Irene Wan
Actress Irene Wan first found fame for her role in 1982’s “Lonely Fifteen,” for which she was nominated best new performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Known for her sexy image, Wan has appeared in countless film and TV productions over the years, and she is reprising her first role 32 years later in the new film “May We Chat,” which chronicles girls in Hong Kong’s “compensated dating” culture. She tells Andrea Lo about her rebellious youth and what she thinks about the time she appeared naked on screen.
I grew up in Tiu Keng Leng. My father is a former Kuomintang official. He was really strict with me. As a result, I was pretty badly behaved.
I was a problem teenager. I didn’t like going home. I hung out with friends and went to discos instead of studying.
The more my dad tried to stop me from going out, the more I did it.
Once, my mom slapped me. I ran away from home.
My parents didn’t want me to get into the entertainment industry. I spent ages begging my mom, and she finally agreed to sign my contract—I wasn’t allowed to do it myself because I was underage.
I remember it so well: my mom was crying while she did it. I thought, “In front of all these people—this is so embarrassing!”