For years, actress Sheren Tang Shui-man looked for substitutes - work and boyfriends - to replace the parental love and care she missed during her childhood.
Born into an unsuccessful marriage, Tang was abandoned by her parents at birth and raised by her grandparents. At the age of 18, she found a way to escape from her family, starting a career as an actress. Her debut television series The Legend of the General Who Never Was (1985) was a big hit and gave her a great start. Over the next 24 years, she had many roles, culminating in her winning the best actress title at TVB's television awards ceremony last month. But the 43-year-old actress says she has always struggled in her personal life.
How was your childhood like?
I have never had a normal childhood. My mother was 16 when she was pregnant and gave birth to me at 17. Perhaps both of my parents were still too young to have a child then. They left me with my grandparents after I was born and they divorced when I was five years old. Since I don't have any siblings, I have always played by myself and talked to myself. I still prefer to be alone than have too many people around me.
How did you become an actress?
My grandparents were very strict. As soon as I graduated from Form Five, I wanted to leave them very badly. At first, I applied for an air-hostess job but was unsuccessful. Then I saw an acting class recruiting students and thought I'd always liked watching television dramas, so why not give it a shot. Back then, I didn't know if I was good at acting, but I was a caged bird who had always wanted to see what it was like outside.