Kathy Chow

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chow or Chau.

Kathy Chow
Chow in 2011
Born(1966-12-06)6 December 1966[1]
Hong Kong
Died11 December 2023(2023-12-11) (aged 57)
Beijing, China
EducationHigh school
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1985–2023
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 1989)​
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese周海媚
Simplified Chinese周海媚
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōu Hǎimèi
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingZaau1 Hoi2 Mei6
Musical career
Also known asHoi Mei (海味)
OriginHong Kong
LabelsTVB (1985–1997、2008–2009、2012–2014)
ATV (1998–2001)

Kathy Chow Hoi-mei (Chinese: 周海媚; pinyin: Zhōu Hǎimèi; Jyutping: Zaau1 Hoi2 Mei6; 6 December 1966 – 11 December 2023), or Kathy Chau Hoi-mei[note 1], was a Hong Kong actress and singer who was widely known for her leading roles in Hong Kong TVB series during the late 1980s to 1990s such as The Breaking Point and Time Before Time. Her popularity peaked in Asia following her portrayal of Zhou Zhiruo in the 1994 Taiwanese adaptation of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.[3]

Life and career

[edit]

Kathy Chow was born in Hong Kong on 6 December 1966. She was an ethnic Manchu, descended from the Gūwalgiya clan of the Bordered White Banner.[4] Chow was a Miss Hong Kong pageant participant in 1985.[5] During the late 1980s and 1990s, she actively modeled and starred in Hong Kong TVB series.

Chow switched work to ATV in 1998. During this time she would occasionally be featured in Hong Kong films and appear in award shows. Kathy was only with ATV up to 2001 and later went to Beijing to follow new career prospects.

In March 2008, Chow returned to TVB and signed on to TVB's action E.U., the sequel to The Academy and On the First Beat.

In later years, she starred occasionally in a few TVB series, but her focus was still on mainland China's productions.

On 11 December 2023, Kathy Chow died in Beijing from an illness at the age of 57.[6][7] After Chow's death announcement, her artist friend Tin Kai-man confirmed that she had been suffering from lupus for many years.[8][9] Chow was also rumoured to have suffered from lupus several times during her lifetime. However, she had denied all these rumours, claiming that she only had a condition of thrombocytopenia with unknown cause.[10][11][8][9]

On 27 December, 2023, Kathy's sister issued a statement which revealed that the actual cause of death was sudden heart attack. This had been confirmed with coroners. The statement also mentioned that all her pets had already been adopted to animal lovers around Beijing. The funeral procession and the burial site would be kept private, but her bone ash and burial site would both be in Hong Kong.[12]

Filmography

[edit]

Television series

[edit]

Films

[edit]
  • 2020 – Returning from Armor (卸甲归来)
  • 2019 – Bone China (骨瓷)
  • 2019 – The Rookies (素人特工)
  • 2019 – The Magic School (捉妖学院)
  • 2019 – The Incredible Monk 3 (济公之降龙有悔)
  • 2017 – Mr.Pride VS Miss Prejudice (傲娇与偏见)
  • 2015 – Hot Blood Band (熱血男人幫)
  • 2013 – The Legend of Dunhuang (敦煌傳奇)
  • 2011 – Legendary Amazons (楊門女將之軍令如山)
  • 2011 – To Love or Not (一夜未了情)
  • 2007 – Crazy Money & Funny Men (大話股神)
  • 2004 – A Decisive Move (同步凶間)
  • 2004 – City Crisis (中年危機)
  • 2003 – We're Not the Worst (五個墮落的男女)
  • 2002 – Memento (35米厘兇心人)
  • 2001 – Vampire Controller (趕屍先生)
  • 2000 – A Game of No Rule (無法無天)
  • 2000 – Sound from the Dark (陰風耳)
  • 1998 – Nude Fear (追兇20年)
  • 1998 – The Sleepless Town (不夜城)
  • 1998 – Beast Cops (野獸刑警)
  • 1998 – Cheap Killers (愈墮落愈英雄)
  • 1998 – The Love and Sex of the Eastern Hollywood (愛在娛樂圈的日子)
  • 1997 – Cause We Are So Young (求戀期)
  • 1996 – First Option (飛虎)
  • 1995 – Don't Give a Damn (冇面俾)
  • 1994 – Love Recipe (愛情色香味)
  • 1994 – The Private Eye Blues (非常偵探)
  • 1993 – Fight Back to School III (逃學威龍III之龍過雞年)
  • 1993 – Insanity (觸目驚心)
  • 1992 – James Wong in Japan & Korea (帶你嫖韓日)
  • 1991 – The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead (魔唇劫)
  • 1990 – King of Gambler (賭王)
  • 1990 – The Wildgoose Chase (不文小丈夫)
  • 1989 – My Dear Son (我要富貴)
  • 1989 – Nobody's Hero (情義我心知)
  • 1988 – The Truth (法內情)
  • 1988 – How to Pick Girls Up! (求愛敢死隊)
  • 1986 – Cadets on the Beat (豬仔出更)

Studio albums

[edit]
  • 1995 – Sunrise Love (日出愛情)
  • 1997 – Loving You (迷戀你)

Other appearances

[edit]

Kathy Chow Hoi-Mei also appeared in Jacky Cheung's music video for the song 吻別 in 1993.[13]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ As seen from the photo-book taken by Sachiku Koro in Japan in 1996.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Wei, An (20 December 2013). "Top 10 timeless female Chinese stars". China Internet Information Center. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  2. ^ "周海媚去世｜日本寫真逐張睇 因文化差異寧去台灣發展". AM730. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Kathy Chow Has Not Aged in 20 Years". Mingpao Hong Kong. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  4. ^ 何东 (16 July 2015). "周海媚曝家世显赫：出身满族镶白旗 若在清朝就是妃子". ent.ifeng.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  5. ^ Kathy Chow News – Entertainpulse. entertainpulse.com (13 December 2023). Retrieved (13 December 2023).
  6. ^ "快訊／周海媚去世！工作室證實噩耗「醫治無效」 享年57歲". ETtoday星光雲. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Hong Kong actress Kathy Chow dies of illness at age 57". CNA Lifestyle.
  8. ^ a b "藝人周海媚因病離世終年57歲 曾演活「周芷若」等多個經典角色". TVB News. 12 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b "周海媚去世｜被爆長期受紅斑狼瘡困擾　田啟文稱做好友只可關心". HK01. 12 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  10. ^ "周海媚憶述錯過徐克《東方不敗》演出機會 被老豆整蠱才選港姐 細8年北京男友曾經求婚【星級會客室 #周海媚 訪問 中文字幕】". YouTube. HOY TV. 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  11. ^ "周海媚去世｜由傳聞到否認再證實 27小時混亂時間表". AM730. 13 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  12. ^ "周海媚胞姊委託《明周》代公布 海味所有遺產安排 室內監控錄像「沒有痛苦」 法醫鑑定「突發心臟病猝死」". 明周娛樂 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  13. ^ 吻别 - 张学友【官方MV】, retrieved 13 December 2023
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kathy_Chow&oldid=1244416926"