Gillian Chung

At 43 years old, Gillian Chung has this physical status:

Gillian Chung Yan-tung (born Chung Dik-san on January 21, 1981) is a Hong Kong film actress and singer.

She and Charlene Choi are a member of the Cantopop Twins, along with Charlene Choi.

Early life

Chung Tik-shan was born in Hong Kong as Chung Tik-shan (). When she was one year old, her father died. When she was two years old, her family felt Tik () from her birth name was too strong and renamed her to Chung Ka-lai ().

Chung was a girl in a single parent household until her mother remarried to a man who also named Chung when Chung was in high school. When she was in high school, she was given the English name "Gillian." Chung graduated from Kowloon True Light Middle School and briefly attended the William Angliss Institute of TAFE in Melbourne, Australia.

Personal life

A photographer improvisedly photographed Chung nude in the changing room at a concert in Genting Highlands, Malaysia, in 2006. The photos were published in the Hong Kong tabloid newspaper Easy Finder on August 22nd as a front story. Public demonstrations in Hong Kong against the magazine's publication were held. Jackie Chan and Andy Lau were among the protesters. The Obscene Articles Tribunal rated the images as "indecent." Easy Finder's appeal against the obscenity decision was dismissed on November 1st, with the appeal panel describing the article as a "calculated act of selling sexuality that is corrupting and revolting." Jimmy Lai, the maker of Easy Finder's Publisher Next Media, apologised to Chung and promised to return all the negatives.

Leaked sexually explicit pictures of Edison Chen and a slew of Hong Kong female celebrities in January and February 2008 were leaked online. Chung, as well as Bobo Chan and Cecilia Cheung, among other things, were among others embroiled in the scandal. The photos marred Chung's "squeaky-clean image," and she apologized to the world for being naive and foolish. Over 500 calls to TVB have been received by her subsequent television appearance on Jade Solid Gold, while the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority received over 1200. Other promotional activities had to be postponed.

Director Zhang Yimou barred Chung from attending the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. She had intended to appear in Chen Kaige's film Forever Enthralled and Oliver Stone's W., but her scenes were left on the cutting room floor.

Chung met Michael Lai, a Taiwanese gynaecologist, in July 2017 while filming Tree in the River in Taiwan and establishing a friendship in October. On February 1, 2018, Chung announced her engagement with Lai on Instagram, as well as a snapshot of a diamond ring given to her by her fiancé. On the 26th of May, the pair married in Los Angeles and one in Hong Kong on the 20th of December. In March 2020, the two couples wed in.

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Career

When she was in Hong Kong, Chung was contacted by one of the model companies with whom she worked part-time. She was given a job opportunity by Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), which she accepted in the first year. She became a freelance artist and underwent extensive preparation before making her debut. After consulting fortune tellers, she was urged by her boss Mani Fok to use the term "Chung Yan-tung" () as her stage name. The name was supposed to help her with her career. Charlene Choi and the management firm assigned her to form a singing pair on May 18, 2001. Chung and Choi's first album came three months later.

Chung made her solo-acting film debut in U Man (2002) and has since demonstrated her acting abilities in a number of films, including Beyond Our Ken (2004), which earned her critical acclaim as well as a nomination for Best Actress in the Golden Bauhinia Awards. Chan Wai-ching, Chung's spurned girlfriend of the eponymous Ken, appeared in Beyond Our Ken. The film made its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival, grossing HK$3,886,355 at the box office.

The film 49 Days, which Chung starred in in January 2006, had a budget exceeding the HK$10 million (US$1.28 million) mark, earning a spot in one of Hong Kong's best box office films for the year.

Chung apologised for offending those around her, especially her long-time bandmate Charlene Choi, who has been off the public for more than a year following the Edison Chen photo controversy and later admitted to having contemplated suicide. During the hiatus, she took classes in several fields, including kung fu (Wing Chun), gymnastics, singing, dancing, and acting, which she wished would benefit her professionally. She addressed the scandal on an episode of Be My Guest, which attracted 679 public grievances for the show in March 2009. With a seven-figure salary check, she returned to work as a spokesperson for TOUGH Jeansmith in the Asia region. She went to Taiwan, Shanghai, and other places for promotion. In July 2009, it was announced that she would receive a 7-figure sum for the endorsement of botox therapy clinic Dr. Gregor. Pro. : Pro. Chung was also on stage in an adaptation of Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures, produced by Emperor Concerts, part of EEG, for a budget of HK$2 million.

At the Harbin Ice Snow World carnival singing competition on September 13, 2009, Chung displayed an emotional performance art video. At the fair, the silent film, which had been previously shot in Hong Kong, was shown for 8 minutes and 43 seconds. Chung was seen going from laughing to screaming on the video. Hundreds of tourists came to this attraction each day. Many viewers believed that Chung displayed her apologetic attitude by using the art expression. According to artist and video producer Jiang Zhi, the video was only meant to demonstrate how emotions are expressed through art.

Chung's debut solo EP, which was released on March 27th, was released as part of Twins' fourth compilation album Everyone Bounce (). There are six songs on the EP, including debut solo single More Hearts () that was released a year before the album was released.

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