Gillian Chung

Gillian Chung Ka-lai (born Chung Tik-shan, 21 January 1981), known by her stage name Chung Yan-tung, is a Hong Kong actress and singer.

She is a member of the Cantopop duo Twins, along with Charlene Choi.

Chung was born in Hong Kong as Chung Tik-shan.

Her father died when she was one year old.

When she was two years old, her family believed the character Tik (狄) from her birth name to be too strong and renamed her to Chung Ka-lai.

She initially grew up in a single parent family until her mother remarried to a man also surnamed Chung, when Chung was in high school.

She was given the English name "Gillian" while in high school.

Chung graduated from Kowloon True Light Middle School and briefly attended the William Angliss Institute of TAFE in Melbourne, Australia.

In 2000, Chung was contacted by one of the model agencies she worked part-time with when she was in Hong Kong.

She was offered a job opportunity by Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), which she accepted in that year.

She became a contracted artist and underwent training before making her debut.

She was advised by her manager Mani Fok to adopt the "Chung Yan-tung" as her stage name, after consulting fortune tellers.

The name was supposed to enhance her business skills.

On 18 May 2001, the management company assigned her to form a singing duo, Twins, with Charlene Choi.

Chung and Choi released their first album three months later.

Chung made her acting film début in U Man (2002).

She appeared in a number of films such as Beyond Our Ken (2004), which earned her critical acclaim as well as a nomination for Best Actress in the Golden Bauhinia Awards.

In Beyond Our Ken, Chung played Chan Wai-ching, a spurned girlfriend of the eponymous Ken.

The film had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival and grossed HK$3,886,355 at the box office.

In January 2006, the film 49 Days that Chung starred in had exceeded the HK$10 million (US$1.28 million) mark, earning a spot in one of Hong Kong's best box office films for that year.

After withdrawing from public for more than a year following the Edison Chen photo scandal incident and later confessed to having contemplated suicide, Chung apologised for hurting those around her, especially her long-time bandmate Charlene Choi.

During the hiatus, she took classes in many areas, such as kung fu (Wing Chun), gymnastics, singing, dancing and acting, which she hoped would serve her professionally.

In 2006 during a concert in Genting Highlands, Malaysia, a reporter surreptitiously photographed Chung nude in the changing room.

In March 2009 she discussed the scandal on an episode of Be My Guest, which garnered 679 public complaints for the show.

Afterwards she returned to work as spokesperson for TOUGH Jeansmith in the Asia region with a seven-figure pay-check.

She flew to Taiwan, Shanghai, and other places for promotion.

In July 2009, it was disclosed that she would get a 7-figure sum for the endorsement of botox treatment clinic Dr. Pro.

Chung also appeared on stage in an adaptation of Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures, produced by Emperor Concerts, part of EEG, for a budget of HK$2 million.

On 13 September 2009, Chung showcased an emotional performance art video at the Harbin Ice Snow World carnival singing competition.

The silent video, previously filmed in Hong Kong, was shown at the fair lasting 8 minutes and 43 seconds.

The video showed Chung switching from laughing to crying.

This attraction drew hundreds of visitors each day.

Many audiences thought that Chung used the art expression to reveal her apologetic attitude.

However the video was only meant to show how attitudes are expressed through art, according to artist and video creator Jiang Zhi.

On 27 March 2010, Chung released her début solo EP, which was sold as part of the package of Twins' fourth compilation album Everyone Bounce (人人彈起).

The EP includes six songs, including début solo single More Hearts (心多) that was released a year prior to the album release.

On 5 August 2022, Chung debuted at 5th place for the third season of Sisters Who Make Waves which premiered on May 20, 2022, on Mango TV.

Chung decided to join the competition with her long time bandmate Charlene Choi and compete against other 28 female artistes with diverse talents.

At the same time, Chung aimed to lose weight and retuning her mindset.

Due to 4 months of rigorous dance rehearsals and sheer willpower, Chung succeeded in shedding 20 pounds at the end of the competition.