Charlie Chin

Biography

Charlie Chin, born on May 19, 1945 in Nanjing, is a Hong Kong and Taiwanese film actor who grew up in Hong Kong and traces his ancestry to Huanggang, Hubei. His family fled to Hong Kong in 1952, settling in the Tiao Jing Ling area where he attended a local primary school. At age 12 he went to Taiwan to study Peking opera at Fu Shing Experimental School of Theatrical Arts, specializing in martial roles and learning the yueqin. After graduating in 1968 he returned to Hong Kong and appeared in several martial arts films but remained largely unknown. In 1973 he moved to Taiwan where, with the support of superstar Chen Chen, he landed his first leading role in "The Heart with a Thousand Knots," which made him famous overnight. Further successes in "Misty Curtains of Dreams" and "Marriage Matters" cemented his stardom and ushered in the "Two Chins and Two Lins" era of romantic cinema. He won Best Actor at the 20th Asian Film Festival for "Snowflakes" and took home the Golden Horse Best Actor award twice, in 1975 for "Everlasting Love" and in 1977 for "A Love Affair in Exile." In his personal life, he was married to actress Siu Fong Fong for three years before their divorce in 1978, and was engaged to actress Brigitte Lin from 1980 to 1984. After retiring, he remarried, had two sons, and settled in Los Angeles as a horticulture expert focused on growing crops. In 2013 he was invited by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival to present the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th Golden Horse Awards.