Hong Kong actress Kathy Chow on staying young, single and happy, and how she almost turned down the role that made her a superstar
- Veteran actress Kathy Chow finally got the chance to play her favourite martial arts character from wuxia master Louis Cha’s books in a 2019 Chinese TV series
- In a Post interview in 2020, she attributed her youthful looks to good mental health, diet, yoga and skincare
Hong Kong actress Kathy Chow Hoi-mei is a devoted fan of Chinese literary giant Louis Cha Leung-yung and has read all 15 of his wuxia martial arts titles. Of the myriad memorable characters created by the author, she says her favourite is Miejue Shitai from The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre, a Buddhist nun who sees ridding the world of evil as her lifelong mission.
“I am also a Buddhist. Like her, I am a righteous person with a strong sense of justice who comes to the aid of people getting unfair treatment,” Chow, 53, says.
It was something of a promotion for Chow, who had already played Miejue Shitai’s protégé, Zhou Zhiruo, in Taiwan TTV’s 1994 adaptation of the book, a role that left an indelible impression on viewers and propelled her to greater success.
Zhou is one of the series’ two lead female characters who fall in love with male protagonist Zhang Wuji, played by Taiwanese actor Steve Ma Jingtao in the 1994 version. She transforms from an innocent girl into a scheming villain who will do anything to attain her goals.
Chow says that when shooting the 1994 series she didn’t expect the role would put her on the road to super stardom.