How Amy Yip, Hong Kong sex symbol, made her mark in erotic films without ever baring all – and insured her breasts for US$250,000
- Soft-core films like Erotic Ghost Story, Robotrix, and the cult classic Sex and Zen saw Amy Yip reign supreme as Hong Kong’s resident sex bomb in the 1990s
- Yip was hounded by paparazzi throughout her career – and she loved the attention, saying: ‘Since I was 15, I have wanted people to stare at me in the streets’
Hong Kong cinema had never launched a female sex symbol in the generally accepted sense of the term until Amy Yip Chi-mei arrived on the scene in the late 1980s.
When the Category III – adults only – rating was introduced in 1988, a slew of films featuring various combinations of soft-core sex, gore and violence appeared in cinemas and proved popular with viewers drawn by their novelty value.
Yip, who was remarkably well endowed, quickly jumped from a two-year contract at television company ATV to take advantage of the Category III film scene.
Soft-core films like Erotic Ghost Story, Robotrix, and the cult classic Sex and Zen, which generally featured mild sex scenes mixed with violence and action, saw her reign supreme as Hong Kong’s resident sex bomb until she was eclipsed by more daring performers such as Veronica Yip Yuk-hing (no relation) a few years later.
Her unique appeal was easy to pin down. “Hong Kong actress Amy Yip owes her fame to her figure. Her 36-inch [92cm] bust has certainly carried her publicity. She can also point to the trappings of material success earned during her two-year film career – a HK$1.7 million flat and a 190E Mercedes-Benz,” wrote the Post’s Maria Wan in 1990.
Yip, the daughter of a barber, was hounded by paparazzi throughout her career, many of whom aimed to discover if her buxom features were for real – she always claimed they were.