Brigitte Lin (original) (raw)

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Taiwanese actress (born 1954)

Brigitte Lin
林青霞
Lin in 2018
Born	Brigette Lin Ching-hsia (1954-11-03) 3 November 1954 (age 70)Sanchong, Taipei County, Republic of China
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1973–1994
Spouse	Michael Ying ​(m. 1994)​
Children	2
Chinese name
Chinese	林青霞
TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinLín QīngxiáYue: CantoneseJyutpinglam4 cing1 haa4

Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia (Chinese: 林青霞; pinyin: Lín Qīngxiá; born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. She is regarded as an icon of Chinese language cinema for her extensive and varied roles in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong films.[1]

Lin was born in Chiayi, Taiwan to 'waishengren' parents from eastern Shandong who moved to Taiwan in the KMT exodus in 1949.[2] She was scouted in 1972 on the streets of Taipei[3] by a film producer after she finished women's high school and was preparing for university.[4] Lin debuted in the film adaptation of Chiung Yao's Outside the Window (1973), which propelled her into stardom.[4][5] Lin, along with Joan Lin, Charlie Chin and Chin Han, thus became known as the "Two Chins, Two Lins" (二秦二林) for their extensive roles in romantic movies of the 1970s based on Chiung's novels that dominated the Taiwanese box office.[6] She subsequently joined Chiung Yao's company in 1976[7] and, by 1982, had played the lead in 12 of her films.[4][5]

Lin won the Best Actress award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival for her role as a girl scout in Eight Hundred Heroes (1976).

She appeared in 55 films in the period between 1972 and 1979, and all her roles were romantic heroines in love stories. She then left for the U.S. in 1979 for a year and a half, to study and relax.[1]

Known for being a "screen goddess" by Chinese film lovers, Lin's early collaborations with Hong Kong New Wave directors Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark and Jackie Chan in Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), The Other Side of Gentleman (1984), Police Story (1985) and Peking Opera Blues (1986) brought her success. In 1990, she won the Best Actress trophy at the 27th Golden Horse Awards for her depiction of a Chinese female writer who fell in love with a Japanese collaborator in Red Dust (1990).[5]

It was common for women to cross dress as male characters in Chinese movies and operas.[5] Lin is particularly well known for her androgynous roles, her earliest being Jia Baoyu, the male protagonist of the 1977 film adaptation of Dream of the Red Chamber.[8] In Peking Opera Blues (1986), she was a guerrilla revolutionary[9] and in Royal Tramp II (1992), she was the leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, both of whom were women characters dressed as men. And in Ashes of Time (1994), she played twin brother/sister duo Yin and Yang.[8] However, she is perhaps most well known for her role as Dongfang Bubai in Swordsman II (1992). Swordsman II marked the peak of her career in terms of box office earnings[5] for which she was listed among the 10 greatest performances in cinema of all time, by Time magazine.[10]

Subsequently, she starred in many other notable martial epics including New Dragon Gate Inn (1992) and The Bride with White Hair (1993).

At the height of her popularity, Lin was one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry. She starred in more than 100 movies.[7] Lin was credited for boosting Taiwan's film production in the 1970s before earning even greater popularity in Hong Kong in the 1990s, becoming a trans-island legend of her time.[5]

She retired from acting in 1994. Her last acting role was in Ashes of Time (1994).[1]

Lin traces her family roots to Shandong, China.[1]

It's been reported that Lin has dated both Chin Han and Charlie Chin of "Two Chins, Two Lins" back in the 1970s, even sustaining a proposal from the latter before eventually cancelling it.[6][11]

Lin married Hong Kong businessman Michael Ying in 1994. She is the mother of Eileen Ying Oi Lum (born 1996) and Melani Ying Yin-oi (born 2001) and stepmother to Claudine Ying.[12]

She made her first public appearance since her marriage at the screening of Ashes of Time Redux during the 2008 New York Film Festival.[_citation needed_]

In 2015, Lin made an appearance as a regular cast member in Up Idol, a 12 episode Chinese reality show on Hunan Television.

Awards and nominations

[edit]

Brigitte Lin's hand print and autograph at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.

• The Last Star of the East: Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia and Her Films (2005)[15]
• 窗裏窗外 Inside and Outside the Window (2011)[16][17]
• 雲去雲來 Cloud Goes, Cloud Comes (2014)[16]

1. ^ a b c d e Chu, Karen (4 April 2018). "Hong Kong Icon Brigitte Lin on Her Career, Wuxia and #MeToo: "It Cleanses the Film Industry"". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
2. ^ "Ministry of Culture-Filmmakers & Performers". www.moc.gov.tw. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
3. ^ "Brigitte Lin, a timeless national treasure". Taipei Times. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
4. ^ a b c He Ying (何颖) (2008). "Brigitte Lin, Legend of the Ageless Beautiful Girl" 《林青霞，不老的玉女传奇》. 《快乐阅读》 [_Happy Reading_] (in Chinese). Changsha, Hunan: Hunan Education Press. p. 6. ISSN 1671-329X.
5. ^ a b c d e f "Brigitte Lin: Writing Her Own Role". China Pictorial.
6. ^ a b Yang, Jeff; Black, Art (2003). Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-4817-8.
7. ^ a b "Screen icon Lin Ching-Hsia". CRI English. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008.
8. ^ a b "Filmart Flashback: In 1977, Brigitte Lin Secured Her Gender-Fluid Legacy in 'Dream of the Red Chamber'". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
9. ^ "Movie Review: 'Peking' Bursting With Feminist Wit". Los Angeles Times. 25 June 1993. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
10. ^ "All-Time 100 Movies: Great Performances". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
11. ^ "Lin Ching-hsia tells on a suitor who stood her up for Teresa Teng". The Straits Times. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
12. ^ "Taiwanese screen goddess Brigitte Lin, 65 and young at heart". South China Morning Post. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
13. ^ "Golden Phoenix Awards, China (1993)". IMDb. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
14. ^ "Golden Horse Awards honors Brigitte LIN and CHEN Kun-hou with Lifetime Achievement Award". Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards. 23 June 2023.
15. ^ Akiko, Tetsuya (2005). The Last Star of the East: Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia and Her Films. Los Angeles, California: Akiko Tetsuya. ISBN 0976487128. OCLC 60449219.
16. ^ a b Lin, Qingxia (24 August 2023). Yun qu yun lai (Di 1 ban ed.). Guilin Shi: Guangxi Normal University Press. ISBN 978-7549559503. OCLC 899206278.
17. ^ "Legendary film star Lin Ching-hsia releases memoirs". Ecns.cn.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lin Qinxia.

• Brigitte Lin on Weibo (in Chinese)
• Brigitte Lin at IMDb
• Brigitte Lin at the Hong Kong Movie Database