Leslie Cheung
Known For
Acting
Born
1956-09-12 in Hong Kong, British Crown Colony
Died
2003-04-01
Biography
Cheung Kwok-Wing (Chinese: 張國榮, English name: Leslie, September 12, 1956 – April 1, 2003) was a Hong Kong Canadian singer and actor. Born in Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung moved to the United Kingdom in 1971, settling in Leeds, where he enrolled at university to study fashion design. After completing his studies, he returned to Hong Kong and, in 1977, took part in an amateur singing competition—the ATV Asian Music Contest—where he won second prize. The following year, he released his first album, I Like Dreaming. He soon began appearing on television and quickly landed his first film role in Erotic Dreams of the Red Chamber (1978), an erotic production that Cheung himself later described as a “shameful disaster.” Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent pioneers that shaped the identity of Cantopop during the 1980s. His studio albums Summer Romance (1987) and Most Beloved (1995) each sold over 300,000 copies and are among the best-selling albums of all time in the territory. In addition to music, Cheung achieved pan-Asian fame with such films as A Better Tomorrow (1986) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). He won the Best Actor at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Days of Being Wild (1990). His venture into acting in the 1990s was recognized for his portrayal of queer characters in the then-conservative film industry, he was one of the few Hong Kong actors willing to take on gay roles—such as in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together—or to play a cross-dressing opera performer in Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1993. Leslie Cheung died by suicide on April 1, 2003, at the age of 46, by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. In the note he left behind, he stated that he had been suffering from depression.
Most Known For
Celebrity Talk Show
as 张国荣
Gone with the wind
Dynasty
Viva Erotica
as Sing
A Better Tomorrow
as Sung Chi Kit
A Chinese Ghost Story
as Ling Choi-san
Farewell My Concubine
as Cheng Dieyi / Xiao Douzi
Crocodile Tears
The Spirit of the Sword
as 方宝玉
Happy Together
as Ho Po-wing
Days of Being Wild
as Yuddy
Once Upon An Oridinary Girl
Tai Chi Master (II)
Dynasty (II)
Agency 24
Make a Wish
A Chinese Ghost Story II
as Ling Choi-san
The Eagle Shooting Heroes
as Huang Yaoshi
A Better Tomorrow II
as Sung Chi Kit
