Legendary movie star, Connie Chan Po-Chu
Legendary movie star Connie Chan Po-chu captured the hearts of “factory girls” in the 60s. The only protégé of Cantonese opera giant Ren Jianhui, she will be the first performer to use Hong Kong’s latest venue, Asiaworld Arena, for her concert “Chan Po Chu + HKCO” on Feb 4.
My parents were both famous Cantonese opera artists. My father, Chen Fei-nong, specialized in playing women. When I became a movie actor, my first roles were mostly male.
Although they were opera stars, we weren’t that wealthy. My mother would give me 30 cents a day, enough to buy a bottle of Coca-Cola. I loved going to banquets, because I could drink as much Coke as I wanted.
I was a child star. A friend of my father’s took me to my first sifu (teacher), who said I should play boys’ roles.
I was still in school when I started acting, but I took so many days off that I quit school in Form One. Unlike me, my good friend Josephine Siao Fong-fong had an English-speaking private tutor from Diocesan College.
Education wasn’t stressed in my childhood. My family was very conservative in that girls don’t really need to study. Besides, my family couldn’t afford a private tutor and I wasn’t too keen on studying.
I made more than 200 movies from 1959 to 1970. My typical role was as the eldest daughter - a gentle and docile girl who had to leave school and work as a “factory girl” to support her family.