Charlene Choi

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Choi.
Charlene Choi

Choi at 2007 Yahoo! Awards ceremony, December 13, 2007
Background information
Chinese name 蔡卓妍
Jyutping Coi3 Coek3-jin4 (Cantonese)
Origin Hong Kong
Born (1982-11-22) 22 November 1982[1]
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Other name(s) Ah Sa, Sasa
Occupation
Genre(s)
Instrument(s) Vocals, piano
Voice type(s) Lyric Contralto
Label(s) Emperor Entertainment Group
Years active 2000–present
Associated acts Twins
Spouse(s) Ronald Cheng (2006–2010)
Partner(s) William Chan (2010–2015)
Website www.eegmusic.com

Charlene Choi (born 22 November 1982) is a Canadian-Hongkonger actress and singer. She is a member of Cantopop group Twins, along with Gillian Chung.[2]

Biography

Choi was born in Vancouver, Canada. She moved with her family to Hong Kong a few years later. She was educated at a number of institutions. She is fluent in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin.[1]

After graduating from Rosaryhill School, where many other would-be 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.

Solo acting career

Early years

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, I 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 my best side and give my best performance. I have to show the fittest side of me and hence, I'm often in "battle mode". When free, I like to watch slow-paced movies. I can't stand movies with too much excitement. I'm the type who can be easily sucked into the world of the movie. That type of fast-paced movie will end up making me tense and nervous so comedy, romance or movies centered on issues of humanity all suit me better."

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.

Breakthrough success

Since then, Choi has taken Jim Chim as a mentor, and has been in the comedy film Simply actresses 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 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan 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.

2010

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.

Solo singing career

Solo music released with Twins

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.

Music career as a solo female singer

Charlene Choi on promotion for Kung Fu Dunk movie in 2008 with Jay Chou, Antony Wong and Chau Sang
Charlene Choi on promotion for Kung Fu Dunk movie in 2008 with Jay Chou, Antony Wong and Chau Sang

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 seven 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."

Present

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.

Charity

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.

Discography

For Choi's work with Twins, see Twins discography.
Year Title Notes
2008 Make a Wish Cantonese single
2009 Lonely Me 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
2012 Montage Cantonese CD + Cantonese Bonus DVD
2013 Blooming Cantonese CD + Cantonese Bonus DVD

Filmography

Films

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
2001 Heroes in Love
戀愛起義之不得了 		Charlene
2002 Just One Look
一碌蔗 		Nam
2002 My Wife Is 18
我老婆唔夠秤 		Yoyo Ma Suk-ling
2002 Summer Breeze of Love
這個夏天有異性 		Choi Kei
2003 The Twins Effect
千機變 		Helen
2003 The Death Curse
古宅心慌慌 		Nancy Ting
2003 Diva... Ah Hey
下一站…天后 		Kam Dai-hei
2003 Good Times, Bed Times
戀上你的床 		Tabby Special appearance
2004 Protege de la Rose Noire
見習黑玫瑰 		Sandy
2004 Fantasia
鬼馬狂想曲 		Chopsticks Sister Special appearance
2004 Hidden Heroes
追擊八月十五 		Chan Mei-ling
2004 Leave Me Alone
阿孖有難 		Jane
2004 Love on the Rocks
戀情告急 		Crystal Au-yeung Sum-kit Special appearance
2004 New Police Story
新警察故事 		Sa Sa
2004 Papa Loves You
這個阿爸真爆炸 		Ellen Yam Yin-jai
2004 The Attractive One
身驕肉貴 		Love Cab's taxi driver Cameo
2004 The Twins Effect II
千機變II之花都大戰 		Spring
2004 6 A.M.
大無謂 		(herself)
2005 Bug Me Not!
蟲不知 		Sasako (Sasha) Cameo
2005 A Chinese Tall Story
情癲大聖 		Yue Meiyan
2005 All About Love
再說一次我愛你 		Leung Tze-ching
2005 House of Fury
精武家庭 		Ella Special appearance
2006 Chicken Little
 Abby Mallard Cantonese voice-over
2006 Rob-B-Hood
寶貝計劃 		Pak Yin
2006 Diary
妄想 		Winnie Leung Wing-na
2007 Twins Mission
雙子神偷 		Jade
2007 Super Fans
甜心粉絲王 		Sussie
2007 Simply Actors
戲王之王 		Dani Dan
2007 Naraka 19
地獄第19層 		Wendy Special appearance
2008 Kung Fu Dunk
功夫灌籃 		Lily
2008 The Butterfly Lovers
武俠梁祝 		Zhu Yanzhi
2009 All's Well, Ends Well 2009
家有囍事2009 		Insurance agent Cameo
2009 The Storm Warriors
風雲II 		Second Dream
2010 Hot Summer Days
全城熱戀熱辣辣 		Bikini girl Cameo
2010 Beauty on Duty
美麗密令 		Zhong Aifang
2010 Triple Tap
鎗王之王 		Ting
2010 The Jade and the Pearl
翡翠明珠 		Princess Yin
2011 Treasure Inn
財神客棧 		Fire Dragon Girl
2011 The Sorcerer and the White Snake
白蛇傳說 		Green Snake
2012 My Sassy Hubby
我老婆唔夠秤II：我老公唔生性 		Yoyo Ma Suk-ling
2013 Bring Happiness Home
2013 The Midas Touch Suen Mei Mei
2014 Naked Ambition 2 Maisora Aoi Cameo
2014 Streets of Macao Short film
2014 Let Go for Love
2014 Gangster Payday Mei
2015 Sara Sara
2015 Kick Ball

Television

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
2001 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
2003 All About Boy'z
一起喝采 		Langlang Princess now.com.hk Appearance in episode 2
2003 2半3更之困車立 Ah Sa now.com.hk
2003 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
2004 Sunshine Heartbeat
赤沙印記@四葉草.2 		Ah Sa TVB Guest star
2004 家有寶貝 Ah Sa Guest star
2007 Colours of Love
森之愛情 		Wai-fong / Ching-lan TVB
2007 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
2012 Happy Marshal
歡樂元帥 		Little Dragon Girl (Xiao Long Nu)

[3] [4]

Awards and nominations

2002

2004

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

See also

References

  1. 1 2 EEGmusic. "EEGmusic." Other information. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  2. ↑ Charlene Choi at the Internet Movie Database IMDB. Biography for Charlene Choi
  3. ↑ "Charlene Choi". imdb.com. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Charlene Choi". chinesemov.com. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  5. ↑ HKFAA. "HKFAA." 21st Hong Kong Film Awards. Retrieved on 2015-11-04.
  6. ↑ HKFAA. "HKFAA." 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Retrieved on 2015-11-04.
  7. 1 2 Radio Television HK. "RTHK Archived February 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.." Hong Kong film month 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
  8. ↑ Puchon. "Puchon Archived September 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.." Awards. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  9. ↑ Filmcritics.org. "Filmcritics.org Archived January 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.." Award list. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  10. ↑ "Best Actress Recipients". 2008. Retrieved 2015-11-04.

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