Actresses from Hong Kong

"This [to be arrested because taking part in the student-led pro-democracy movement] is part of my responsibility as an adult and celebrity, to fill the responsibility of civil disobedience."

"Real freedom can't be eradicated. It is our civic duty to continue to go to the streets."

"Taiwan is a free, democratic and liberal nation, so the government would not issue a mask ban, but the government would not tolerate masked thugs, such as the man who tossed red paint on Hong Kong singer and rights advocate Denise Ho on the sidelines of a rally last month."

"People always criticize. If they want to, they will find something to criticize. Hey, we all criticize. You like a film or you don’t. It’s up to you. You can’t stop that anyway. That’s part of human nature"

"She was everything that I imagined her to be when I was a young girl growing up, idolizing her, she's elegant, and beautiful, and just incredibly generous."

"“I pressed forward, choosing to ignore the things I was feeling and the pressure I was under. I swept it all under the rug and pretended that it didn’t exist. When I finally pulled up that rug, I had no choice but to confront everything behind my depression. I concluded that love is very important. I also realized that I’ve been loved.”"

"My mom always said, ‘Don't forget your roots, don't forget where you came from.’ I'm Chinese, and I'm proud to be Chinese. I always remember that."

"I am CoCo Lee and it has been 27 years since my debut. No matter how big I stand on the international stage, I can still proudly say that I am Chinese and I am from Hong Kong, China."

"Everyone in China is saying this is unfair. We are Chinese. We know what’s right and wrong. We are very clever. We are reasonable. Our ears are not numb."

"I have learned that people can be very, very vicious."

"Be a caring person and help other people, have a kind heart and be very disciplined – because life is hard."

"Care about the suffering of others and try to help if you can, love our Mother Earth, be a good listener, gain wisdom and have abundance of love to give to others. Be the boss of your own life. Stand up for something you believe in. Be an influential figure to inspire people. And keep spreading Love & Positivity everywhere. Remember there’s only one of you in the world, you are one of a kind. Life can be too short so dare to dream big!"

"Life seemed unbearable at times but I adapted the attitude of a 'female warrior'."

"LOVE & FAITH ~my 2 favorite words that I carry strongly in my heart which I desperately needed to get thru this incredibly difficult year."

"Inside my solo album, there was a bio of me. Under ‘what is your goal?’ I said: ‘to be an international sensation.’ That is so crazy. A 19-year-old who has just started out – who the heck are you to dream that big? But you’ve gotta dream big. When you have a big goal, you can surpass yourself trying to reach it. If you don’t, you never grow."

"I almost had a heart attack. I was going to be the first Chinese artist to perform at the Oscars. It’s that Chinese pride. I want people to know that we are talented in many ways: not only at kung fu, computers or cooking Chinese food. I felt like I had a lot to prove."

"I do love singing covers. Funny thing is, I have always preferred singing other people’s songs and making them my own. That’s why this show is perfect for me."

"People were telling me the pressure was nothing like anything you’ve experienced before. But I felt if I was going to be afraid of the consequences I would never make a breakthrough. After all, it’s the same as breaking through in the United States. If I had been afraid of failure, I would never have taken that step. Sometimes in life you have to be brave and challenge yourself to do something that is so out of the ordinary and out of your comfort zone. Sometimes you have to be a little bit crazy to do this."

"I’m not afraid. I’m fearless. I dare to do things that people don’t expect me to do. Even before I became well known, I was this Chinese singer, singing ballads in Taiwan, wearing shorts and looking like one of the Spice Girls. I was different from everybody else. That was 1994. All the women singers were elegant, wearing dresses and speaking softly, whereas I was quirky and had a crazy loud laugh. I wasn’t afraid to be different and just be me."

"I’d go to Lionel for a lot of advice. He was so supportive. He used to tell me: ‘CoCo, I never worried about you once. I always knew that you would kill it.’ He’s always been very sweet and supportive."

"She’s my role model, my idol, my legend. She taught me to be a strong, independent woman. I grew up watching how hard she worked. She made me realise that if you want something in this life you have to work hard at it. You’ve got to make the effort. Because of her I was never afraid of hardship. After witnessing all the hardship my mum had been through for us, I was more determined to make it so I could give her a better life."

"If you YouTube the song Bad Romance, there’s a cape I wear when I first walk on stage. I only wear it for about 20 seconds but we spent weeks on that cape, making sure it was just right, making sure it would come off fluidly when I needed it to."

"For a fashion shoot, I always come up with ideas. I’ll share with the team what I’d love to explore. But it’s also important to let creative people have ideas."

"I feel very fortunate that I have gained so much experience performing all over the world and it’s great that I could give back by advising these young talents. There are a lot of great singers out there. But it’s all about how you make yourself stand out and make yourself memorable. These kids are the future of our music industry. It’s more meaningful to be able to play a part in shaping them into brilliant artists."

"In being a judge... I would try to be a good role model by showing them my work ethic and by simply being a caring friend as I know how brutal this industry can be."

"One of my goals is to set up a management or entertainment company to nurture artists... I want to give opportunities to showcase younger singers, every chance I get."

"I would like to do a movie about my mum... The story’s got romance. It’s got conflict. It’s got humour and lots of drama. It’s always been a little dream of mine to make the film. She’s been through so much and I learned from my mum that when you have the power to help and give back, you must."

"When CoCo and I first met, we were probably 18 and 19 years old. She had a radiant smile, an infectious laugh, a larger-than-life personality. She already had all the qualities that were to make her a future star. As the years progressed, our paths continued to cross. All the while, her star kept rising. She was the biggest star at Sony, and then she was the biggest star in Asia. I remember her singing at the Oscars [and when] Sony New York signed her to be the first Chinese artist to break into the US market. Mariah Carey’s agent signed her. Everybody wanted to work with CoCo, and for good reason. She was the best. CoCo Lee broke down international barriers, before any other Chinese singer did. Let’s always remember her as a brave pioneer and an important musical legend."

"I will never forget your smile, voice, and dance! You are the most humble genius."

"I really get the hang of it when I feel like my soul is intertwined with the character I’m playing. That excitement is beyond what words could describe. I feel the character’s pain, her helplessness, her everything. When I’m there, I secretly feel happy for my own acting."

"I’d say never give up on your dreams. Destiny strikes you when you are least prepared, but as long as you are prepared your dream will come true."

"A hard-working person might not end up being successful, but a successful person is most definitely a hard worker."

"I had high expectations of myself from the start. I think I had a rather smooth journey in showbiz — I always had work opportunities knocking on my door, but rather than being stressed over a lack of work, I put pressure on myself because I wanted to do better. When you want to become better, you put more pressure on yourself as well."

"There were too many unknowns, and that caused me to doubt myself. At the time, I also took awards more seriously. But after some time in the industry, I realised that it’s more important to treat your job seriously every day. Everything else is just a bonus."

"I need to see charisma, X-factor or something unique about the person. Something that will make me go ‘Wow’ the moment he or she walks on stage. Just like how it was when I was a rookie."

"What attracts people is the aura that you exude, rather than just good looks."

"I’m still learning how to be a good person. I feel that sometimes, I’m not objective enough. When you think of situations from a different point of view, you’ll discover that it might be the reason why disagreements occur in the first place. Learning to be more accepting of different points of views and mindsets is very important."

"If you’re happier, you’ll be healthier, and you’ll live longer too."

"I have liked fashion since I was small. Only after becoming the creative director of my fashion brand, did I realize that making a piece of apparel is nothing easy. The entire process starts from conceptualization, deciding on the materials, to production and sales and marketing, which are all very interesting to me. Most importantly, I believe fashion coexists with films. I actually have got many of my creative inspirations from films. Good fashion is timeless."

"I think things have their own ways of operation in different period or times. [Formerly], each entertainer was well polished before they were shown to the public. They were well protected. Now, with the effect of social media platforms, each entertainer is expected to present themselves very honestly. Live interviews are getting popular on social media now. The good side of it is that you can let your audience know what you are really like."

"Being knowledgeable is a prerequisite, only then can you be good at acting. Otherwise, you are just a flower vase."

"If a film does well, other people want to work with you."

"Many people have the misconception that a pretty girl can only be a ‘vase’ in a film. I want people to consider me not just to be a film star, but someone who knows about acting."

"I have done all kinds of scripts, but I prefer working on dramas. They give me room to really act. Comedies are fun to work on, but I don’t get much satisfaction from them."

"Comedies are written for men, and the women just stand around. But I do like the audience reaction to comedies. When they laugh, I feel good. You don’t get that sort of pleasure from making dramas."

"I have nothing against commercial films, but if you’re in a movie, [and] you feel the script and everything else about it has no meaning – it’s just another production that the boss can add to his list – I don’t think you should do it."

"My first dream was to be a hairdresser, then a model."

"I’m very honest to my work, to myself and my audience. I never pretend I am something I am not. And when I play a part, I always give it as much as I can. That’s honesty too. I’m proud of being me."

"Well I don't think any two different people can be compared, because for me as you see on my list I've worked with so many different kinds of directors, that I never try to compare two people. I think they are individuals, and because of their upbringing and background they become the way they are and it also affects what they want to say in a movie, I think that's the interesting part, to see the differences in them."

"I mean for me, sometimes I can just picture things that I can't explain, and I think a snake just sort of wriggles along the way."

"No matter where I'm going, I feel like I'm leaving something behind. Every time I get on a plane, I cry. The flight attendants on Cathay Pacific must think I'm mad."

"You experience a lot more pain than normal people—your mom dies, your dad dies, your boyfriend chucks you, you live in the street, and you're really going through these emotions. You're trying to know what it feels like to watch a man die in front of you, as if you've really lived it. Once that division is gone, it gets blurry—you look back at a shoot and think, was I really that sad because in the film my boyfriend didn't like me—or was it something else, something real?"

"We were in Los Angeles. And we could go anywhere. No one had any idea who I was."

"I think I started to have thoughts to really want to be serious about my work when I was about twenty five and I just kind of started to look into that direction and moved into it. But it didn't seem as though it was going anywhere because, you know, films without action or comedy are rare to find in Hong Kong, especially if the main character is a woman. But along the way, I've had a few good breaks."

"Well first of all, in Hong Kong, I think they're still interested in the action films and I think in some ways in action films we still do it better than the Americans. I think that's the first interest that people have still on Hong Kong movies and, you know, the world is smaller now and it's time to open your eyes to other things."

"I have no regrets as an actress, even though I have been one for 15 years and don't think that all the films I've done are that good."

"I like the idea of writing and directing something. That would be my goal in life. But that would not be in the near future. I would have to write and direct at the same time because I don't think anyone could give me a script that I would want to direct."

"To be honest, I really think a lot of Hong Kong actors/actresses aren't interested in European movies."

"I used to be an actress. After being away from film sets for 12 years, I no longer deserve to be called an actress!"

"Yet “Maggie” (as her fans affectionately call her) stands out against western clichés about Chinese actresses. No Orientalist fantasy, she is a modern Hong Kong woman, a complex mirror image of post-colonial dilemmas: displacement, racist misrepresentation and partial loss of cultural identity (she speaks English better than she can read Chinese characters). Unlike such mainland stars as Gong Li and Siqin Gaowa, she has never formally trained as an actress and her acting depends more on emotion than technique."

"At that time, she didn’t have much ambition for her acting career, because of the kind of roles she was offered. I noticed that, if given a lot of dialogue, she would become very nervous; then I cut most of her lines, so she could concentrate on her body language, which is something she was very good at."

"The last time I won, I felt it was Charmaine Sheh who won. But this time, I believe it was Man Wai-sum who won. I didn't just play the role - I became the role. She guided me, and through the compelling storyline, I resonated with the audience once again. I'd like to say to Man Wai-sum, 'I love you, Man Wai-sum!'"

"I was also worried about playing the villainess. In the past, when I played the bad guy, I lost my chance at an endorsement because of my character in the drama. I was concerned that it would happen again. But I am glad that times are different now and the audiences have different ideas about television characters."