Li Ching

Biography

Li Ching (1948–2018), born Li Guoying in Shanghai in 1948, moved with her family to Hong Kong after the political change in China in 1949. She was the youngest of eight children. She joined Shaw Brothers' Southern Experimental Theatre Troupe as a teenager despite her parents' objections, being selected from over two thousand applicants. She began her career with supporting roles in films such as "Blood Handprint," "The Lotus Lamp," and "Wen Suchen," with her first leading role being in "The Fish Beauty," for which she won Best Actress at the 12th Asian Film Festival in 1965. At age 17, she became the youngest actress to win the title, earning the nickname "Baby Queen of Cinema." She signed an eight-year contract with Shaw Brothers and became one of the most prominent actresses in Hong Kong and Taiwan during the 1970s. She left Shaw Brothers in 1976 and worked as a free actress, later founding her own production company in 1978. After the sudden death of her fiancé in 1979 and her mother in 1983, she withdrew from the entertainment industry. In her later years, she suffered financial losses due to gambling and failed investments, and passed away in 2018.