Biography
Who is Stephen Chow?
Early life and education
Stephen Chow was born in Hong Kong on June 22, 1962. His father was Chow Yik-sheung, who moved from Ningbo, Zhejiang. His mother, Ling Po-yee, attended Guangzhou Normal University. He grew up with two sisters named Chow Man-kei and Chow Sing-ha. His given name comes from a Tang dynasty essay by poet Wang Bo. After his parents divorced when he was seven, his mother raised him. He attended Heep Woh Primary School in Kowloon Peninsula. He later studied at San Marino Secondary School and ELCHK Lutheran Secondary School. Watching Bruce Lee in The Big Boss at age nine inspired his interest in martial arts.
Start in television
Stephen began his professional work as an extra for Rediffusion Television. He applied to TVB training but was first rejected. He worked as an office assistant for a shipping company before being admitted to the 1982 training class. He became a public figure while hosting the children's program 430 Space Shuttle. He remained with that show for five years. In 1988, he took a supporting role in the crime drama Final Justice. This performance earned him a Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Movie stardom
He starred in the TVB wuxia series The Final Combat in 1989. During that same year, he appeared in 12 different feature films. Many of these were triad movies or action dramas. All for the Winner in 1990 set a new record for the highest grossing film in Hong Kong. He also starred in God of Gamblers II and God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai. In 1991, Fight Back to School became a major hit. This film unseated Jackie Chan from the top spot at the local box office.
Transition to directing
He worked as a screenwriter and director starting in the early 1990s. He served as a de facto director for Flirting Scholar in 1993. His first official directorial credit was for From Beijing with Love in 1994. Stephen Chow founded the Choi Sing Company to produce his own work. He filmed A Chinese Odyssey in 1995 as a co-production with Xi'an Film Studios. This project was difficult because the crews spoke different dialects. Though it underperformed at first, it later became a cult favorite.
Global success and awards
Stephen Chow directed and starred in Shaolin Soccer in 2001. He followed this with Kung Fu Hustle in 2004, which earned him global recognition. His final acting role was in the 2008 film CJ7. He then focused on directing movies like path to the West in 2013 and The Mermaid in 2016. He won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor and Best Director. He also holds a Golden Horse Award for Best Director. The Broadcast Film Critics Association gave him an award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Birthday and age
Stephen Chow was born on June 22, 1962, which makes Stephen 64 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Stephen shares the date with 55 other famous people.
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