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Maggie Cheung

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Actress

The Resume

    (September 20, 1964- )
    Born in British Hong Kong, China
    Pinyin name is Zhāng Mànyù
    Birth name is Maggie Cheung Man-yuk
    Best known for her work in films, 'Song of Exile,' 'Centre Stage,' 'Comrades: Almost a Love Story,' 'In the Mood for Love,' and 'Clean'
    Miss Hong Kong (1st Runner-Up); Miss Photogenic winner (1983)
    Semi-finalist in the Miss World pageant (1983)
    Juror at the Berlin International Film Festival (1997)
    Signature songs include 'Down in the Light,' 'She Can't Tell You,' 'Visionary Heart,' 'Full & Clear,' and 'Burying/Hiding Love'

Why she might be annoying:

    She is a perfectionist.
    She rarely auditions for movie roles.
    She is a cultural icon in China unknown to Western moviegoers.
    She is frequently confused with fellow Hong Kong actress, Maggie Cheung Ho-yee.
    She was characterized as 'a bimbo' during her early Chinese film career.
    She turned down a part in 'Memoirs of a Geisha' (which some might call dodging a bullet).
    Her scenes in Scorsese's 'Inglourious Bastards' ended up on the cutting room floor.
    She turned own Kelly Hu's role in X2 because she felt taking 'that kind of role' would be 'cheating' her fans in China.
    She finalized her divorce from Olivier Assayas on the set of her newest movie, 'Clean,' which he was incidentally directing (awkward...).

Why she might not be annoying:

    She made the successful transition from movie star to rock star.
    She speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, French, and English.
    She frequently worked with Brigitte Lin and Tony Chiu Wai Leung.
    Her main reasoning for rejecting the 'Geisha' role was her sensitivity to the still potent Japanese-Chinese tensions in Asia.
    She portrayed a recovering drug addict in 'Clean' with gritty realism.
    The New York Times ranked her as one of the 22 Great Performers for her work in 'Clean.'
    She was the first 'real actress' to be featured on a Cannes Film Festival Poster, in 2006.
    She was she was appointed as UNICEF's Ambassador to China.
    She didn't allow her comeback in 'Clean' go to her head, instead retiring largely from acting to pursue other venues (music, art, philanthropy).
    She was the first Chinese actress to win the Best Actress award at the Berlin International Film Festival, for 'Center Stage' (1992).
    She was the first Chinese actress to win the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for 'Clean' (2004).
    She bore a striking resemblance to Chinese screen legend, Ruan Lingyu, whom she played in Stanley Kwan's universally acclaimed 'Centre Stage.'
    Her work in 'Centre Stage' was such high quality that some argued for her to be honored with a Best Actress Oscar nomination, even if being a foreign actress meant a slim chance of winning (a feat unachieved since 1961 ).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 100 Votes: 42.00% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 59 Votes: 74.58% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying