Jeem Yim Chau-wah

Biography

Yan Qiuhua is a Hong Kong actor born on 12 December 1960 into a poor family. His father worked as a crew member in Cantonese film studios. He lived with his family in Bi Hai Tower, Choi Hung Estate in East Kowloon. Yan began acting at age four as a child actor in film studios, appearing in films such as "The Chase" (1967) and "The Mad Bar" (1970). He started making films at age seven and signed a contract with TVB at age sixteen. He became known for playing "The Big Monster" in the children's program "Jump Fly" during the 1970s. In 1982, he was nominated for Best Leading Actor at the 19th Taiwan Golden Horse Awards for the film "Cream Milk with Tea". He was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in 1983 for the film "Destruction Train". Later, he moved into music and formed the band Crystal Zone (水晶迷) with Fred Carpio as a drummer, winning three awards at the 1987 Carlsberg Pop Music Festival. After retiring from acting in 1993, he worked as a courier at Morning Express and later rose to become the company's deputy general manager. He married in 2001 and had a son in 2006. He has two brothers who were TVB actors.