Vivian Chow

Vivian Chow

Vivian Chow performing at a Leo Ku Concert in Hong Kong in September 2007
Chinese name 周慧敏 (traditional)
Jyutping Zau1 Wai6-man5 (Cantonese)
Ancestry Zhongshan, Guangdong, China
Origin Hong Kong
Born (1967-11-10) 10 November 1967
Hong Kong
Occupation Singer, actor, songwriter, Master of Ceremonies, radio host, philanthropist
Genre(s) Cantopop, Mandopop, Japanese pop, Gospel
Instrument(s) Piano
Voice type(s) Alto
Label(s) PolyGram(1991–1997)
Years active 1986–1997, 2006–present
Spouse(s) Joe Nieh (2009–present)
Influences Yoshie Kashiwabara, Teresa Tang

Vivian Chow (Chinese: 周慧敏; pinyin: Zhōu Huìmǐn) is a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer and actress. She is well known for her ladylike stage image as well as her charity works for animal rights and breast cancer awareness.

Early life

Chow was born in Hong Kong and brought up by her mother and grandmother. Her father died the same year before she was born due to heart problems. As a child, Chow studied at St. Stephen's Church College, passing A-levels (thirteenth grade) in high school. She also gained 7th grade in piano.

Career

Radio years: 1987–1991

After high school, Chow entered the Fourth Annual New Talent Singing Awards in 1985 with Yoshie Kashiwabara's song Saiai (最愛), a song she later covered in Cantonese. The same contest also saw the rise of William So (蘇永康) and Hacken Lee. Although Chow did not receive any prizes in the contest, this failure did not diminish her hopes of becoming a singer, instead, Chow entered the entertainment business by becoming a DJ in Radio Television Hong Kong in 1987 after coming second in an amateur DJ contest in 1986.

As a DJ for RTHK, Chow was the main character in three of the radio dramas, they are "Love in the Summer" (夏之戀) as 'Tung Tung' "The Teenage Period" (青蔥歲月) as 'Fong Ka Yiu', and "Life in Paris" (在巴黎的日子) as 'Joyce'.

Acting

In 1988, Chow made her movie debut in the smash-hit comedy "Heart to Hearts" (三人世界). She played the role of the daughter of Carol Cheng, a single mother who is quite protective of her. They then meet a man played by George Lam. For her role in the series, Chow won the 'Best New Performer' award of 1989.

Music

In the same year that Chow won the 'Best New Performer' award, she also released her first album, titled by her Chinese name, 周慧敏. This album contained only four songs, and its main purpose was to test the response of the people of Hong Kong for the rising star. Sales did not disappoint, and Chow started to develop her own fan-base by releasing two new albums, Vivian and Qing Mi (情迷), in 1990; 5 new albums (see Discography) in 1991, and six new albums in 1992–1993. Chow had to take Mandarin lessons to perfect her pronunciation prior to the release of the Mandarin album, Liu Yan (Rumors, 流言). The most prominent of a crop of female singers with a wholesome, ingenue public persona the media dubbed her "玉女掌門人", a moniker that can be roughly glossed as "Leader of the Ingenues". Also,as her body and skin hardly aged due to her being away from water and the sun, she also became an ageless wonder.

Semi-retirement

Chow retired from the Chinese entertainment scene in 1997 when Chow and her longtime partner, Joe Nieh, emigrated to Vancouver, Canada between 1997 and 2003 after she finished her careers in Taiwan and Japan. It was also revealed that her TV, movie, agency and record contracts all expired in 1997, so she never sought extensions and tried to gain work experiences outside of the entertainment and music industries. However, she continued to make frequent trips to Hong Kong to visit her family and to support animal-rights charities. She also became a painter, artist, writer and a pool player. Chow and returned to Hong Kong in 2003 because the outbreak of SARS stopped them from returning to Canada,and they married in 2009. In 2011, when she hosted the 25th Anniversary concert, it was a few days after Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, when Yoshie Kashiwabara came to Hong Kong as one of her special guests, she also decided to sell her CD's and a few souvenirs, with all proceeds given to charity for the Japanese Relief Funds.

In 2013, Chow started her own talent agency, and her agent is Leo Ku's wife and talent agent - Lorraine Chan. This is the second time in her career to be managed by her.

In 2014, Chow starred in Cafe. Waiting. Love, and also released a gospel album "HIM".

Personal life

Chow converted to the Christian faith in 2009 and was baptised in 2010.[1] When she married Joe Nieh in 2009, they decided not to have children. She is a LOHAS and optimism advocate.

Discography

Filmography

[2] [3]

Written works

References

  1. ↑ Chen, Eric (1 July 2014). "Hong Kong Pop Star Vivian Chow Wai-Man: 'Salvation Comes from Jesus, Not Self-Development'". The Gospel Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Vivian Chow at hkmdb.com
  3. ↑ Vivian Chow at chinesemov.com

External links

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