Maria Cordero, MH (), nicknamed Fat Mama (), is a singer, actress, TV Host and DJ from

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. She grew up in

. She also has her own cooking show, Maria's Kitchen (肥媽私房菜) on

Cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

. Her fans nicknamed her "Fat Mama" (肥媽; Fei4 Maa1).

Biography

Cordero was born to a Macanese family of Portuguese-Chinese heritage at the

Hospital Conde S. Januário A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergenc ...

in Macau in 1954. She is of paternal Portuguese descent. Her family moved to

Shelley Street Shelley Street () is a street in Central, Hong Kong. It is a ladder street and the Central–Mid-Levels escalators run along the entire length of the street. Name The street is named after Adolphus Edward Shelley, an early British colonial a ...

, Hong Kong when she was ten years old. When she was eleven her father died, and she began working to support her seven brothers and sisters. She resorted to using identity cards from friends, because the legal working age in Hong Kong was 14. Her first job was as an usher for a local cinema. While working as a hotel telephone operator, Cordero came across the opportunity to learn the bass guitar. The hotel resident band found out and hired her to play at night after she auditioned. For several years she worked a triple job of telephone operator in the day, band player at night, and working as a cashier. But she also worked as a line cook for takeaway contractors for office workers, thus having excellent cooking skills, which led to her having hosted 3 food and cuisine shows. Cordero married a widowed Filipino pianist and bandmate 22 years her senior when she was in her late teens. She and her first husband have been divorced since 1989 and now married to Portuguese engineer. She is the mother of six children (two boys with her ex-husband, two boys and two girls from her ex-husband's previous marriage). Her eldest son Alfonso Bibi Cordero () is a member of the Hong Kong Hockey Team which won the bronze medal in the 2009 East Asian Games.

Singing and movie career

Cordero's singing career began after word spread about her singing ability at a newly opened disco in 1985. Offers of recording contracts, movie roles, and stage performances came after a string of hits which began with a tailor-made song written for her by director and songwriter Teddy Robin, titled "Sai Hei". Parts of this song were also used in one of Edison Chen's track 嘥氣 (Waste of breath).

Filmography

* '' City on Fire'' (龍虎風雲, 1987) * ''

The Good, The Bad & The Beauty ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1988) * '' Bet on Fire'' (1988) * '' Walk on Fire'' (1988) * '' Women Prison'' (1988) * '' King of Stanley Market'' (1988) * '' Vampire Vs. Vampire'' (1989) * ''

Mr. Coconut ''Mr. Coconut'' (Chinese: 合家歡; Pinyin: hé jiā huān) is a 1989 Hong Kong Chinese New Year film directed by Clifton Ko, it stars Michael Hui, Raymond Wong Pak-ming, Ricky Hui, Olivia Cheng and Joey Wong. The film ran in theaters fro ...

'' (1989) * '' Crocodile Hunter'' (1989) * '' Mr. Sunshine'' (1989) * '' Carry On Yakuza'' (1989) * '' Aces Go Places 5'' (1989) * ''

Pedicab Driver ''Pedicab Driver'' () is a 1989 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by and starring Sammo Hung, who portrays the leader of a crew of cycle rickshaw drivers in 1930s Macau. The movie features guest appearances by Eric Tsang, Corey Yuen and Lau ...

'' (1989) * '' The Little Mermaid'' (1989) (voice-over for

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in '' The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and ...

) – Ursula (Cantonese dub) * '' Jail House Eros'' (1989) * '' To Spy With Love'' (1990) * '' Tiger on Beat 2'' (1990) * '' The Banquet'' (1991) * '' Second To None'' (1992) * '' Gangs '92'' (1992) * '' Fatal Love'' (1993) * '' The Enigma Of Love'' (1993) * '' Whores from the North'' (1993) * '' Our Neighbour Detective'' (1994) * ''

Sexy and Dangerous Sexy is an adjective to describe a sexually appealing person (or thing), primarily referring to physical attractiveness. It may also refer to: * Sexual arousal, the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity * Sexual ...

'' (1996) * '' Street Angels'' (1996) * '' Lost and Found'' (1996) * ''

Thanks for Your Love ''Thanks for Your Love'' is a 1996 Hong Kong romantic comedy film produced and directed by David Yu and Norman Law and starring Andy Lau and Rosamund Kwan. Plot Wah (Andy Lau) has an uninhibited romantic nature and is very optimistic. He also ...

'' (1996) * '' 97 Aces Go Places'' (1997) * '' Chinese Box'' (1997) * ''

Knock Off Counterfeit consumer goods (or counterfeit and fraudulent, suspect items - CFSI) are goods, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another's brand name without the brand owner's authorization. Sellers of such goods may infringe on eith ...

'' (1998) * '' Fing's Raver'' (2001) * '' Let's Love Hong Kong'' (2002) * ''

Money Suckers Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are ...

'' (2002) * ''

I Want To Get Married I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' (2003) * ''

Men Suddenly in Black ''Men Suddenly in Black'' () is a 2003 Hong Kong sex comedy parody of Hong Kong triad films directed by Pang Ho-Cheung. The sequel ''Men Suddenly in Black II'' was released in 2006. Plot As their wives and girlfriends embark on a trip to Thaila ...

'' (2003) * '' The Miracle Box'' (2004) * '' Forever Yours'' (2004) * ''

Invisible Waves ''Invisible Waves'' ( th, คำพิพากษาของมหาสมุทร) is a 2006 crime film by Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, with screenplay by Prabda Yoon, cinematography by Christopher Doyle, and starring Tadanobu Asano � ...

'' (2006) * '' Look for a Star'' (2009) * ''

From Vegas to Macau ''From Vegas to Macau'' (), also known as ''The Man From Macau'' (), is a Hong Kong-Chinese crime comedy film directed by Wong Jing. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Nicholas Tse, Chapman To and Jing Tian. The film was released during 2014 Chinese New ...

'' (2014) * '' Delete My Love'' (2014) * '' From Vegas to Macau III'' (2016) * ''Lucid Dreams'' (2018)

Songs

* 救命 (Save My Life) * 友誼之光 (The Light of Friendship) * 媽媽 I Love You (Mama I Love You) * You Can't Stop Me Loving You * Old People

Personal

Cordero has been married twice and was married to her second spouse Rick da Silva from 1999 until his death on November 5, 2020. Her children (including step children) are from her first marriage.

References

External links

Maria Cordero
brns.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordero, Maria 1954 births Living people Hong Kong people of Macanese descent

Cordero Cordero is Spanish and Italian last name origin. The name means "young lamb", per the Latin ''cordarius'' (a derivative of ''cordus'', meaning ‘young’, ‘new’). It may be an occupational name for a shepherd, or a nickname meaning "lamb". ...

English-language singers from Hong Kong 20th-century Hong Kong actresses 21st-century Hong Kong actresses Macau people Macanese people Macau people of Portuguese descent Macau emigrants to Hong Kong Recipients of the Bronze Bauhinia Star Macau-born Hong Kong artists