5 former Miss Hong Kong contestants who made a difference: Maggie Cheung and Pauline Yeung starred on screen with Tony Leung and Jackie Chan, Erica Yuen entered politics … but who became a barrister?
Indeed, some of Asia’s most recognisable female faces got their beginning from the contest, leveraging the early exposure to build successful careers beyond the silver screen. Here, we look at five Miss Hong Kong contestants who’ve made a lasting mark beyond pop culture – from business to politics.
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1. Maggie Cheung
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Later, in 2005, Cheung received the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for the French film Clean.
2. Erica Yuen
A top-five Miss Hong Kong finalist in 2005 and winner of the Tourism Ambassador award, Erica Yuen had a brief stint in the entertainment industry before shifting her focus to her political aspirations.
She was a founding member of the political party People Power and its chair between 2013 and 2016. She ran for but lost in the election for a seat in Hong Kong Legislative Council in 2012 and 2015.
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Yuen established beauty and skincare retailer Mi Ming Mart in 2009 and took the company public, listing it on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2018.
3. Cally Kwong
First runner-up at the 1982 Miss Hong Kong pageant, Cally Kwong, then 19 years old, quickly became a successful recording artist. She recorded a number of Cantopop albums and sang the Cantonese version of “Part of Your World,” the theme for the 1989 animated Disney film Little Mermaid.
In the 2000s, she turned her passion for jewellery into a business, building the namesake jewellery brand Cally Jewellery.
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Her philanthropic affiliations eventually led her to a role as an elected Hong Kong delegate to the China National People’s Congress in 2017, a position she continues to hold today.
4. Pauline Yeung
Pauline Yeung took home the Miss Hong Kong title in 1987 and represented Hong Kong at the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants the same year.
The beauty queen made numerous films between 1988 and 1999, starring alongside top male leads, including Jackie Chan.
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She’s a founding shareholder of Lukfook Jewellery, which opened its first shop in 1991 and went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1997. She remains a shareholder of the company which has over 3,000 shops across Asia and North America and Australia.
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5. Tracy Chu
Tracy Chu entered the Miss Hong Kong Pageant in 2012 and made such an impression she was signed on to TVB despite not winning a title. She starred in a range of television dramas for the station before turning to further her studies. After obtaining a law degree, she took up a career as a barrister in 2020.
She’s since guest lectured for a law diploma programme HKU Space and is set out to be a guest lecturer for the School of Journalism and Communications at Chinese University this year.
- Maggie Cheung started out in TVB dramas with Tony Leung and Andy Lau, but went on to become the ultimate art house icon as director Wong Kar-wai’s muse – even winning best actress at Cannes Film Festival
- Cally Kwong became a successful Cantopop star and recorded the Cantonese version of Disney’s Little Mermaid theme, before building her Cally Jewellery brand, and Tracy Chu lectures for HKU Space