Carrie Koo

Biography

Gu Mei (Gu Jia Mei) was born in 1929 in Guangzhou, Republic of China, with her family originating from Suzhou, Jiangsu. Her father was the painter Gu Danming, and she received art education in her youth but had to abandon her studies due to war. She worked at an ice rink and listened to songs by famous singers, then learned to read musical notation from her godfather, musician Sun Ning, and began singing at an entertainment venue despite her mother's opposition. In 1951, she officially entered the singing world and adopted the stage name "Gu Wei," which was mistakenly written as "Gu Mei" and became her permanent stage name. She performed in Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan, and starred in her first musical dance film "Wan Hua Chun Se." In 1956, she became a lead singer for Philips Records in Hong Kong. She joined Shaw Brothers in 1961 and appeared in the comedy film "Miao Ren Miao Shi" with Chen Hou, while also providing the singing voice for the lead actress in "Bu Liao Qing" in three songs including "Bu Liao Qing" and "Meng," composed by her brother Gu Jiahui. She suffered vocal problems while recording "Bai She Zhuan," leading to her songs being discarded in several films. In 1965, she achieved great success with the film "Xiao Yun Que," establishing her status as both a singer and actress. From 1963, she studied painting under Zhao Shao'ang, then Hu Nianzu and Lui Shou-kwan, developing her own style in Chinese ink painting. She held solo exhibitions in Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, San Francisco, and Melbourne, and won the Hong Kong Urban Council Fine Arts Award in 1977. She retired from acting in the mid-1970s and moved to Vancouver, Canada, to devote herself to painting. In 1998, she returned to singing at the concert "Huang Huang Zhen You Qing" with her brother Gu Jiahui, performing "Meng" and "Bu Liao Qing."