Qian Shunying ( zh, t=錢舜英, w=Chien Shun-ying; September 9, 1924 – March 8, 2010), better known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Ouyang Sha-fei ( zh, t=歐陽莎菲, s=欧阳莎菲, first=t, j=Auyeung Sa-fay, links=no), was a Hong Kong actress. She is known for her roles in

Dragon Fist ''Dragon Fist'' (), also known as ''Dangsang Martial Arts'' or ''The Wild Big Boss'', is a 1979 Hong Kong martial arts film directed and produced by Lo Wei, starring Jackie Chan, Nora Miao and James Tien. The film was released in Hong Kong on 2 ...

(1979), A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990), and

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for ...

(1977).

Early life

Ouyang was born in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

on September 9, 1924.

Acting career

Ouyang was prolific actress; she famously starred in over 250 films in a 54-year period, between 1937 and 1991. At the age of 17, she began her acting career in several Mandarin movies in Shanghai. "Spy Number One" (1946) was her first successful movie. Ouyang made 17 films between 1951 and 1952, making her one of the busiest actresses in the Hong Kong film industry in her time. For most of the movies in her early career, she collaborated with her director and husband, Tu Guangqi. This partnership lasted until 1956. In the early 1960s, Ouyang signed with the

Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

. She exclusively acted in their films until the late 1970s. As her career matured in the late 1970s, Ouyang primarily took on roles of the mother or aunt in films and received two awards as the Best Supporting Role. While in Taiwan, she collaborated primarily with local Taiwanese TV networks. After returning to Hong Kong, she made cameos in many TV shows and movies and finally retired in 1990.

Personal life

As Ouyang's acting career took off in the 1940s, she married her director, Tu Guangqialso known as Doo Kwang Gee]. Her marriage was well-known after World War II. In the 1950s, the married couple escaped to Hong Kong to escape the political turmoil in China. They separated in 1956 and were divorced. In 1979, she remarried her first husband Doo Kwang Gee and relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. When her spouse died the next year, she relocated to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Ouyang later returned to

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 city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. After retiring in 1990, Ouyang relocated to the US for a few years and experienced a bad fall in 2009. Her health declined until she died of organ failure on August 5, 2010 and was buried in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Filmography

Film

Ouyang starred in over 250 films.

References

{{authority control 1924 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Chinese actresses 20th-century Hong Kong actresses Chinese television actresses Hong Kong television actresses Chinese film actresses Hong Kong film actresses Actresses from Suzhou Hong Kong emigrants to the United States People from Salt Lake City Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong