Pauline Chan

Biography

Pauline Chan was born in Shanghai in 1973 as the only child of her parents. Her parents divorced when she was four years old, and she was raised by her grandmother Wang Yi, a famous actress. She moved to Hong Kong with her mother at age twelve. Her mother was heavily in debt due to gambling and forced Pauline to work as a model for pornographic magazines at age fifteen to pay off the debts. At seventeen, she competed in the 1990 Miss Asia pageant, and after not winning, she was signed by an agency. She entered the film industry at a time when Category III films were popular in Hong Kong. Her mother signed her to multiple Category III films while she was a minor, such as "The Lamp Monk," "I Come from Beijing," and "May Lips." She was forced to film them despite her reluctance due to massive penalty clauses, and would cry during filming, leaving her with severe psychological trauma. In 1995, she produced and starred in the film "Chance Encounter," which was her last Category III film. She lived a turbulent life filled with scandals and was known for her relationship with businessman Huang Renzhong. In 1998, she converted to Buddhism and took the spiritual name Minghui. She gave birth to a boy in June 2002, and on July 31 of that same year, she committed suicide by jumping from her apartment balcony in Shanghai at the age of 29, leaving behind a newborn son. "Goodbye Firefly" was her last work. Her child was later adopted by renowned manager Chiu Li-kwan and named Chiu Huang-yi.