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Wednesday, January 14, 2015

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Gigi Leung Wing-kei (born 25 March 1976) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress.

Biography



Given the name Leung Bik-Zi (梁碧芝) at birth, at the age of seven her mother changed her name to 'Wing-Kei' for superstitious reasons; as a child, Leung suffered from frequent asthma attacks and it was believed a change of name would bring better health. At 176 cm, Leung earned the nickname of 'Tall Girl'. She has a twin brother named Keith Leung (Leung Wing-Chun, 梁詠俊).

Early years

Gigi Leung attended Maryknoll Convent School. Later, she went to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University where she gained a diploma from the School of Design. It was during her study at university that she accepted a modelling assignment from the watch company City Chain and caught the attention of film director Lee Chi-Ngai who cast her in her very first movie, Doctor Mack (1995). The success of the movie brought her a further role in Full Throttle (1995), shot while she was finishing her diploma. For her supporting role in the film, Leung received a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 1995 Hong Kong Film Awards.

Entertainment career

Her singing career began the following year with the debut album Love Myself (1996). Since then, she has sung both Cantonese and Mandarin songs. She is recognised not only as a Cantopop/Mandopop singer, but as a songwriter and lyricist as well, having written songs for both herself and other local singers. She has a contract with Warner Music Hong Kong, with more than a dozen albums to her name. She has performed in several full-scale live concerts including one entitled Funny Face in 2003. In 2008 25 March she signed a new company Big Artiste Management a subsidiary of Mei Ah Entertainment.

Since 1995, Leung has starred in over 20 movies, most of which are dramas and comedies. She has worked opposite acting veterans such as Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Andy Lau, Daniel Chan and Jet Li. In 2003, she starred with Takeshi Kaneshiro in Warner Bros.' first-ever Chinese-language film Turn Left, Turn Right. Notably, at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Leung was nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for roles in Tempting Heart (1999) and A War Named Desire (2000) respectively.

Primarily an actress on the silver screen, Leung briefly appeared in the TVB serial The Last Breakthrough (2004). She has also performed in a number of stage musicals including The Great Entertainer (2004). Other works include the Cantonese narration for the Japanese film Quill (2004).

Gigi is also very active in charity work. Apart from being the ambassador for different charities, she has helped to build 7 schools in mainland China to help poor children. She is also the youngest-ever local (at age 27) to receive the "Ten Most Outstanding Youth Award".

Spokesperson



Outside of the entertainment business, Leung has acted as the Hong Kong spokesperson for Japanese cosmetics company FANCL since 1999. She is also an ambassador to both United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Hong Kong. Other charity ambassador titles include Honourably Ambassador of Yan Chai Hospital, Special Ambassador to the Yan Aiu Hospital, Ambassador of Breast Cancer Fund and Ambassador of Society for Abandoned Animals (SAA). She also held numerous other special titles to numerous organisations. She joined her friends, Charlie Yeung, Valen Hsu and Angelica Lee to form the "Hope Foundation," a non-profit organisation to help children in need.

Personal life



Leung had a boyfriend named Kenny, who was her classmate in college, at the beginning of her career. The couple broke up in summer 1999. It is implied that one of her songs "迫不得已" was dedicated to this relationship, for which Leung wrote part of the lyrics.

In October 1999, Leung was reported to have been seen in Hong Kong singer/actor Ekin Cheng's house. Arguably, the exposure of their relationship to the public had a negative impact on her career, since Cheng was rumoured to be still going out with local actress Maggie Shiu. Although this was unsubstantiated and denied by Cheng, Leung was still regarded by some as the 'third' party. In January 2006, Leung and Cheng broke up and went their separate ways.

In July 2009, she was reported to be in a relationship with a furniture designer from France, known only as Sly. Neither Gigi nor Sly admitted their relationship, but it was reported the couple separated in early 2010.

In 3 October 2011, 35-year-old Gigi Leung married her Spaniard boyfriend Sergio Crespo Gutes on the island of Ibiza.

Filmography



  • Aberdeen (2014)
  • The Monkey King (2014)
  • 4 in Life (2013)
  • 7 Assassins (2013)
  • Fortune Cookies (2012) short film
  • Marry a Perfect Man (2012), as Winnie Yip
  • Dear Enemy (2011)
  • Rest on Your Shoulder (2011)
  • Once Upon a Chinese Classic (2010)
  • Give Love (2009)
  • La Lingerie (2008)
  • Dangerous Game (2007)
  • The Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)
  • Wonder Woman (2007)
  • McDull, The Alumni (2006)
  • Driving Miss Wealthy (2004)
  • Love on the Rocks (2004)
  • Sky of Love (2003)
  • Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)
  • Mighty Baby (2002)
  • Fat Choi Spirit (2002)
  • Roots and Branches (2001)
  • The Avenging Fist (2001)
  • La Brassiere (2001)
  • A War Named Desire (2000)
  • Marooned (2000)
  • Those Were the Days (2000)
  • Tempting Heart (1999)
  • Afraid of Nothing: The Jobless King (1999)
  • A True Mob Story (1998)
  • Hitman (1998)
  • First Love Unlimited (1997)
  • God of Gamblers 3: The Early Stage (1997)
  • We're No Bad Guys (1997)
  • Feel 100% (1996)
  • Feel 100%... Once More (1996)
  • The First Option (1996)
  • Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995)
  • Full Throttle (1995)
  • Doctor Mack (1995)

TV Series

  • The Last Breakthrough (2004)

Discography



Cantonese

  • The Monophobic Cat (2010) 怕寂寞的è²"
  • Woman. Colour (new songs + hits) (2007) 女．色新曲+精選2007
  • Grown Up Short Hair (2006) 成長的短髮
  • Look (2005)
  • [ente'tein] (2004) 娛樂大家
  • I Like Gigi (new songs + hits) (2004)
  • I Think, I Sing (2003) æˆ'想æˆ'å"±
  • Funny Face (2002)
  • I Live in 7A (2002) æˆ'住7æ¨"A
  • G for Girl (2001)
  • Suddenly, This Summer (2001)
  • Fireworks (2000) 花火
  • Kiss (new songs + hits) (2000)
  • Good Time (2000) 好時辰
  • Today (1999)
  • I'll Be Loving You (1998)
  • A New House (1997) æ–°å±…
  • Love Myself (1996) 愛自己

Mandarin

  • Butterfly Kisses (2012)
  • Gift (2009) 禮物
  • Love Songs For Myself (2006) 給自己的情歌
  • Clockwise (new songs + hits) (2005) 順時針
  • Sense of Belongings (2004) 歸屬感
  • Magical Season (2002) é­"幻季節
  • Transparent (2001) 透明
  • Amour (2001)
  • Love Gigi The Most (new songs + hits) (2000) 最愛梁詠琪
  • Fresh (1999) æ–°é®®
  • Gigi Leung (1998) 梁詠琪gigi
  • Washing My Face (1997) 洗臉
  • Short Hair (1997) 短髮

Concerts



  • Gigi Leung One Night in Shanghai (梁詠琪上海G夜æ¼"å"±æœƒ)(Coming soon)
  • Gigi Leung One Night in Hong Kong (梁詠琪香港G夜æ¼"å"±æœƒ)(2011)
  • Gigi Leung One Night in Beijing (梁詠琪北京G夜æ¼"å"±æœƒ) (2010)
  • Wonder Woman Charity Concert (2007)
  • Solo Concert In Shanghai, China(2007)
  • Tall Girl Gigi Leung Funny Face Live Concert (2003)
  • Live 903 (2002) 903 id club梁詠琪拉闊音樂會2002
  • G For Girl Live (2002)
  • Gigi Leung 903 Concert (2000) 加洲紅紅人館903梁詠琪狂熱份子音樂會

The Sina microblog incident



Gigi Leung's Sina microblog account has up to 470,000 followers, most of them her young fans. On 30 March 2010, she blogged about the unjustly jailed Zhao Lianhai, whose five-year-old son fell victim to poison milk and developed kidney stones. The father-turned-activist began to utilise various means to voice his grievances. After receiving a message from the website's administrator, Gigi Leung then deleted the relevant blog, which resulted in hundreds of supportive messages from her fans.

References



External links



  • Gigi Leung at the Internet Movie Database
  • HK cinemagic entry
  • Gigi Leung International Fanclub Ltd.
  • Gigi Blog â€" The Official Blog of Gigi
  • Gigi's Lyrics with Pinyin and English Definition


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