Amy Yip
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Amy Yip | |||||||||||
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![]() Yip in 2023 at a charity event in Hong Kong | |||||||||||
Born | |||||||||||
Occupation(s) | actress, model, entrepreneur | ||||||||||
Years active | 1984–1997 | ||||||||||
Partner | Sammy Lui (1992–2018) | ||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | |||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | |||||||||||
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Amy Yip (born 10 July 1966) is a Hong Kong actress, model and entrepreneur. She was one of the leading sex symbols of Hong Kong Cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Yip is best known for her lead roles in popular Category III films such as Erotic Ghost Story (1990), Sex and Zen (1991), and Robotrix (1991). Among these, Sex and Zen is the highest grossing Category III movie in Hong Kong box office history.
Career[edit]
Born in Hong Kong on 10 July 1966, she has family roots in Taishan, Guangdong. Yip's father was a barber, and her mother was a housewife. She is the youngest of five children.[1] After studying at Kau Kam English College,[2] Yip first started working in the entertainment industry as a trainee for Asia Television, appearing in small television roles after signing a two-year contract with them in 1985. During her training, she was approached by Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow, who made her an offer to join his company after fulfilling her contract with ATV.[3] Yip agreed, but stipulated in the contract that she would not be shot fully naked nor bare her nipples.[3][4]: 36
After making brief appearances in Miracles (1989) and The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 (
She retired from acting in 1997. She expressed regret that, given the nature of her films, there were not many memorable roles during her acting career. The only exceptional movie for her was the 1991 movie Queen of the Underworld in which she portrayed Sister Har, a woman who climbed from the lowest depths of society to become the celebrated queen of nightlife in 1960s and 1970s Hong Kong.
Public image[edit]
Yip is described as a sex symbol by the press.[6][7] A 1990 article by the South China Morning Post directly attributed her success to her figure, stating that "her 36-inch [92cm] bust has certainly carried her publicity."[6]
Personal life[edit]
In 1990, Peter K. L. Chan, a vice-president for Bank of America, was sent to prison for 27 months for trying to fraudulently transfer $2.37 million USD into Yip's bank account. According to the Associated Press, Chan had told police that Yip was his girlfriend, and that he had committed fraud in an attempt to fund her lifestyle.[8][9] Yip denied dating Chan, stating that the two were only friends.[10]
Yip's long term boyfriend was the orthopedics surgeon Dr. Sammy Sek Chiu Lui (
When asked if she would consider a comeback into the film business, Yip flatly rejected the idea, saying that she was very happy with her carefree lifestyle and had no desire of returning to filming long hours and traveling intensively for movies and record publicity. She also said that she is content with not showing her breasts to make a living.
In May 2018 an English language book detailing her career in movies and television was released.[12] Her boyfriend Lui died of a heart attack while flying to the United States in November 2018.[11]
Cultural influence[edit]
One of Yip's nicknames, "Boba" (Chinese:
Nam Kee Pau, a baozi chain in Singapore, sells a large steamed bun named the Amy Yip Big Pau after the actress' bust size.[16][17]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
Year | Title |
---|---|
1988 | Who is The Craftiest 奸人 |
1988 | Heart to Hearts |
1988 | China Heat 霸王 |
1989 | The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 |
1989 | Miracles |
1989 | Mr. Sunshine 开心 |
1989 | Lost Souls |
1989 | Ghost Fever |
1990 | Jail House Eros |
1990 | Erotic Ghost Story 聊齋 |
1990 | Look Out, Officer! |
1990 | Doctor's Heart |
1990 | My Neighbours are Phantoms 嘩鬼 |
1990 | Mortuary Blues |
1990 | Raid On Royal Casino Marine 霸王 |
1990 | She Shoots Straight |
1990 | Legend of the Dragon |
1990 | Ghostly Vixen |
1990 | To Spy with Love |
1991 | The Blue Jean Monster |
1991 | Queen of the Underworld |
1991 | Magnificent Scoundrels |
1991 | Great Pretenders |
1991 | Robotrix |
1991 | Lethal Contact |
1991 | Erotic Ghost Story 2 聊齋 |
1991 | Easy Money |
1991 | Vampire Kids 殭屍 |
1991 | To Be Number One |
1991 | Sex and Zen |
1992 | China Dolls |
1992 | The Prince of Temple Street |
1992 | Requital |
1992 | Stooges in Hong Kong |
1994 | Underground Judgement |
References[edit]
- ^ Yam, Norman (24 February 1991). "My dinner with Amy". The Straits Times. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Stokes, Lisa Odham; Braaten, Rachel (2020). "Yip, Amy Ji-Mei (1965–)". Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 552. ISBN 978-1-5381-2062-0. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Chung, Winnie (16 May 2024). "Adult film legend Amy Yip, star of Sex and Zen and Erotic Ghost Story, bares all about her soft porn career in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Dannen, Fredric; Long, Barry (1997). Hong Kong Babylon: An Insider's Guide to the Hollywood of the East. New York City: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-6267-X. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ Weisser, Thomas (1997). Asian Cult Cinema. New York: Boulevard Books. ISBN 978-1-57297-228-5. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ a b Havis, Richard James (2 April 2023). "How Amy Yip, Hong Kong sex symbol, made her mark in erotic films without ever baring all – and insured her breasts for US$250,000". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Khoo, Yi-Hang (17 March 2023). "Still beautiful? Recent photo of 80s sex symbol Amy Yip appears online". AsiaOne. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Banker Jailed for Fraud: Peter Chan, 39,..." Los Angeles Times. 22 December 1990. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Howe, Kenneth (27 December 1990). "Ex-banker jailed in Hong Kong in scheme to pay porn starlet". Montreal Gazette. pp. F9. Retrieved 17 May 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Jailed banker not my boyfriend, says Amy Yip". The Straits Times. 25 December 1990. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ a b
張 哲 鳴 (2 June 2020). "【幕 後 祕 辛 】葉子 楣來台 拍 片 堅 上 牛 郎 店 「波 霸找鴨 」真相 曝光" [[Secrets from behind the scenes]: Amy Yip came to Taiwan to film Requital; the truth about "boba" is revealed]. Apple Daily. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021. - ^ Gower, Chaz (22 May 2018). The Movies of Amy Yip. Self. ISBN 978-1982967079. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ Wong, Maggie Hiufu (30 April 2020). "The rise of bubble tea, one of Taiwan's most beloved beverages". CNN Travel. CNN. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ Nguyen-Okwu, Leslie (16 March 2019). "Boba Explained: A Taxonomy of Taipei's Bubble Tea". Eater. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ Tsang, Jocelyn (26 November 2020). "Hong Kong Gen Z, Part II: How We Made Bubble Tea Our Own". Zolima City Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Quek, Eunice (2 February 2019). "Teck Kee Tanglin Pau closes, but here are 7 other bao shops to get your fix". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "Pau secrets busted". The Straits Times. 24 December 2005. p. 02. Retrieved 17 May 2024 – via ProQuest.