Cecilia Yip Tung

Biography

Cecilia Yip Tung, born Lee Sze Sze on 8 March 1963 in Hong Kong, is a prominent film and television actress. She grew up in the North Point and Wan Chai areas of Hong Kong Island and studied at Model English School. During her school years she spent a period with her family in Singapore, which affected her academic performance, but she returned and completed her education. She began her career as a part-time model, where she met actor Tony Leung and appeared in the first subway advertisement, and during this period met her husband Chen Guo Shi who introduced her to director Leung Po Chi and screenwriter Chan Wan Man, and then to director Patrick Tam. She made her debut in the film "Flaming Youth" (1981) and signed a three-year contract with Five Continents Films, but the company closed after releasing "The Outsiders". She was nominated for Best New Performer at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards for "Flaming Youth". Director Patrick Tam chose her stage name "Yip Tung," meaning young newcomer. She did not know acting initially, but director Leung Po Chi guided her and helped her understand the art of performance. She won Best Actress at the 3rd Hong Kong Film Awards for "Seven Days of Love" and at the 11th for "Silent Warning," and also won Best Supporting Actress for "Beyond the Sunset" in 1990. She was also nominated for Best Actress for "Hong Kong 1941," "To Be Number One," and "The Peace Hotel." Her career expanded to theatre with works such as "Forbidden Love," "The Wild," and "A Night in Shanghai." She participated in many TV series including "The Blue Sky of Love," "The Legend of the White Snake," "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," "Seven Heroes and Five Gallants," "The New Princess Flower," "Born to Be a King," "The Return of the King of a Thousand," "Bodyguard - The Jade Doll," and "The Great Imperial Envoy." She played dual roles in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" as Yin Susu and Zhao Min, and was nominated for Best Actress at the Taiwan Television Awards for this work. She began her Taiwan career after producer Yang Pei Pei was impressed by her performance in "The Swordsman" (1990) and invited her to film "The Blue Sky of Love," her first TV series. She opened her mainland China career through "The Legend of the White Snake" in 1992, where she played the male role of Xu Xian, increasing her fame in China. In 2010 she was invited to be a jury member at the 47th Golden Horse Awards. In January 2019 she participated with eight other Best Actress winners at the reopening ceremony of the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and became the 108th participant in the star handprint tribute program.