This article is a list of prominent people of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

ancestry who were born in or have settled in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are British Chinese or must have references showing they are British Chinese and are notable.

Academia

Kevin Fong Kevin Jeremy San Yoong Fong (born 21 May 1971)Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, Utah, US: Ancestry.com Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. ...

, professor of

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

, UCL academic. *

Charles K. Kao Sir Charles Kao Kuen Charles K. Kao was elected in 1990
as a memb ...

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

, pioneer in the development and use of fibre-optics in telecommunications

Acting

Leah Bracknell Alison Rosalind Bracknell (12 July 1964 – 15 September 2019), known professionally as Leah Bracknell, was an English actress who played the role of Zoe Tate in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (1989–2005), for which she was nominated for the ...

, actress and yoga teacher,

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

, English father and Chinese-Malaysian mother *

Gemma Chan Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied law at Worcester College, Oxford before choosing to pursue a career in acting instead, enrolling at t ...

, actress *

Julia Chan Julia Chan, also known as Julia Taylor Ross, is an English actress and television host. She is best known for her portrayal of Sophia in the horror film '' Silent House'' (2011), Dr. Maggie Lin in the television series ''Saving Hope'' (2012-2017 ...

, actress *

Lobo Chan Lobo Chan (born 15 October 1960) is a British actor and opera singer, perhaps best known for his role in Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of ''King Kong''. Filmography *''King Kong'' (2005) - Choy *'' The Broken'' (2008) - Harry Lee *''Johnny English ...

, actor *

Maggie Cheung Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (; born 20 September 1964) is a Hong Kong former actress. Raised in Hong Kong and Britain, she started her career after placing second in 1983's Miss Hong Kong Pageant. She achieved critical success in the late 1980s and in ...

, actress *

Tsai Chin Tsai Chin may refer to: * Tsai Chin (actress) (born 1933), actress from Shanghai, also known as Irene Chow * Tsai Chin (singer) (born 1957), Taiwanese singer {{Hndis ...

, actress and singer, first Chinese Bond girl * Vera Chok, actress *

Christina Chong Christina Chong (born 18 September 1983) is an English actress. She has appeared in several notable roles in film and television, including '' Monroe'', ''Line of Duty'', '' Halo: Nightfall'', ''Black Mirror'', ''Doctor Who'', and '' 24: Live An ...

, actress * China Chow, actress and model *

Paul Courtenay Hyu Paul Courtenay Hyu is a British–Chinese actor, writer and director. He works in English and German. He is sometimes credited as Paul Hyu, especially for his work as Elvis Impersonator, "ChineseElvis". Life and career Hyu was born in London. ...

, actor, writer and Elvis impersonator, Eurasian * Linda Louise Duan, actress * Jon Foo, actor and wushu martial artist * Mona Hammond, actress * Jessica Henwick, actress, Eurasian *

Sandrine Holt Sandrine Claire Holt (born Sandrine Vanessa Ho; 19 November 1972) is a British-born Canadian model and actress. Early life Holt was born Sandrine Vanessa Ho in Croydon. Her middle name was later changed to Claire. Her father, Man Shun ("Horace" ...

, Canadian actress * Burt Kwouk, actor * Pui Fan Lee, actress and television presenter * Katie Leung, actress *

Jessie Mei Li Jessica Mei Li (born 27 August 1995) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Alina Starkov in the Netflix fantasy series '' Shadow and Bone''. Early life and education Li was born in Brighton, East Sussex to an English moth ...

, actress * Jennifer Lim, actress *

Pik-Sen Lim Pik-Sen Lim (, born 15 September 1944) is a Malaysian-British actress. According to the British Film Institute, Lim was "the most familiar Chinese actor on British television screens in the 1970s and 80s." Her notable roles include Chin Lee i ...

, actress *

Jing Lusi Jing Lusi (Chinese: 陆思敬; born 16 May 1985) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles in ''Stan Lee's Lucky Man'', the 2018 hit film '' ''Crazy Rich Asians' and BAFTA nominated series '' ''Gangs of London'. On stage, Lus ...

, actress *

Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...

, actress, Eurasian * Max Minghella, actor, Eurasian *

Carl Ng Carl Ng (吳嘉龍; born 27 March 1976) is a Hong Kong actor and model. Early life The third of four children, Ng was born in Hong Kong and is of mixed ethnicity of half English and half Chinese. His mother is Susan Ng, a British woman, wor ...

, actor, Eurasian * Suan-Li Ong actress-model * Colin Ryan, actor, Eurasian *

Marli Siu Marli Siu (born 11 March 1993) is a Scottish actress. Her films include ''Anna and the Apocalypse'' (2017), ''Our Ladies'' (2019), and ''Run'' (2019), the latter of which won her a Scottish BAFTA. On television, Siu has appeared in the spy thril ...

, actress, Eurasian * Jessica Sula, actress *

Elaine Tan Elaine may refer to: * Elaine (legend), name shared by several different female characters in Arthurian legend, especially: ** Elaine of Astolat ** Elaine of Corbenic * "Elaine" (short story), 1945 short story by J. D. Salinger * Elaine (singer), ...

, actress * Elizabeth Tan, actress * Lewis Tan, actor and martial artist *

Jason Tobin Jason Tobin, credited in Chinese as To Jun Wai (杜俊緯), is a Hong Kong-British film and television actor best known for his work in the lead role of Young Jun in the Cinemax series ''Warrior''. Early life and education Tobin was born in Hon ...

, actor *

Rhydian Vaughan Rhydian Vaughan (born 10 March 1988), also known by his stage name Feng Xiaoyue, is a Taiwanese-British actor, best known for his performances in the films '' Monga'', ''Girlfriend, Boyfriend'' and '' Winds of September''. Early life Vaughan is ...

, actor, Eurasian * Benedict Wong, actor *

Jason Wong Jason Wong is a British actor, known for his role as Kai in the 2018 ITV series ''Strangers''. Career In 2012, Wong was cast on the American Broadcasting Company series ''Missing''. In 2014, he co-starred the feature film '' Jarhead 2: Fie ...

, actor * Sophie Wu, actress, Eurasian * Tom Wu, actor *

David Yip David Nicholas Yip (; born 4 June 1951) is a British actor of Chinese and English descent. He gained prominence through his lead role in the BBC series ''The Chinese Detective''. Early life Yip was born in Liverpool to a Chinese father, a seama ...

, actor, Eurasian * George Young, actor and writer, Eurasian *

Ric Young Ric Young is a Malaysian-born British character actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Zhang Lee in the TV series ''Alias'' (2001–04) and as the henchman Kao Kan in the Steven Spielberg film ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''. E ...

, actor * Crystal Yu, actress *

Ozzie Yue Austin J. "Ozzie" Yue (born 12 August 1947) is a British actor and musician of Chinese heritage. His television roles include appearances in ''Father Ted'', ''All Quiet on the Preston Front'' and '' Coronation Street'' and roles in films includ ...

, actor and singer

Art and design

Suki Chan Suki Chan (born 1977 in Hong Kong) is an artist and filmmaker whose work uses light, moving image and sound to explore our perception of reality. She is drawn to light as a physical phenomenon, and the role it plays in our constantl ...

, British Chinese artist * Stanley Chow, artist and illustrator *

Aowen Jin Aowen Jin is a Chinese-born British artist and social commentator. Early life Aowen Jin was born in Luoyang, Henan in China. She moved to the United Kingdom as a student when she was 18, and initially studied Law & Economics at Durham Universit ...

, British Chinese artist and social commentator * Qu Lei Lei, artist and calligrapher *

Cary Kwok Cary Kwok (Siu Hang Cary Kwok, ) is a Hong Kong-born London-based British artist who specialises in fine detailed blue biro ( ball point pen) drawings and humorous erotic works. Kwok attended a footwear course in Hong Kong where he learned his sh ...

, artist * Chris Liu, fashion designer * Beatrix Ong, luxury fashion accessory and shoe designer *

Gok Wan Kowkhyn Wan (; born 9 September 1974), known as Gok Wan, is a British Wardrobe stylist, fashion consultant, author, television presenter, actor, DJ, chef and event manager. Initially training in the performing arts at the Central School of Sp ...

, fashion consultant and television presenter

Business

Andrew Ng Andrew Yan-Tak Ng (; born 1976) is a British-born American computer scientist and technology entrepreneur focusing on machine learning and AI. Ng was a co-founder and head of Google Brain and was the former Chief Scientist at Baidu, building ...

, co-founder of education technology company Coursera, director of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

's Artificial Intelligence Lab * Sir David Tang, founder of fashion chain Shanghai Tang, socialite and writer *

Woon Wing Yip Woon Wing Yip OBE (born December 1937) is a Hong Kong-born British entrepreneur, best known for having started the Wing Yip supermarket chain. Early life A Hakka born in December 1937, in British Hong Kong. Yip arrived in Hull, England from Hon ...

, founder of the British Chinese supermarket chain Wing Yip

Food

* Mi Gao Huang Chen, takeaway owner who was murdered in 2005 * Ching-He Huang, food broadcaster and food writer *

Nancy Lam Nancy Lam (born in Singapore in 1948) is a Singaporean celebrity chef famous for her Southeast Asian cuisine and television appearances. Beginnings Nancy Lam moved to London, United Kingdom from Singapore at the age of 22. After originally tra ...

, chef * Willian "Bill" Poon, chef and restaurateur *

Alan Yau Alan Yau (), Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 11 November 1962) is a Hong Kong restaurateur who founded the Wagamama chain in the United Kingdom. Of Hakka people, Hakka ancestry, he was born in Sha Tau Kok, Hong Kong and moved to King's Ly ...

, restaurateur, founder of Wagamama,

Hakkasan Hakkasan is a Chinese restaurant first opened in Fitzrovia in London, England but has since expanded to many cities worldwide. The restaurant was founded in 2001 by Alan Yau, who was also behind the Wagamama Japanese restaurants and later the ...

and

Yauatcha Yauatcha is a Chinese restaurant in Broadwick Street, Soho, London, England, specialising in dim sum. The restaurant was created in 2004 by Alan Yau, who previously created the Japanese Wagamama and Thai Busaba Eathai restaurant chains as ...

* Michael Chow, British-American restaurateur *

Kim-Joy Hewlett Kim-Joy (born Kim-Joy Hewlett, ) is a British baker and cookbook writer. She became one of two runners-up in the ninth series (2018) of ''The Great British Bake Off'' and won ''Bake Off'' New Year 2022 special. She has written three cookbooks ...

, baker, cookbook author, and finalist in the ninth series of The Great British Bake Off of Chinese Malaysian descent * Kenneth Lo, writer of more than 30 Chinese cookbooks

Music

Ayi Jihu Ayi Jihu (; born 1984) is a Chinese singer of Yi ethnicity, signed to British company Shlepp Records. Early life Ayi Jihu grew up in Leibo County in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan. Dance was one of her early hobbies. Her par ...

, singer * Zilan Liao, guzheng, concert harp and director of Pagoda arts *

Jason Lai Jason Lai (born 1974) is a British orchestral conductor. He was assistant conductor of the BBC Philharmonic from 2002 to 2005. At present he is the Principal Conductor of the Conservatory Orchestra at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music wh ...

, orchestral conductor * Herman Li, of the power metal band DragonForce * Melvyn Tan, classical pianist * Jasmine Thompson, singer * Matt Tong, drummer of indie rock bands

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

and

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

* Fou Ts'ong, pianist *

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. Th ...

, musician * Vanessa-Mae, violinist *

Jamie Woon Jamie Woon (born 29 March 1983) is a British singer, songwriter, and record producer signed to PMR Records. He gained widespread acclaim in 2010 for his single "Night Air", which was co-produced by Burial, following his previous independent rel ...

, dubstep artist *

Raymond Yiu Raymond Yiu (), born 1973; is a composer, conductor, jazz pianist and music writer. Biography Born in Hong Kong, he started piano lessons at the age of four. He went to England in 1990 and now lives in London. He began writing music as a teenage ...

, composer * Cheng Yu,

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rang ...

and

guqin The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...

musician * Guo Yue, dizi and bawu musician

Politics

Michael Chan, Baron Chan Michael Chew Koon Chan, Baron Chan (; 6 March 1940 – 21 January 2006) was a Singaporean-born British physician and life peer who sat in the House of Lords between 2001 and 2006. Early life and education Chan was born in Singapore on 6 Ma ...

, politician, life peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Steven Dominique Cheung Steven Dominique Cheung (; born 7 October 1989) is the first British-Hongkonger to receive the Air League Duke of Edinburgh flying bursary. He was the Liberal Democrat Prospective parliamentary candidate for Walthamstow at the 2015 general elec ...

Diana Award The Diana Award honours young people who work to improve the lives of others. Named after Diana, Princess of Wales, the award was established in 1999 by a board chaired by Gordon Brown. The award was launched by former UK Prime Minister Gordon ...

winner, youngest candidate for the European Election in 2009, DJ of Spectrum Radio and SW1 Radio *

Johnny Luk Johnny Luk (born 1990) is a Conservative political candidate, strategic consultant and a freelance writer. Luk was born in Hong Kong in 1990, and grew up in England, studying at Heronsgate Middle School and Bedford Modern School, he graduated ...

, Parliamentary Candidate and Conservative Party activist * Alan Mak, Member of Parliament for Havant since 2015, first British Chinese member of the House of Commons * Sarah Owen, Member of Parliament for Luton North * Nat Wei, Baron Wei, social entrepreneur, former government advisor and member of the House of Lords

Sport

Eden Cheng Eden Cheng (born 2 December 2002) is an English elite diver representing Great Britain and England. She won her first major medal in 2018 at the age of 15, when she won the gold medal at the European Championships in the 10 metre platform synch ...

, British diver * Joe Choong, British Olympic gold-medal winning pentathlete *

Sammy Chung Cyril Chung (16 July 1932 – 28 August 2022), better known as Sammy Chung, was an English football player and manager, one of the first Anglo-Chinese players in English football. Playing career Chung was born in Abingdon-on-Thames to a Chines ...

, second person of Chinese descent to manage an English football league club * Brian Moore, former

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

rugby player. * Emma Raducanu, British tennis player *

Frank Soo Frank Soo (8 March 1914 – 25 January 1991) was an English professional football player and manager of mixed Chinese and English parentage. He was the first player of Chinese origin to play in the English Football League, and the first player ...

, first player of Chinese descent to play in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, and the first non-white player to represent England * Alex Hua Tian, Olympic event rider, gave up his British Citizenship in order to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as part of the Chinese team * Rory Underwood, former

rugby player; Eurasian *

Tony Underwood Tony Underwood (born 17 February 1969 in Ipoh, Malaysia) is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back. He is of Malaysian-English parentage. Rugby career His rugby talent was first nurtured at Barnard Castl ...

, former rugby union player, brother of Rory Underwood * Alex Yee, Olympic gold medallist in triathlon. *

Li Ke Li Ke ( ; 619 – 10 March 653), posthumously known as the Prince of Yùlín (鬱林王), often known by his greater title as the Prince of Wú (吳王), was an imperial prince of the Tang Dynasty. As a highly honored son of Emperor Taizong, he ...

(born Nico Yennaris), footballer, gave up his British citizenship to play for the Chinese national team; Eurasian *

Tyias Browning Tyias Charles Browning (born 27 May 1994), also known as Jiang Guangtai (), is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port. Born in Liverpool, England to a mother of Cantonese descent, he has ...

, footballer, (also known as Jiang Guangtai) gave up his British citizenship to play for the Chinese national team; Chinese from his maternal grandfather.

Television

Alexa-chung-hair-first-look-at-her-l-oreal-campaign-35539 w1000

* Alexa Chung, TV presenter, fashion model, contributing editor at British ''Vogue''; Eurasian

Writers

* Jung Chang, writer, co-author of the biography '' Mao: The Unknown Story'' * Leslie Charteris, writer and creator of antihero Simon Templar, alias The Saint * Sue Cheung, novelist and illustrator of children’s book * Anhua Gao, writer * Jo Ho, screenwriter, director, and first Chinese person in the UK to create a television drama series, the 2010 BBC fantasy '' Spirit Warriors'' *

Hsiung Shih-I Hsiung Shih-I (; also S. I. Hsiung or Xiong Shiyi; 1902–1991) was a writer, biographer, translator, academic, and playwright in Beijing and London. He was the first Chinese person to direct a West End play, and the founder of Tsing Hua Academy ...

, writer who became the first Chinese person to write and direct a West End play in 1935 *

Timothy Mo Timothy Peter Mo (born 30December 1950) is a British Asian novelist. Born to a British mother and a Hong Kong father, Mo lived in Hong Kong until the age of 10, when he moved to Britain. Educated at Mill Hill School and St John's College, Oxfor ...

, British novelist *

Chee Soo Chee Soo (born Clifford Soo, also known as Clifford Gibbs, 4 June 1919 – 29 August 1994) was an author of books about the philosophy of Taoism and in particular Lee-style tai chi, Qigong, Ch'ang Ming, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Feng Sho ...

, author and teacher on

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

and martial arts *

Xue Xinran Xuē Xīnrán (, pen name ''Xinran'', born in Beijing in 1958) is a British-Chinese journalist, author, speaker, and advocate for women's issues. She was a popular radio personality in China with a call-in program named "Words on the Night Br ...

, broadcaster, author and founder of the charity Mother's Bridge of Love *

Benjamin Yeoh Benjamin Yeoh (born 1978) is a British Chinese playwright. Biography Born near London, England, his father came from Ipoh, Malaysia and mother from Singapore. His grandfather, Datuk Yeoh Cheang Lee was the first non-European chairman of the ...

, playwright

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:British Chinese people

Chinese diaspora

Chinese community in the United Kingdom

Academia

Acting

Art and design

Business

Food

Music

Politics

Sport

Television

Writers

See also

References