Irene Wan

Biography

Wan Bi Xia, also known as Irene Wan, is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong, whose real name is Wan Bi Yu. She was born on July 30, 1966, in the Tin King Ling area of the New Territories, Hong Kong, into a poor family with four brothers and three sisters, being the youngest. Her father was an officer in the Republic of China army who fled to Hong Kong and settled there. In her childhood, her mother sold her, and although she later returned to her biological family, she became rebellious due to her father's strict discipline. She studied at a Catholic school, and at age twelve moved to Shau Kei Wan to live with her sister to make attending school easier. At age fifteen, she was discovered by a talent scout on the street and participated in filming the movie "靓妹仔" which launched her entertainment career, earning her a nomination for Best New Performer at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards in 1983. She moved to TVB in the early 1990s after feeling her film career was not progressing as hoped, and starred in the 1992 drama "火玫瑰" which boosted her fame and led her to enter the music industry and release albums. Another notable work is the 2001 drama "封神榜". In 2023, she produced the film "我們的十八歲" based on her real life, serving as producer, supervisor, actress, and singing its theme song. She married Chinese businessman He Zu Guang in 2000, and after marriage partially stepped away from entertainment, now working mainly in mainland China.