Sylvia Lai Sui-Pun (born 23 June 1951), also known by her stage name Sum Sum, is a semi retired Hong Kong singer and actress.

Background

Lai was born in

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 ...

on 23 June 1951, she was of the Meixian,

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

ancestry, her younger sister is Betty Lai Siu-man. In 1966, Lai, her sister and other four males singers formed a musical band ''BumbleBee'' to promote their traffic and road safety song in Hong Kong. In 1967, Lai joined RTV to attend its first Artist Academy. One of her classmates was

Liza Wang Elizabeth "Liza" Wang Ming-chun SBS (born 28 August 1947), is a Hong Kong diva, actress and MC. She is a personality in Chinese-speaking communities. She has been nicknamed "The Big Sister" in the Hong Kong entertainment circle.Xinhuanet.Xinhu ...

. In 1967, Lai took a stage name Sum Sum (森森), while her sister's stage name went first as Bun Bun (彬彬) but soon changed to Ban Ban (斑斑). In the late 1967, Lai contested and won the ''Hong Kong's Queen of Singing Diva'' (香港歌后) title, and was encouraged by

Robert Chua Robert Chua Wah-Peng (born 20 May 1946) is an Asian broadcaster. Background Born in 1946 in Colony of Singapore, on 20 May 1946, he has worked internationally in Australia, Hong Kong and China as well. Among other activities in his career, he was ...

to sign up to become one of

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 TVB ...

's first batch of actors and actresses. She also became a host in the TVB's variety show ''

Enjoy Yourself Tonight ''Enjoy Yourself Tonight'' or ''EYT'' is a popular variety show that was produced in British Hong Kong. It first aired on TVB Jade on 20 November 1967. The show lasted 27 years with its last broadcast on Friday, 7 October 1994.Chinanews.com.cn ...

'' (歡樂今宵). Sum Sum took up a training lesson of

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee. Overview and philosophy Jeet Kune ...

with

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

while he was in Hong Kong with his young son

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name * Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

on 3 April 1970, prior to Lee's appearance in ''Enjoy Yourself Tonight'' four days later in 7 April. In 1972, Sum Sum formed a musical duo group Sum Sum Ban Ban (森森斑斑) with her sister. Ban Ban also joined in to host ''Enjoy Yourself Tonight'' with her sister in 1973. In 1979, they released their first album ''Star, Moon, Sun'' (星星.月亮.冇太陽). Sum Sum and Ban Ban left TVB in 1983 to join ATV to further pursuit their acting and singing career. In 1997, she was invited by

to host in the reestablished but short-lived variety show ''Enjoy Yourself Tonight''. She also made live advertising roles for

HKTV Hong Kong Technology Venture Company Limited (HKTV, ) is a Hong Kong-based technology company primarily known for its e-commerce platform and once had plans to become a television station. HKTV currently provides an over-the-top shopping and e ...

on a weekly basis. From 1999 onwards, Sum Sum, with her sister Ban Ban, would host and perform for several entertainment companies in many international venues and charity events, i.e. United States, Canada, Singapore, Macau. During that period on 27 September 2003, she was noted to be the first Chinese singer to perform with the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra at the Mississauga Convention Centre in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, Canada. Her last acting appearance was in 2006. In May 2012, she was interviewed in the ATV's television show ''aTV 100 Celebrities''

Personal life

In December 1977, Sum Sum married Robert Lee (李振輝), brother of

. They had a son named Clarence Lee Ga-Ho (李家豪) in 1980, and divorced in 1983. Sum Sum retained custody of their son. She later was remarried to Macao businessman Wong Chung-tak (王宗德), ceremony was held at a hotel in

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 ...

in 1992 as prepared by her friend

Louise Lee Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

, and moved to

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sum, Sum 1951 births Living people 20th-century Hong Kong women singers Hong Kong people of Hakka descent People from Meixian District Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong television actresses 21st-century Hong Kong women singers 20th-century Hong Kong actresses 21st-century Hong Kong actresses Cantopop singers Hong Kong Mandopop singers