严慧秀

简介

Yan Huixiu was born in 1928 in Shanghai, with ancestral roots in Cixi, Zhejiang. She was given the stage name "Fenghuang" (Phoenix) by director Zhang Shichuan, who hoped she would soar higher than the famous star Hu Die. She rose to fame as a prominent child star, and at just 11 years old in 1939, she appeared in "Li Sanniang" alongside stars Shu Shi and Zhou Xuan, establishing her as one of the top three child actors of the era. The Guohua Film Company entrusted her with nearly all child roles in their productions. In 1946, she married Liu Heqiang, the eldest son of the renowned Liu film family, and briefly retired to raise a family. She returned to acting after 1949, working in private studios before joining the Shanghai Film Studio after nationalization. In the late 1950s she delivered memorable performances in "The Legend of Lu Ban" and "Old Master Qiao Gets Married." After her first husband passed away in 1964, she married her colleague Shu Shi in 1975. Her final film was "The Secret Imperial Edict" in 1990. She passed away in Shanghai on September 26, 2016, at the age of 88.