Brigitte Lin
Encyclopedia
Brigitte Lin or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia (born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwan
ese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon
of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese
and Hong Kong movies
. She retired in 1994, although she had a minor role in the 1998 film Bishonen
.
, and was "discovered" in 1972 by a film producer, and first appeared in many Taiwanese romance film
s based on the novels of Chiung Yao
. Her movie debut is in Chuangwai. She later switched over to making movies in Hong Kong. At the height of her popularity she was arguably one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry. She starred in more than 100 movies.
In Hong Kong movies, Lin made a career of playing transgender
roles: in Peking Opera Blues
she plays a tomboy
who dresses in male Western clothes; in New Dragon Gate Inn
she is a woman who dresses as a man, and in Swordsman II
and III she plays a male sorcerer who castrates himself for power and so is now slowly turning into a woman. She had a good working relationship with Tsui Hark
, acting in many of the films he directed (like Peking Opera Blues) and produced (Swordsman II).
She married businessman Michael Ying
in 1994 and left the film industry. She has two daughters, born in 1997 and 2001. She made her first public appearance since her marriage at a screening of Ashes of Time Redux at the 2008 New York Film Festival.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese
Cinema of Taiwan
The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of Mainland China and Cinema of Taiwan . Taiwanese cinema grew up outside of the Hong Kong mainstream and the censorship of the People's Republic of China.Taiwanese cinema is deeply rooted...
and Hong Kong movies
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
. She retired in 1994, although she had a minor role in the 1998 film Bishonen
Bishonen (film)
Bishonen... , is a 1998 Hong Kong romantic drama film about an ill-fated gay romance. It is directed by Yonfan and starred Stephen Fung, Daniel Wu and Shu Qi....
.
Biography
She was born in TaipeiTaipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, and was "discovered" in 1972 by a film producer, and first appeared in many Taiwanese romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
s based on the novels of Chiung Yao
Chiung Yao
Chiung Yao is the penname of a popular Taiwan romance novelist. Many of her works have been made and remade into movies and TV series. Films based on her books have been made in the Republic of China since the 1970s, and were very popular during their time...
. Her movie debut is in Chuangwai. She later switched over to making movies in Hong Kong. At the height of her popularity she was arguably one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry. She starred in more than 100 movies.
In Hong Kong movies, Lin made a career of playing transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
roles: in Peking Opera Blues
Peking Opera Blues
Peking Opera Blues is a 1986 Hong Kong film directed by Tsui Hark. The movie combines comedy, Hong Kong action, and serious drama with scenes involving Peking Opera...
she plays a tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
who dresses in male Western clothes; in New Dragon Gate Inn
New Dragon Gate Inn
New Dragon Gate Inn is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Raymond Lee and produced by Tsui Hark, starring Tony Leung Ka-fai, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung and Donnie Yen. It was released as Dragon Inn in North America....
she is a woman who dresses as a man, and in Swordsman II
Swordsman II
Swordsman II, also known as The Legend of the Swordsman, is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia film. It was directed by Ching Siu-tung and Stanley Tong and written by Hanson Chan, Tang Pik-yin and Tsui Hark. The film was the second part of a trilogy. It starred Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan and Michelle...
and III she plays a male sorcerer who castrates himself for power and so is now slowly turning into a woman. She had a good working relationship with Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
, acting in many of the films he directed (like Peking Opera Blues) and produced (Swordsman II).
She married businessman Michael Ying
Michael Ying
Michael Ying or Ying Lee Yuen was chairman and chief executive officer of Esprit Holdings Limited. His spouse is Taiwanese former actress Lin Ching Hsia , and has two daughters, born in 1996 and 2001, with her.-External links:*...
in 1994 and left the film industry. She has two daughters, born in 1997 and 2001. She made her first public appearance since her marriage at a screening of Ashes of Time Redux at the 2008 New York Film Festival.
Partial filmography
| Year | Title | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Outside the Window | breakthrough role |
| 1974 | The River of Cloudy | |
| 1975 | He Loved Once Too Many | |
| 1977 | 800 Heroes | Asia-Pacific Film Festival for Best Actress |
| 1980 | Magnificent 72 | Golden Horse Award Nomination: Best Actress |
| 1982 | Fantasy Mission Force Fantasy Mission Force Fantasy Mission Force is a 1983 Hong Kong action-comedy film directed by Chu Yin-Ping and starring Jackie Chan in a supporting role, Brigitte Lin, Jimmy Wang Yu.... |
|
| 1983 | Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain is a 1983 Hong Kong supernatural fantasy film directed by Tsui Hark, who attempts to combine Hong Kong action cinema with Western special effects technology... |
Hong Kong Film Award Nomination: Best Actress |
| Demon Fighter Demon Fighter Demon Fighter is a 1983 Taiwanese film written by Gu Long. The film was directed by Chang Peng-i and starring Adam Cheng and Brigitte Lin. Alternative release titles for the film include: Orchids of Midnight; Night Orchid; Thirteen Moon Sword; Lone Ninja Warrior and Faster Blade Poisonous... |
||
| 1985 | Police Story Police Story (film) Police Story is a 1985 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film directed by and starring Jackie Chan and written by Chan and Edward Tang. It is the first of the Police Story series featuring Chan as a Hong Kong police detective named "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui.Chan began work on the film after a... |
Hong Kong Film Award Nomination: Best Actress |
| 1986 | Peking Opera Blues Peking Opera Blues Peking Opera Blues is a 1986 Hong Kong film directed by Tsui Hark. The movie combines comedy, Hong Kong action, and serious drama with scenes involving Peking Opera... |
|
| 1990 | Red Dust | Golden Horse Award: Best Actress |
| 1991 | Swordsman II Swordsman II Swordsman II, also known as The Legend of the Swordsman, is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia film. It was directed by Ching Siu-tung and Stanley Tong and written by Hanson Chan, Tang Pik-yin and Tsui Hark. The film was the second part of a trilogy. It starred Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan and Michelle... |
Hong Kong Film Award Nomination: Best Actress |
| 1992 | New Dragon Gate Inn New Dragon Gate Inn New Dragon Gate Inn is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Raymond Lee and produced by Tsui Hark, starring Tony Leung Ka-fai, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung and Donnie Yen. It was released as Dragon Inn in North America.... |
|
| Handsome Siblings Handsome Siblings Handsome Siblings is a 1992 Hong Kong film adapted from Gu Long's novel Juedai Shuangjiao. The film was directed by Eric Tsang and starred Andy Lau and Brigitte Lin.-Plot:... |
Hong Kong Film Award Nomination: Best Actress |
|
| Royal Tramp Royal Tramp Royal Tramp is a 1992 Hong Kong film based on Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. The film was one of the five top grossing Hong Kong films in 1992. Stephen Chow, who played the protagonist Wai Siu-bo, also starred in the other four films... |
||
| Royal Tramp II Royal Tramp II Royal Tramp II is a 1992 Hong Kong film based on Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. The film is a sequel to Royal Tramp, which was released earlier in the same year.-Cast:*Stephen Chow as Wai Siu-bo*Brigitte Lin as Lung-yee... |
||
| Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring , also Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, was the second stage play by the Performance Workshop in 1986, and also the first successful modern stage play in Taiwan... |
||
| 1993 | Swordsman III | |
| Boys Are Easy | ||
| The Black Panther Warriors | ||
| Deadful Melody | ||
| The Bride with White Hair The Bride with White Hair The Bride with White Hair is a 1993 Hong Kong film directed by Ronny Yu and starring Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung.The film's main character, Lian Nichang, is loosely based on the protagonist of Liang Yusheng's novel Baifa Monü Zhuan, which had earlier served as source material for the 1982 film... |
||
| The Bride with White Hair 2 The Bride with White Hair 2 The Bride with White Hair 2 is a 1993 Hong Kong film directed by David Wu. It is the sequel to The Bride with White Hair, with Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung reprising their roles as Lian Nichang and Zhuo Yihang... |
||
| The Eagle Shooting Heroes The Eagle Shooting Heroes The Eagle Shooting Heroes is a 1993 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Jeffrey Lau. It is a parody of Louis Cha's novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.-Production:... |
||
| 1994 | Ashes of Time Ashes of Time -Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film.... |
|
| Chungking Express Chungking Express Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman... |
||
| Fire Dragon Fire Dragon Fire Dragon is a 1986 comedy/action film. It mostly consists of stock footage from the film Fantasy Mission Force, including scenes of Brigitte Lin and Jackie Chan.... |
||
| Semi-Gods and Semi-Devils | ||
| The Three Swordsmen | ||
| 1998 | Bishonen Bishonen (film) Bishonen... , is a 1998 Hong Kong romantic drama film about an ill-fated gay romance. It is directed by Yonfan and starred Stephen Fung, Daniel Wu and Shu Qi.... |
|
| 2001 | Peony Pavilion |