Stephen Chow is probably the king of comedy in Hong Kong and is known for his offbeat humor and rubbery facial expressions. He is an actor, film director, actor, producer, political consultant, entrepreneur, and martial artist. Chow dominated the Asian box office during most of the 1990s along with his martial arts colleague Jackie Chan.
He has produced many highly successful films, including The Final Combat (1989), Shaolin Soccer (2001), and Kung Fu Hustle (2004).
Stephen Chow Biography
He was born Stephen Chow Sing Chi in Hong Kong on June 22, 1962. As a child, he was fascinated by the movements that the late martial artist and actor Bruce Lee showed in one of his films, The Big Boss. At the age of nine, Stephen Chow decided that he would become a martial arts star just like his hero.
He attended Xiehe School before attending Marino Secondary School. After graduating in 1982, he was accepted for a one-year acting program at a Hong Kong television station, the Acting School of the TVB. Following the program, his career began in 1983 with a presentation appearance on a children’s television program called Space Shuttle 430.
There he gained popularity and was given several other television roles. With his newfound fame, it was not difficult for him to develop into the film industry. He starred in his first feature film “Final Justice” in 1988, which won him a Best Supporting Actor award at the Taiwan Golden Horse Award, but it wasn’t until 1989, in “The Final Combat” that he signed a contract with the fame. Over time, he also delved into other areas of filmmaking: directing and production.
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Chow was present throughout the entertainment industry in the early 1990s, and his success also progressed geometrically. His comedic side broke out to great acclaim with All for the Winner (1990), a parody of Chow Yun-Fat’s God of Players. The film became a huge success and produced an equally impressive sequel, God of Gamblers 2 (1991).
1991 proved to be a banner year for him. He played the lead role in Hong Kong’s most successful movie at the time, Fight Back to School, which also spawned two sequels. Further successes followed as he reinvented his career with parodies of movies from Hollywood, Japan, and Hong Kong. Some of them are Fist of Fury 1991, Justice My Foot (1992), which won him the Best Actor Award at the Pacific Film Festival, and Flirting Scholar (1993).
He made his directing debut in 1994 with From Beijing with Love (1994), a parody of James Bond films. Chow also founded his own production company, Star Overseas, and released three films, including God of Cookery (1997), in which he combines martial arts with cooking.
Starting in 2001, he saw less screening time and concentrated more on works behind the screen. He directed, produced, and starred in the film Shaolin Soccer (2001), in which he combined sport with kung fu and comedy. The film became a huge box office success and gave Chow the opportunity to be introduced to the United States. It was distributed internationally by Miramax Films in 2003 and received numerous awards. It also inspired a spin-off, Shaolin Girl (2008), a Japanese short action comedy focusing on women’s lacrosse.
After the success of Shaolin Soccer, his next kung fu comedy project, Kung Fu Hustle (2004), was released by Columbia Tristar and the film became even more successful. With more than $106 million worldwide, Chow has won numerous awards locally, such as the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film and Best Direction at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards, as well as twenty international awards.
Over the years, the works of Stephen Chow have become synonymous with success, with many of his films winning numerous awards and others breaking box office records. His 2008 film CJ7, based on China’s successful manned space missions in Shenzhou, became Malaysia’s most successful film ever. He also produced an animated version of the film, CJ7: Cartoon in 2010.
In addition: Journey to the West: The Conquest of Demons (2013) became the highest-selling Chinese film of all time, while The Mermaid (2016) not only broke various box office records but also became the highest-selling film of all time in China, the third in Vietnam and the highest-selling film in Asia at the time, with 553.81 million dollars worldwide. His commercially successful work again earned him the ninth-best Hollywood director of 2016.
His most recent works include two Journey to the West offshoots (2017, 2019), two offshoots of The Mermaid (2019), and a sequel to From Beijing with Love, Project D, scheduled for release in 2019. Apart from his success in filmmaking, Chow Sing Chi also has a knack for business investment and has made several successful real estate moves.
Is He Married? Wife, Family
His parents are Ling Bao’er and Zhou Shangyi, who immigrated from Ningbo, Zhejiang, and his sisters include Chow Wenji and Chow Xingxia. After the divorce of his parents when he was 7 years old, he lived with his mother in Shanghai.
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Chow was in a 10-year relationship with Yu Wen Feng, with whom he had been dating since 1999. After he separated from Wen Feng, he met Yue Man Fung before they separated in 2010. In the past, he has been involved with other women, including actress and singer Karen Mok, and in 2016 he was spotted at a dinner with Hong Kong-based model Kama Lo. Speaking of marriage, although he may not have proposed to any woman, at least not one that we know of, he was proposed by the actress Christy Chung after he was denied a Canadian residency permit in 2001, but he refused the proposal.
Chow may seem to be focused on his career and is not yet considering marriage, or he may be in a serious relationship but chose to keep it secret from the prying eyes of the media.
Is Stephen Chow Dead or Alive?
The famous actor was once the victim of a death scam in 2016, triggered by a Facebook user who created a page stating his death on May 22. Apart from the fake report, Stephen Chow is very much alive and well. He continues to delight his fans around the world and will continue to entertain them in the years to come with his creativity, actions, and humor.
