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Anita Mui Yim-fong (Traditional Chinese: 梅艷芳; Simplified Chinese: 梅艳芳; pinyin: Méi Yànfāng; Cantonese Yale: muìh yihm fòng; October 10, 1963–December 30, 2003) was a popular Hong Kong pop singer and actress.
BackgroundMui had one elder sister and two brothers. She had not met her father as he had left the family before she was born and her mother moved in with another man, hoping he would look after her children. However, Mui and her family later discovered he was already married. Mui told a local magazine that her mother became very temperamental from that point and always took it out on them. Mui claimed to have been desperate to get away from her family.
Anita Mui announced in early September 2003 that she had cervical cancer and was undergoing treatment. Some of her friends and the media were baffled as to why she took so long to undergo treatment when it appeared she knew of her ailment when it was in a fairly early stage. It's also possible that it was a late detection like most cases or secretly had treatment. It was widely believed she forwent early treatment because she wanted to preserve the possibility to conceive. Mui eventually lost her battle to cervical cancer and died of respiratory complications at Hong Kong's Sanatorium Hospital on December 30, 2003 at 02:50 (local time). She was 40 and single. Her sister, Ann Mui, also a Hong Kong singer, died of the same illness in 2000. Her death, following Leslie Cheung's, was a great loss to the Hong Kong's entertainment industry. Music career
Mui's first album was released with the Capital Artist Record Company within a year of the contest. Her debut drew a lukewarm response from the audience. Two years later, in 1985, Mui won her first 10 Best Solid Gold Best Female Singer award. The same award went to her in the following four years. Mui won also best songs awards, both for album songs and movie theme songs. Mui had her first concert in 1985, lasting 15 nights. Her 28 consecutive concerts in late 1987 won her the title of "Ever Changing Anita Mui" (百變梅艷芳), which became her trademark. Mui also gained popularity overseas. She held a concert in Taiwan in 1988, and became the first artist from Hong Kong to give a solo concert there. That same year, she was invited to sing at the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Seoul, Korea. In 1990, Mui announced that she would put an end to receiving music awards to give a chance to newcomers. She held farewell concerts for 33 consecutive nights before retiring from stage. She stepped down at only 28 years old, but returned from retirement in 1994. Over the years, Mui has released over 40 albums. Possibly her best was her fourth album, released in 1986 and named "Bad Girl" (壞女孩) which had an eight platinum-selling album (about 400,000 pieces sold). She was also the first female artiste to break the record sales of 10 million in Hong Kong. She is extremely well known throughout Chinese communities worldwide. Because of her huge success as a pop singer, and her ever-changing images, she is often referred to as the "Madonna of Hong Kong," a comparison resented by some fans who felt that she deserves to be recognised in her own right. Her singing career was once compared to that of Diana Ross by CNN. The "Anita Classics Moments Live" Concert, held from November 6 to November 11, 2003 at Hong Kong Colosseum, was her sixth and last concert, in which her final symbolic act was to "marry the stage", which was accompanied by her classic hit "Sunset Melody" (夕陽之歌) as she exited the stage for the final time. Her very last song performed on stage was (珍惜再會時), a rendition of Manhattan's 'Let's Just Kiss And Say Goodbye'. Discography
Source: [1] Acting careerAnita Mui was also well-known as an actress across the Asia region. Her films have mainly been of the action thriller and kung fu variety, but she has also taken comedic roles. In 1993, she starred in The Heroic Trio with Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung, and it proved to be one of her most popular action films. In 1995, she found some international recognition by starring opposite Jackie Chan in Rumble in the Bronx, the film that was largely responsible for Jackie Chan himself breaking into the American market. Of her performance in Chan's Drunken Master II (released in America as The Legend of Drunken Master), Variety film critic Joe Leydon said she "appears to be channeling the spirit of Lucille Ball." Apart from singing, Mui won her first acting award as a supporting actress in the movie "Fate" in 1984. In 1987, her movie "Rouge" presented her with the Golden Horse Best Actress award. Later on in 1997, she also won another best supporting actress award with the movie "Eighteen Springs". Anita was originally cast for Zhang Yimou's 2004 movie House of Flying Daggers. She resigned from her position in the movie only two weeks before her death. Zhang had held her parts of filming to the last due to her poor health condition. The filming was already 80% done when she died. Zhang didn't replace Anita's role with another actress. The screenplay was changed to take the storyline off the original character. The new leader of the "House of Flying Daggers" never appears in the movie because it was Anita's role. Filmography
# Anita Mui wasn't the leading or supporting actress in the film Other contributionsAnita Mui was actively involved in charitable projects throughout her career. In 1992, the Mayor of San Francisco declared April 18 of that year as "Anita Mui Day" to honor her contributions to society by raising funds for the Nursing Home which bears her name. October 26, 1993 was then again declared as "Anita Mui Day" in San Francisco. During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, she initiated a fund raising concert titled "1:99 Concert" which was the second concert allowed to be held at the Hong Kong Stadium. She was one of the founders of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild (HKPAG, 香港演藝人協會), which was established in 1993, and was its chairlady. She resigned because of her health. Trivia
See alsoExternal links (in Chinese)
fr:Anita Mui ja:梅艶芳 sv:Anita Mui vi:Mai Diễm Phương zh-yue:梅艷芳 zh:梅艷芳
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