Chow Yun-fat, Louise Lee, Patrick Tse and 10 more of Hong Kong’s favourite TV and movie stars: just how hot were they in their glory days – and how hot are they now?

You may know them as the parents and sometimes grandparents in your favourite movies and TV shows but they were hot stuff in their glory days. Many of Hong Kong’s actors and actresses have matured into senior roles very well, so it’s hard to imagine them as heartthrobs or screen sirens. Let’s see if back in their day they would have given the stars of today a run for their money. Damian Lau Chung-yan A well loved dad figure who is usually also an apt businessman on screen, Lau is now focusing on directing theatre. He can side-glance our way any day. Mimi Chu You may know her as the quintessential street-side auntie in TVB comedies but Mimi Chu is an all-round entertainer with an amazing singing voice. She was quite a sweety back in the day too. How Pak Suet-sin and Yam Kim-fai brought gender-bending to Chinese cinema Patrick Tse Yin You may know him as Nicholas and Jennifer Tse’s cool dad but the fact is, his coolness factor never waned. Nicholas is his dad’s doppleganger but daddy’s sense of style may even rival his pop icon son’s. Michelle Yim One of TVB’s most famous starlets, Michelle Yim seems to have found the fountain of youth. She turns 65 this September, can you believe? Adam Cheng Siu-chow You may know him as Joyce Cheng Yan-yee’s dad or the actor who played Ting Hai – arguably the most famous antagonist in TVB history – in Greed of Man. Strangely, the veteran actor also gets blamed for Hang Seng Index dips whenever his features are released – known as the Ting Hai effect. However, in the 70s and 80s Cheng puts the O in oppa, before Korean dramas were even a thing. Deborah Lee Seems like there was no chance Nicholas and Jennifer Tse could’ve turned out unattractive as their mum was as stunning as their dad was hot. Dik Boh-laai – Lee’s stage name – was known for playing femme fatales and seductive beauties in the 70s and 80s. Liza Wang Ming-chun A badass TV host and thespian of Chinese opera, Liza Wang’s fabulous fashion sense makes her Hong Kong’s answer to Helen Mirren. Her career spanned multiple decades and still has one the biggest and oldest fan clubs in existence in the city. Chow Yun-fat Captain Sao Feng from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was quite dashing back in the day. It’s no wonder he is the king of Hong Kong cinema. What makes Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat ‘the coolest actor in the world’? Nancy Sit Ka-yin You have seen her in many comedies as the happy-go-lucky mum on the small and silver screen, but our beloved Captain Nancy – her persona for her recent world tour – was quite the A-Go-Go queen in the 60s too. David Chiang Tai-wai He is often seen as the all-knowing and wise father on TV, but he was super cool sitting on the Shaw Brothers studio lot in his youth. Louise Lee Sze-kee Playing the matriarch of long-running TVB series Kindred Spirit solidified Lee as a mother figure on the small screen. Did you know she was a pageant winner in 1968 and crowned Hong Kong Princess? Kenneth Tsang Kong You may remember him as General Moon in Die Another Day but the veteran actor has a career spanning five decades in our city. Graduating UC Berkeley with a degree in architecture, Tsang went into acting because he was bored by the work he was trained in. We guess he never looked back. From Playboy to Cannes – 11 actresses who defined Chinese cinema Carol Cheng Yu-ling Affectionately known as Do Do in the media, Cheng has made a name for herself as a TV host and from starring in popular travel shows Do Do Goes Shopping and Do Did Eat. Before that she showed her acting chops starring in many television series as well as dramatic films and comedies. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .