Eliza Sam Lai-Heung (; born 17 November 1984) is a Hong Kong actress, formerly under contract in

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

. She won the Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant in 2009, and went on to win the 2010

Miss Chinese International Miss Chinese International Pageant ( zh, 國際中華小姐競選, formerly 國際華裔小姐競選), or MCI ( zh, 華姐) for short, is an annual international beauty pageant, organized and broadcast by TVB, a network television station in Hong ...

Pageant. After winning the Miss Chinese Vancouver title 2010, Sam was involved supporting organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. She won the World Chinese Entrepreneur Scholarship in January 2010, hosted by The 4th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, Canada Founding & Development Society.

Biography

Early life

Sam's family are Hoa, with parents of Chinese descent from Vietnam, and grandparents from

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

. She was born and raised 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 cit ...

, Canada. Sam had also stated publicly that she is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Sam graduated from

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

's Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 2010, with a bachelor's degree in Business as well as a diploma in Marketing Management and a diploma in Fashion Design and Technology. She was an English teacher prior to participating in Miss Chinese International.

Career

After winning the Vancouver pageant, Sam represented Vancouver in the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2010 organized by TVB. During her final speech (which was to void points from the previous performance segments), Sam talked about her Cantonese being weak, and thus spending one year to practice and improve her Cantonese. She won the competition under the new voting system. Later, she signed with TVB. With her role in the 2012 drama ''

Divas in Distress ''Divas in Distress'' is a 2012 Hong Kong television drama produced by TVB. Written by Chan Kam-ling and produced by Poon Ka-tak, ''Divas in Distress'' is a sister production of the time traveling comedy, ''A Chip Off the Old Block''. Plot Shan ...

'', Sam rose to popularity and got her nickname "Princess Heung Heung" ( zh, 香香公主). In 2013, Sam won the Most Improved Female Artiste award at the 2013 TVB Anniversary Awards. In mid-June 2018, Sam announced on her social media that her eight-year contract with TVB had come to an end. In February 2020, Sam returned to TVB to film the family drama '' Plan "B"'', which was broadcast in June 2021.

Personal life

In October 2015, Sam was revealed by the media that she was dating a 6-feet-tall and robust man. On 2 December 2016, she openly acknowledged her engagement on social media with her out of industry boyfriend Joshua Ngo. The manager company acknowledged and blessed them. The couple's wedding was held in Vancouver on 18 December 2016. On 6 December 2018, Sam announced on social media that she was 5 months pregnant and her due date was April 2019. On 25 March 2019, Sam posted a photo of her son Jacob on Instagram, announcing that her son was born under the name "BooBoo", but did not disclose the date of birth. Sam shared that Jacob's Chinese name is Ngo Chu-hin (吳主軒), which was given to him by her parents-in-law. On 3 February 2021, Sam announced on social media that she was pregnant with her second child. On 13 May 2021, she announced on Instagram that her second son, Cashew (小腰果), was born under the name "JuJu", but did not disclose the date of birth.

Filmography

Television dramas

Music videos

Films

* ''The Fortune Buddies'' (2011) * '' I Love Hong Kong 2012'' (2012) * '' Special Female Force'' (2016) * ''I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change!'' (2019)

TVB Programs

* ''Big Fun Canton'' 《千奇百趣省港澳》 (2011) * ''Kansai Banzai'' 《關西風雨》 (2011) * '' Miss Chinese International Pageant 2012'' 《國際中華小姐競選》 (Appearing as the reigning Miss Chinese International winner) (2012) * ''Dolce Vita'' 《港生活·港享受(明珠生活)》 (2012) * ''The Armur River'' 《黑龍江》 (2012) * ''TV Funny'' 《玩轉三周1/2》 (2012) * ''Neighborhood Treasures 4'' 《千奇百趣高B班》 (2012) * ''Big Fun SE Asia'' 《千奇百趣東南亞》 (2012) * ''Nat Around The World'' 《叻哥遊世界》 (2013) * ''Feastival A La Stars'' 《明星愛廚房》 (2014-2015) * ''A Starry Homecoming'' 《星星探親團》 (2016) * ''My Handy Man'' 《乜都攪掂晒》 (2016) Eliza Sam at chinesemov.com
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Awards and nominations

* 2010 World Chinese Entrepreneur Scholarship: Academic, community service and leadership award , - ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" , Miss Chinese Vancouver , - , - , - ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" ,

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References

External links

Miss Chinese Vancouver 2009 - Profile page

Miss Chinese International 2010 - Profile pageTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Eliza 1984 births 21st-century Hong Kong actresses Actresses from Vancouver Canadian actresses of Hong Kong descent Canadian emigrants to Hong Kong Canadian film actresses Canadian schoolteachers Canadian television actresses Hoa people Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong television actresses Hong Kong people of Hoa descent Kwantlen Polytechnic University alumni Living people TVB actors Canadian Christians Hong Kong Christians