Sammi Cheng: 5 best film roles from Hong Kong’s Heavenly Queen of Cantopop – opposite Andy Lau, Sean Lau, Meghan Lai and more
Though best known as a singer, having sold 25 million albums, this versatile performer has made a notable big screen mark in movies from Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai’s romcoms Needing You and Love on a Diet to last year’s awards darling Fagara – just the most recent time Cheng was snubbed at the Hong Kong Film Awards
Although best known for her music – she recorded more than 80 albums and released over 130 singles – Cheng has also proven to be an accomplished actress. She has starred in a number of successful movies and has been nominated for acting awards on a number of occasions.
In celebration of this multitalented woman’s achievements’, and of her 48th birthday on August 19, here are five of her best film roles.
Needing You (2000)
Although she had a clutch of film credits to her name before Needing You, this was Sammi Cheng’s breakout performance. She stars opposite Andy Lau in this amusing and touching romcom and the pair had instant chemistry. The film was a huge success at the box office – a financial hit for directors Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai, which allowed them to make more of the kind of gritty gangster movies like The Mission and Too Many Ways to be Number One that were more popular with critics than the general public.