Rosamund Kwan

Rosamund Kwan Chi Lam (born Kwan Kar Wai on 24 September 1962) is a Hong Kong former actress, best known for starring as the female lead "Thirteenth Aunt" in the 1990s ''Once Upon a Time in China'' film series. She had since retired from acting in 2007.

Kwan co-founded the Hong Kong-based beauty brand RK Beauty with fellow actress Helen Ma.

Career

Kwan was born in British Hong Kong. Her father, Shaw Brothers star Kwan Shan, was from Shenyang, Liaoning, China, and was of Manchu ethnicity. Her mother, Cheung Bing-sai (張冰茜), was from Shanghai and was also an actress. Growing up, Kwan attended Maryknoll Convent School in Kowloon Tong.

Kwan's first acting role was in the ATV soap opera ' (). Her film debut was alongside Chow Yun-fat in the 1982 film, '' The Head Hunter''. She appeared with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in ''Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars'' and again with Chan in ''Project A Part II'' and '' Armour of God''. She also appeared with Jet Li in the films ''Swordsman II'', '' Dr. Wai in "The Scripture with No Words"'' and as Shao Yun a.k.a. "Sup Sum Yee" ("Shi San Yi" in Mandarin, "13th Aunt" in English) throughout the ''Once Upon a Time in China'' film series.

Although the majority of her acting roles were in dramatic films, she is best known internationally for her roles in Hong Kong action films, alongside a variety of major stars of the genre.

Amongst her more dramatic roles, she notably appeared with Andy Lau in several films including ''Casino Raiders'' and ''The Wesley's Mysterious File''. Kwan also released a record in 1994, a duet with Lau called "Love Forever".

In 2001 she appeared in Feng Xiaogang's Chinese comedy, ''Big Shot's Funeral'', which starred Donald Sutherland as a film director and Kwan as his assistant. Although her last film role was in 2005, Kwan officially announced her retirement from acting in 2007.

Personal life

Kwan first married to financial service mogul Chris Wong Kwok Sing in 1981, which lasted only nine months, they split in 1982. Kwan later married Taiwanese businessman Pierre Chen in 2014 without a public announcement, but they divorced in 2015.

Selected filmography

*'' The Head Hunter'' () a.k.a. ''Long Goodbye'' (1982) – Vicky Lee
*''The Lost Generation'' (1983) – Shirley
*''Feng liu zhong'' (1984)
*''Prince Charming'' (1984) – Wan Puipui
*''Long Road to Gallantry'' (1984) – Mu Wan Er
*''Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars'' () (1985) – Wang Yi-Ching
*'' Millionaire's Express'' () (1986) – Chi
*'' Armour of God'' () (1986) – Lorelei
*''Project A Part II'' () (1987) – Miss Pak
*''Profiles of Pleasure'' (1988) – Chin Chin
*''Three Against The World'' () (1988) – Fan's daughter
*''Heart to Hearts'' (1988) – Peggy
*''Vengeance Is Mine'' (1988) – Jane Li-Su
*'' The Crazy Companies II'' () (1988) – Niko
*''The Last Duel'' () (1989) – Pok Mei-Li / Chi Hau
*'' Proud and Confident'' () (1989) – Jennifer Tang
*''Ghost Fever'' () (1989) – Pinkey
*''I Am Sorry'' () (1989) – Alice
*''Casino Raiders'' () (1989) – Bo Bo
*''What a Small World'' () (1989) – Michelle
*''Mr. Smart'' () (1989) – Mona Fong
*''Brief Encounter in Shinjuku'' () (1990) – Wendy Wan
*'' Return to Action'' () (1990) – Joey Chan
*''Tiger Cage 2'' () (1990) – Mandy Chang
*''A Bite of Love'' () (1990) – Anna
*''Undeclared War'' () (1990) – Ann Chang
*''Tricky Brains'' () (1991) – Lucy Ching
*''This Thing Called Love'' () (1991) – Janice
*''Once Upon a Time in China'' () (1991) – 13th Aunt
*''Inspector Pink Dragon'' () (1991) – Julia
*'' The Banquet'' () (1991) – Gigi
*''Pretty Ghost'' () (1991) – Chia – The Ghost
*'' Gigolo and Whore II'' () (1992) – Sherin Chan
*''Swordsman II'' () (a.k.a. ''The Legend of the Swordsman'') (1992) – Yam Ying Ying
*''Once Upon a Time in China II'' () (1992) – 13th Aunt
*''With or Without You'' () (1992) – Tweedy
*''Gameboy Kids'' () (1992) – Kwan, Chi-Lam
*'' Saviour of the Soul 2'' () (1992) – The Ice Woman
*''The Sting'' () (1992) – Yvonne
*''Once Upon a Time in China III'' () (1992) – 13th Aunt
*''All's Well, Ends Well Too'' () (1993) – Snow White
*''No More Love, No More Death'' () (1993) – Tracy Chan
*''Love Among the Triad'' () (1993) – Kwok Hoi-Lam
*'' Blade of Fury'' () (1993) – Noblewoman
*'' The Magic Crane'' () (1993) – Butterfly Lam
*''End of the Road'' () (1993) – Chei's wife
*''Assassin'' () (1993) – Yiu
*''Love is a Fairy Tale'' () (1993) – Michelle
*''The Great Conqueror's Concubine'' () (1994) – Yu Ji
*''Long and Winding Road'' () (1994) – Winnie Tsang
*''Once Upon a Time in China V'' () (1994) – 13th Aunt
*'' The Eight Hilarious Gods'' () (1994) – Ho Sin-gu
*''A Touch of Evil'' () (1995) – Coco Xu Liuxin
*'' The Adventurers'' () (1995) – Mona
*'' Dr. Wai in "The Scripture with No Words"'' () (1996) – Monica Kwan / Cammy
*'' Thanks for Your Love'' (1/2 ) (1996) – Li Lam-Lam
*''Once Upon a Time in China and America'' () (a.k.a. ''Once Upon a Time in China and America'') (1997) – 13th Aunt
*''Big Shot's Funeral'' () (2001) – Lucy
*''The Wesley's Mysterious File'' () (a.k.a. ''The Wesley's Mysterious Story'') (2001) – Fong Tin Ai
*''Mighty Baby'' () (2002) – Sabrina
*'' Hands in the Hair'' () (2006) – Aini (final film role)

Award and nomination

References

External links

*

HK cinemagic entry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwan, Rosamund
Hong Kong film actresses
1962 births
Living people
Hong Kong people of Manchu descent
Manchu actresses
Manchu singers
20th-century Hong Kong actresses
21st-century Hong Kong actresses