Stephy Tang Lai-yan (; born 15 October 1983) 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 ...

singer and actress. She was formerly the leader of the

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...

group

Cookies A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nuts ...

. She won the

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards () are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in Hong Kong since 1994. The awards are determined by votes cast in three rounds after a substantial discussion session between the mem ...

for Best Actress in 2017 for her performance in ''The Empty Hands'', and was nominated twice for the

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually at the Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA). It is given to honour an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a Hong Kong film. The 1st Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony ...

Early life

Tang is a Hakka of

Dongguan Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...

ancestry, and is able to speak

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

and

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. She graduated from Buddhist Sum Heung Lam Memorial College and the

Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) is one of the member institutions of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) offering vocational education to post-secondary students in Hong Kong through its nine campi located across the terr ...

's Department of Fashion Design. She represented Hong Kong in volleyball since Form 1 mainly as a left wing spiker or libero, but gave up to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. In March 2015, Tang, who became a fashion label founder/owner (Loey), got sponsorship from the shop to reassemble a women's volleyball team, with herself being a left wing spiker as well as the captain and founder of the team (she cannot become a captain as a libero), and participated in an open-grade C-class qualifications, where it got a record of a win and a loss. She then led Loey to play charity matches against Chinese National Volleyball team, and had trained in Taiwan against secondary school teams in late 2015.

Career

Musical career

In 2002, she started her singing career in the Hong Kong music group

and became the lead singer. The main style of music from Cookies was teen pop. When Tang started her solo singing career, her record company,

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, wanted a change to a more grown-up look and style. Some songs on her first album, ''Coloring Stephy'', had a more mature and soft jazz influence than her previous music in Cookies. Generally, the album was widely heard and was popular, and it was certified Gold by IFPI Hong Kong. She sang with Alex Fong in 「好心好報」, 「好好戀愛」, 「十分．愛(合唱版)」 (which won a Jade Solid Gold Award for the best duet in 2006), 「我的最愛」, 「重愛」,「七年」,「同屋主」and 「危城」. She also appeared on

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 ...

's variety show ''

Beautiful Cooking ''Beautiful Cooking'' (Traditional Chinese: 美女廚房, literally: Beautiful Girl's Kitchen) is a Hong Kong variety show broadcast on TVB. The show began broadcasting on May 28, 2006 hosted by Ronald Cheng, Alex Fong and Edmond Leung. The sec ...

''. Tang's second solo album was ''Fantasy''. The album had a total of five editions. One was a deluxe edition which contains a DVD featuring her music videos from this album. The only difference between the other four was the color themes of the album covers: red, yellow, blue, and green, which were four different themes for photo shoots. Her third album is ''Dating Stephy''. This album also features different covers, and a special edition was released three months after the original release. The album also sold as well as her previous two. There was no official announcement of the certification, as Gold Label Entertainment Ltd and EMI Music Hong Kong did not participate in IFPI Hong Kong. However, the newspapers announced that ''Dating Stephy'' has sold over 30,000 in one month, and it was at least Gold certified. In 2007, she performed at the

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. The United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society ( or 中僑/中侨 ''Zhōng Qiáo''Guo,SUCCESS: A Chinese Voluntary Association in Vancouver," p. 104.) or S.U.C.C.E.S.S., is a Canadian social services organization headquartered in Vancouv ...

Charity Gala at

Vancouver 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 ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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 ...

with many other artists. Tang performed her first headline solo concert, called "Stephy, See Thru Live 2007". It was held from December 7 to 9, 2007 at the Star Hall in Hong Kong. A live album was released featuring songs performed at this concert. She also did a Mandarin version of "Breaking Free" from ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

'' with Anson Hu. Tang released her new album ''The Red Album'' in November 2008. Some tracks in this album, such as "女兒紅", have led to media attention on the improvement in Tang's voice. In July 2009, Tang published her first romance novel, ''Running Alongside Me'' (陪著我走). The book takes the form of a diary about a girl who has recently broken up with her lover. She goes on a cruise and writes about the things she sees and does. This book also includes 100+ pages of photos, making it a photo book as well. In December 2009, Tang released her collection of "Greatest Hits" plus "New Songs" songs in a 2CD+ DVD Collection called 'Music Cafe' which includes four new songs, including ''Running Alongside Me'', which served as the same name as her novel. The collectors edition comes with a mousepad featuring Tang's face that is available in two designs. In 2011, Tang left her previous record company

Gold Typhoon Gold Typhoon Group is a Chinese entertainment company. Gold Label was founded in 2004 in Hong Kong, launched with the support of EMI, and acquired EMI Music Taiwan / EMI Music China (Typhoon Records) in 2008, reforming to Gold Typhoon. On 1 Jan ...

and signed to Neway Star as her new record label.

Acting career

In 2002, Stephy Tang played the role of Kaka in ''

Nine Girls and a Ghost ''Nine Girls and a Ghost'' is a 2002 comedy film, filmed in Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from th ...

'', which starred the full Cookies team and

Edison Chen Edison Chen Koon-hei (, born Chen Hing-wah on 7 October 1980) is a Canadian-born Hong Kong actor, singer, rapper, fashion designer and entrepreneur. Chen is the co-founder of CLOT, a Hong Kong-based streetwear and fashion label. Debuting in 19 ...

. She also sang the song 不要離我太遠 for the film. The next year she performed in

drama series ''

Aqua Heroes ''Aqua Heroes'' (戀愛自由式) is a twenty episode modern series by Television Broadcasts Limited in Hong Kong. Synopsis Yau Han (Bobo Chan) and her sister, Yau Wing (Leila Tong) have been separated for many years and they happen to fall in lo ...

'', which depicted a youth swimming team, and starred alongside

Ronald Cheng Ronald Cheng Chung-kei (born 9 March 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Life and career Ronald Cheng was born in Hong Kong. Originally intending to work behind the scenes as a songwriter and a producer, Cheng did odd jobs at his father (Dire ...

in comedy film ''Dragon Loaded 2003''. Between 2004 and 2016, Tang played the leading roles in several films directed by

Patrick Kong Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, most notably his "Love Quadrilogy" — '' Marriage with a Fool'' (2006), ''

Love Is Not All Around ''Love Is Not All Around'' () is a 2007 Hong Kong film written and directed by Patrick Kong. Plot Bo (Stephy Tang) is an expert on dating boys, explaining her strategy to her friends at Wing (Sammy Leung) and Ching's (Linda Chung) wedding. Dur ...

'' (2007), ''

L for Love L for Lies ''L for Love L for Lies (stylized ''L for Love ♥ L for Lies''; () is a 2008 Hong Kong film written and directed by Patrick Kong and starring Alex Fong, Stephy Tang and Alice Tzeng. Plot Everything was going well for Kwong Mei-Bo (Stephy T ...

'' (2008) and ''

Anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

'' (2016) — which also starred Alex Fong as the leading actor. Tang's portrayal of a

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

athlete in ''The Empty Hands'' (2017) saw a breakthrough of her acting performance, which earned her the

for Best Actress and a nomination for the

. Her performance in ''

My Prince Edward ''My Prince Edward'' () is a 2019 Hong Kong romance drama film directed by Norris Wong in her directional debut. It starred Stephy Tang and Chu Pak-hong, who portrayed a pair of lovers experiencing challenges as they prepare to step into marriag ...

'' (2020) earned her second nominations in the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award and the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress. She also sang the titular theme song for the film. In 2020, Tang starred alongside Zeno Koo,

Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

and Error in

ViuTV ViuTV is a Cantonese language general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV and the media streaming service Viu. The chann ...

drama series ''We are the Littles''. She portrayed Chiang Ka-yu, a veteran volleyball player-turned coach who trained a novice volleyball team to advance through the top league.

Personal life

Tang and Alex Fong, her on-screen partner in films such as ''

'', ''

'', '' Marriage with a Fool'' and ''

'', were in a relationship for 10 years. Their relationship was revealed by

Mark Lui Mark Lui (, born 9 July 1969) is from Hong Kong. He is a composer and producer of Cantopop music with the "On Your Mark" creative team, and part of the Artists and Repertoire team at East Asia Record Production Co., Ltd. Notable works include ...

at his concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum in June 2013. However, on March 15, 2016, Tang and Fong announced the end of their relationship. In 2018, she announced to be in relationship with former JPM member

Prince Chiu use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

Discography

Cookies

Cantonese albums/EPs #''Happy Birthday'' (2002) #''Merry Christmas'' (2002) #''All the Best'' (2003) - first album as Mini-Cookies #''4 Play'' (2004) #''4 in Love'' (2004) Karaoke albums #''Holidays'' (2002) #''Channel Cookies'' (2003) Mini-concert album * ''903 California Red: Eleven Fires Concert'' (2004)

Solo

Cantonese albums #''Coloring Stephy'' (2005 August 5, 2nd ver:2005 September 28) (Certified Gold 25,000 units shipped in September) #''Stephy Fantasy'' (2006 March 28, 2nd ver:2006 June 5) (has sold 20,000 copies) #''Dating Stephy'' (2007 February 14, 2nd ver:2007 May 10) (has sold 35,000 copies in May) #''Stephilosophy'' (2007 December 21) (Certified Gold 20,000 units shipped in December) #''The Red Album'' (2008 November 27) #''Music Cafe'' (2009 December 23) #''

No One Knows "No One Knows" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age written by band members Josh Homme and Mark Lanegan. It was the first single and second track from their third album, ''Songs for the Deaf'', and was released on November 26 ...

'' (2010 July 15) Other Albums * 17 May 2006 - All About Women (金牌女兒紅) - Track 05 - Let It Flow, and Track 08 - 偏愛 (with

Kary Ng Kary Ng (born 9 June 1986) is a pop rock singer in Hong Kong. When she debuted, she had been a member of a music group, Cookies; however, the members of Cookies were eventually arranged to explore their respective solo careers in 2005, and the ...

(吳雨霏)) * 14 June 2007 - Another Chivas Music Experience Concert Live - Track 10. 愛與痛的邊緣

Filmography

Film

Television

Books

*2002 - ''Delicious Cookies'' *2006 - 不要忘記 (Bat Yiu Mong Gei) *2007 - Stephy & Alex 十分愛 *2008 - 我的最愛Stephy & Alex電影寫真 *2008 - 內衣少女電影小說 (La Lingerie Movie Novel) *2009 - 陪著我走 Visual Diary (Pui Jeuk Ngo Zau) *2009 - Heart Sweet 心甜

References

External links

*
Stephy Tang at Chinesemov.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Stephy 1983 births Cantonese-language singers Cantopop singers Cookies (group) members 21st-century Hong Kong women singers Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong people of Hakka descent People from Dongguan Hong Kong television actresses Living people 21st-century Hong Kong actresses Hakka musicians Hong Kong idols