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Chow Yun-Fat was born on May 18, 1955 on Lamma Island near
the city of Hong Kong, China
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Chow Yun-Fat was born, Jau Yun Faat (Cantonese), Zhou Run Fa, on the small Lamma
Island off Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, China. Chow Yun-Fat identifies two childhood
influences on his dramatic life: the Cantonese Opera, at yearly festivals in honor of the
Goddess of the Sea, and American movies. His childhood nickname was Sai Gau (Little
Dog). His mother said out of her four kids Little Dog is the most filial. When he was little he
was very obedient. "Every kid gets naughty, he too ran over the hills, climbed trees, swam,
and messed with fireworks, but he always came home on time for dinner."Chow Yun-Fat has
dedicated his career to his mother. She struggled to raise his family alone after the death
of her husband in 1974. CYF has ruled out moving to Hollywood so he can stay near her. "My
mother is everything to me. You never forget who you are, where you come from. I think it is
important for me to remain in Hong Kong, to make sure she is looked after. I think we have a
different attitude still in the Far East. We have respect for the old. We think this is right.
Whenever people start talking about me moving to California and how much more money
I could earn, I put these things aside." CYF is always at home during the Chinese New Year.
His family moves to Hong Kong and Chow Yun-Fat becomes a big movie fan.
He fed his family's pigs and chickens and cooked dumplings with his mother to sell in the
market on Saturday mornings. When his sailor father died, his mother moved the nine-year-
old CYF and his two sisters and brother to Kowloon, Hong Kong. He describes their dwelling
as a "birdcage;" the apartment had a kitchen and bathroom shared by five families. As a ten
year old he would hit the streets at 4am to sell dim sum snacks to early-morning market
traders. He had to quit school at age seventeen to help support the family by doing odd jobs:
courier, bellboy, door-to-door camera salesman, taxi driver. That is why he says of his fans
today: "I think when people look at me they see themselves. If I'm playing a cab driver, I'm the
real thing.” "When I first walked into a cinema and saw the pictures, a Cantonese black and
white movie, I thought it was amazing." He became what he still is- a 100% movie fan, preferring
World War II adventures and latter epics like The Godfather Pictures: CYF's mother, older sister
(showing his photos), older brother, and younger sister.
Chow Yun-Fat becomes a successful TV actor
CYF began his acting career at the age of 18 working for a television studio in Hong Kong.
The TV station had a similar program to the big studio system once used by major motion
picture companies in the United States. The actors would be spotted by someone who looked
like they had potential and the studio would school them on how to act, sing, dance, dress, etc.
In this case CYF "tried out" for the station to see if he had enough talent. Someone who saw
him was not sure if he was extremely talented, but even then he had a look, and style that they
thought he could be successful as an actor. By the age of 21 he was already a major presence
on Chinese TV and had started to segue into a movie career. He ended up staying at the studio
for 14 years, completing numerous films and over 1,000 episodes in various series; acting in
soap operas, dramas and comedies. The Bund aka Shanghai Beach was so popular that it
was said even when running the series as a re-run in Shanghai, the streets were deserted
when it was on TV. CYF fans still talk about the series and show pictures from it on forums.
During this time he began a long time romance with another TV performer Idy Chan Yuk-Lin.
By the looks of the article to the left he had various actresses linked to him. Some of them
were Cora Miao, Cherie Chung, and Carol Do Do Cheng. The 5 year romance with popular TV
star Idy Chan Yuk-Lin ended, and CYF found himself in a hospital after an attempted suicide
over the break-up (as he tells the story). Soon after he married the beautiful actress Candice
Yu On-On in 1983. It was a marriage puzzling to friends and it only lasted less than a year.
Soon after he met his long-time present wife Jasmine Tan (Chan Wui-Lin). They married in
1987. Jasmine is well educated from a well-to-do family in Singapore. She quickly took over
managing his business, and they have become a good team working on his career. They do
not have any children although they lost a baby at one time.
Top picture of Hong Kong newspaper showing some of his women friends#2 Idy Chan Yuk-Lin
#3 Candice Yu On-On #4 His wife Jasmine Tan (Chan Wui-Lin) Click on the wedding pictures
to see more of the weddings
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