Sonija Kwok Sin-nei (, born 22 July 1974) is a

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 ...

actress who worked with TVB from 1999 to 2015. Since 2015, she has been managed by GAIA Entertainment.

Early life

Kwok was born in

and is of mixed three quarters Cantonese and one quarter English parentage. Kwok immigrated to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from Hong Kong. She initially attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, but transferred to Simon Fraser University where she completed her BA major in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. After obtaining her degree, Kwok joined

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...

as a flight attendant.

Career

After a short stint as a flight attendant, Kwok returned to Hong Kong in 1999 and competed in the 1999 Miss Hong Kong pageant. During the semi-final, she won the Miss Photogenic award making her a favourite to win Miss Hong Kong following the precedent since 1996. She subsequently won the title "Miss Hong Kong" in July 1999 as well as Miss International Goodwill and Miss Intelligence. Coincidentally, all the winners of the Miss Hong Kong pageant spanning 1997 to 2000 are from

, Canada. After winning the "Miss Hong Kong" title, Kwok participated in numerous TVB events. In February 2000, she represented Hong Kong at the 2000 Miss Chinese International pageant in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. She was crowned as the winner and also won two other awards. She is considered one of the most successful winners, as she,

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Hera Chan In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

, and Grace Chan are the only three Miss Hong Kong pageant winners to have held both titles. Reis was the winner for the pageant's inaugural year in 1988, while Chan won in 2014. After her success in both pageants, she represented Hong Kong at the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

2000 pageant held in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Although she did not feature in the top ten list, she was included in the top ten list of "Miss Photogenic" featured on the Miss Universe's website main page. She is the last representative from Hong Kong to participate in Miss Universe contest. She has appeared in many TVB television series and has starred in other TV shows, series, commercials, and entertainment functions, as well as being a spokeswoman for many beauty and other commercial products in Hong Kong. She has also appeared in television series which are produced in mainland China.

Personal life

Kwok married Chinese martial arts

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Zhu Shaojie (朱少杰) in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

in 2011. The pair met in a film shooting in China a year earlier. Kwok was previously romantically linked to TVB stars Deric Wan and

Steven Ma Steven Ma Chun-wai (born 26 October 1971) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. In 1993, Ma won a record deal after winning first place at an annual singing contest in Hong Kong, later releasing his debut album, ''Lucky for Meeting You'' (幸運就 ...

Maid assault

On 24 March 2009, Kwok was attacked by her maid, who bit her arm, pulled her hair and held a knife to her neck. This followed Kwok's reporting to the police of an earlier incident in which the maid, apparently distraught over the break-up of a relationship, held a knife to her own throat and was calmed by Kwok. The helper was subsequently held in a mental hospital.

Awards

;Miss Hong Kong 1999: Miss Photogenic, Miss Intelligence, Miss International Goodwill, Winner. ;Miss Chinese International 2000: Winner, Miss Internet Popularity, and Miss Vegas Gorgeous. ; Starhub TVB Awards 2010: My Favourite TVB Female Character 2009: Ying Jing-Jing 邢晶晶 (

D.I.E. Again ''D.I.E. Again'' - Death Investigation Extension II (Traditional Chinese: 古靈精探B) is a TVB modern comedy-action series. It stars Roger Kwok , Sonija Kwok , Nancy Wu , Edwin Siu , Derek Kok, Kwok Fung , Rain Lau , Mimi Lo, Kitty Yuen & Jess ...

)

Filmography

Television series

Film

Sonija Kwok at chinesemov.com
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwok, Sonija 1974 births 21st-century Hong Kong actresses Actresses from Vancouver Canadian actresses of Hong Kong descent Canadian film actresses Canadian people of English descent Canadian television actresses Cathay Pacific Flight attendants Hong Kong emigrants to Canada Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong people of English descent Hong Kong television actresses Living people Miss Chinese International winners Miss Hong Kong winners Miss Universe 2000 contestants Naturalized citizens of Canada Simon Fraser University alumni