Ada Choi Siu-fan (; born 17 September 1973) is a Hong Kong actress best known for her work for

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...

television, as an evil empress in the Chinese television series ''

Empresses in the Palace ''Empresses in the Palace'' (, ''lit.'' ''The Legend of Zhen Huan''), is a 2011 Chinese television series based on the novel of the same name by Liu Lianzi. Directed by Zheng Xiaolong, it stars Sun Li in the title role of Zhen Huan. The series ...

'' (甄嬛傳), and to a lesser extent, for her film work.

Career

Choi was born in 1973 in Hong Kong to a

Chaozhou Chaozhou (), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the ...

family. Her parents divorced when she was five years old. She speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, Teochow and English. In 1989, at the persuasion of her family, Choi participated in a modeling contest held by

at age 15. Two years later, she was a contestant in the 1991

Miss Hong Kong The Miss Hong Kong Pageant (), or Miss HK () for short, is an annual beauty pageant organised by local Hong Kong television station, TVB. The pageant was established in 1946, and acquired by TVB in 1973. The current Miss Hong Kong is Denice La ...

beauty pageant. During the semi-finals she placed first with an overall score of 483. She eventually finished as the second runner-up during the finals. As a result, she signed a contract with TVB and starting taking on acting jobs. She won the

TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress The TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is one of the TVB Anniversary Awards presented annually by Television Broadcasts Limited Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Ko ...

for her performance in '' Secret of the Heart'' (1998). Along with

Maggie Cheung Ho-yee Maggie Cheung Ho-yee (; born 20 March 1969) is a Hong Kong actress. Career Maggie Cheung Ho-yee competed in TVB's 1994 Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant, reaching the final five but not placing. However she did gain a special award for best "po ...

Kenix Kwok Kenix Kwok Ho-ying (born 27 November 1970) is a Hong Kong actress with family roots in Zhongshan, Guangdong, China. Along with Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Ada Choi, Flora Chan and Jessica Hsuan, Kenix is known as one of the Top 5 "Fa Dans" (花旦 ...

, Flora Chan and

Jessica Hsuan Jessica Hester Hsuan (; PA: syn hyn, also known as Suen Huen, is a Hong Kong actress. Early life Hsuan's father gave her the name Jessica, while her mother gave her the middle name Hester. She was educated in Hong Kong at Maryknoll Conven ...

, Choi is known as one of the Top 5 "Fa Dans" (term used for actresses with high popularity) of TVB from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s. In 2009, she starred in ''

Rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

'' as a triad gang leader who chain-smokes and curses, a different type of role for Ada. In recent years, she has participated in numerous variety and reality shows as a regular cast member including '' Up Idol'' (2015), '' Run for Time'' (2015), My Dearest Ladies (2019) and Viva La Romance (2020).

Personal life

On 12 January 2008, Choi married Chinese actor Max Zhang whom she had dated for more than four years. He was her co-star in a number of Zhouyi Media television productions including ''The Legend of Magic Mirror'' (2003) and ''Eight Charts'' (2005). They have two daughters, Zoe and Chloe, born in 2011 and 2013 respectively. In 2019, they announced on social media that they were expecting their third child. They welcomed their son, Joey Zhang Le'er aka Yudan in November 2019.

Filmography and awards

Television

Film

Ada Choi at chinesemov.com
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References

External links

Official Sina Blog of Ada Choi

Ada Choi
on Sina Twitter * *
HK cinemagic entry
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TVB Anniversary Awards The TVB Anniversary Awards (), officially known as the TVB Awards Presentation, is an annual awards ceremony honoring TVB's programming achievements in Hong Kong television; despite claims that it is the region's equivalent to the American E ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Ada 1973 births Living people Hong Kong Protestants Hong Kong expatriates in China Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong people of Vietnamese descent Hong Kong television actresses TVB veteran actors 20th-century Hong Kong actresses 21st-century Hong Kong actresses