曹永廉

简介

Raymond Cho Wing Lim was born in Hong Kong in 1964 and has two older brothers. His father owned a wig factory and a clothing factory, but when Raymond was 16, his father's business failed and the family moved to a squatter area in Hong Kong. He received his primary education at a Chinese Christian church school and was classmates with Ng Kai Wah. Before graduating, he tried to enroll in police training school at age 15 but was rejected for not meeting the age requirement. At age 18, he worked as an extra in films like "小生怕怕" and "香港'82". Before entering entertainment, he worked in various jobs including selling children's clothing and women's underwear, supermarket branch manager, and other occupations.

Raymond entered the singing world by chance when friends heard him singing karaoke and encouraged him to join a singing competition. He signed with a record company in 1991 and participated in many singing performances. In 1994, he officially debuted as a singer and won the "Most Popular New Male Artist Bronze Award" at the Hong Kong TV Awards ceremony. He released three solo albums: "情深款款", "唯一的女神", and "不惜一切", with songs "糊塗情感" and "長夜動人燦lad" gaining popularity. In 1998, he transitioned to acting and joined Hong Kong TV as a professional actor.

Raymond faced financial difficulties early in his acting career, accumulated bank debts, suffered from a mental illness, and contemplated suicide, but overcame this crisis with the support of friends like Siu Mei Kei. He played the villain "方德信" in "雙面伊人" in 1999 and became known for roles like "沈雄" in "法證先鋒" and "安德海" in "大太監" in 2012. He formed close friendships with colleagues in "大太監" known as "太監五虎". In 2016, he won the "Best Supporting Male Actor" award at the Hong Kong TV Awards for his role in "公公出宮". He became known for villainous roles and earned the nickname "Hong Kong TV's Resident Criminal". In 2017, he returned to singing and co-hosted music programs like "流行經典50強" and "流行經典50年" with colleagues.