into Choi's introduction), Niki Chow, Mani, and Wu Chun were big supporters as well, buying copies for their friends and families. As of now, a new edition of her book is being printed and will be distributed overseas.
Choi became an ambassador for the 30 Hours Famine charity in the beginning of February 2009. She went to Nepal for a week to help the locals by bringing supplies to schools. In return, she was taught the local gardening technique. In April 2009, Choi performed at the 30-Hour Famine Concert, opening the concert and performing an assortment of new Chinese and English songs, as well as old Twins songs for nearly an hour.
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Make a Wish | Cantonese single |
| 2009 | Two Without One | Cantonese album |
| Another Me | Cantonese EP | |
| 2010 | As A Sa | Mandarin album |
| Beauty Remains | Cantonese EP | |
| 2011 | Sweetest Day | Cantonese CD + Cantonese & Mandarin DVD Collection |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | What Is a Good Teacher 自從他來了 |
Student | Cameo |
| 2001 | Funeral March 常在我心 |
Wong Kwan-yee | |
| Heroes in Love 戀愛起義之不得了 |
Charlene | ||
| 2002 | Just One Look 一碌蔗 |
Nam | |
| My Wife Is 18 我老婆唔夠秤 |
Yoyo Ma Suk-ling | ||
| Summer Breeze of Love 這個夏天有異性 |
Choi Kei | ||
| 2003 | The Twins Effect 千機變 |
Helen | |
| The Death Curse 古宅心慌慌 |
Nancy Ting | ||
| Diva... Ah Hey 下一站…天后 |
Kam Dai-hei | ||
| Good Times, Bed Times 戀上你的床 |
Tabby | Special appearance | |
| 2004 | Protege de la Rose Noire 見習黑玫瑰 |
Sandy | |
| Fantasia 鬼馬狂想曲 |
Chopsticks Sister | Special appearance | |
| Hidden Heroes 追擊八月十五 |
Chan Mei-ling | ||
| Leave Me Alone 阿孖有難 |
Jane | ||
| Love on the Rocks 戀情告急 |
Crystal Au-yeung Sum-kit | Special appearance | |
| New Police Story 新警察故事 |
Sa Sa | ||
| Papa Loves You 這個阿爸真爆炸 |
Ellen Yam Yin-jai | ||
| The Attractive One 身驕肉貴 |
Love Cab's taxi driver | Cameo | |
| The Twins Effect II 千機變II之花都大戰 |
Spring | ||
| 6 A.M. 大無謂 |
(herself) | ||
| 2005 | Bug Me Not! 蟲不知 |
Sasako (Sasha) | Cameo |
| A Chinese Tall Story 情癲大聖 |
Yue Meiyan | ||
| All About Love 再說一次我愛你 |
Leung Tze-ching | ||
| House of Fury 精武家庭 |
Ella | Special appearance | |
| 2006 | Chicken Little |
Abby Mallard | Cantonese voice-over |
| Rob-B-Hood 寶貝計劃 |
Pak Yin | ||
| Diary 妄想 |
Winnie Leung Wing-na | ||
| 2007 | Twins Mission 雙子神偷 |
Jade | |
| Super Fans 甜心粉絲王 |
Sussie | ||
| Simply Actors 戲王之王 |
Dani Dan | ||
| Naraka 19 地獄第19層 |
Wendy | Special appearance | |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Dunk 功夫灌籃 |
Lily | |
| The Butterfly Lovers 武俠梁祝 |
Zhu Yanzhi | ||
| 2009 | All's Well, Ends Well 2009 家有囍事2009 |
Insurance agent | Cameo |
| The Storm Warriors 風雲II |
Second Dream | ||
| 2010 | Hot Summer Days 全城熱戀熱辣辣 |
Bikini girl | Cameo |
| Beauty on Duty 美麗密令 |
Zhong Aifang | ||
| Triple Tap 鎗王之王 |
Ting | ||
| The Jade and the Pearl 翡翠明珠 |
Princess Yin | ||
| 2011 | Treasure Inn 財神客棧 |
Fire Dragon Girl | |
| The Sorcerer and the White Snake 白蛇傳說 |
Green Snake |
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Youth Y2K 青春@Y2K |
Cheng Shasha | ||
| 2001 | The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra 齊天大聖孫悟空 |
Purple Orchid | TVB | |
| 藍寶石的夜空 | Shek Po-yi | TVB | Eason Chan's music video | |
| 2002 | 一Twins零一夜 | Ah Sa | TVB | Music video |
| 2003 | Triumph in the Skies 衝上雲霄 |
Charlene | TVB | Cameo |
| All About Boy'z 一起喝采 |
Langlang Princess | now.com.hk | Appearance in episode 2 | |
| 2半3更之困車立 | Ah Sa | now.com.hk | ||
| 愛在陽光下 | AIDS patient | Music video produced to support the global anti-AIDS campaign | ||
| 2004 | Kung Fu Soccer 功夫足球 |
TVB | Guest star | |
| Sunshine Heartbeat 赤沙印記@四葉草.2 |
Ah Sa | TVB | Guest star | |
| 家有寶貝 | Ah Sa | Guest star | ||
| 2007 | Colours of Love 森之愛情 |
Wai-fong / Ching-lan | TVB | |
| Life Off Stage | ||||
| 2010 | Calling for Love! 呼叫大明星 |
Chen Dexin | CTS | |
| 2011 | The Legend of Swordman 劍俠情緣 |
Tang Xiaowan / Ning Xin | ||
| Joyous Marshal 歡樂元帥 |
Little Dragon Girl (Xiao Long Nu) |
2002
2004
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
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