Irene Wan

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wan.
Irene Wan
溫碧霞
Born
Wan Bik-ha

30 July 1966
Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O New Town, New Territories, British Hong Kong
Education Catholic Ming Yuen Secondary School
Occupation(s) Actress, singer, producer
Agents
  • TVB (1991–2001)
  • Emperor Motion Pictures (Hong Kong) (from 2012)
  • Huayi Brothers (Chinese mainland)
    (from 2012)
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Spouse
Kenneth Ho
​
(m. 2000)​
Children 1 (adopted)
Awards Golden Lotus Award at 3rd Macau International Movie Festival in 2011
(Best supporting actress)
Musical career
Labels
  • Homerun (1991–1993)
  • Yiu Wing RECORDS LIMITED (1993)
  • Yong Sheng He Chuang Media (2008)
  • Mele Music
    北京美樂文化 (from 2012)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 溫碧霞
Simplified Chinese 温碧霞

Irene Wan Bik-ha (born Wen Bik-ha on 30 July 1966) is a Hong Kong actress, singer and producer. Her father was an officer of the Republic of China Army. In her early years, she was known as a "sexy beauty". After her marriage, Wan faded out of the entertainment industry and occasionally participated in dramas and films. She is currently based in mainland China.

Early life and career

She was born and lived in District 8 of Rennie's Mill squatter district in the New Territories of Hong Kon. She is the youngest of four brothers and three sisters. Growing up her family was poor. Her father had been an officer of the Republic of China (Kuomintang) Army and settled in Hong Kong after fleeing Mainland of China. The artist Chen Yulian was her next door neighbor, and Wang Xiaofeng was also the neighbor below her residence. When Irene Wan was a child, she often played with boys in the same district, mainly playing table tennis and badminton with them. She once attended Mingyuan Primary School and enjoys music and fine arts. Later, in order to want her to enroll in a better secondary school, her mother arranged for her to continue her studies in a secondary school on Hong Kong Island .

After completing the first grade at Catholic Mingyuan Middle School, Irene Wan went to the former St. John's College for Co-Education in Tai Koo Shing. During the latter's schooling period, she was a member of the school's basketball team . She moved to Shau Kei Wan to live with her sister in order to facilitate schooling when she was 12 years old. She was sold by her mother because of her poverty. Because of his father's strict discipline, she developed a rebellious character. "When I was in middle school, I learned to smoke, go to the dance hall (P field) and make friends with problem teenagers". Later, when she was 15 years old (1983), she was discovered by scouts on the street to participate in the filming of the movie "Lonely Fifteen" and joined the entertainment circle. She had not graduated from high school at the time .

She was nominated for the Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards for her role in Lonely Fifteen.

She gained notice for her beauty and remarkable performance in Everlasting Love (1984), co-starring with Andy Lau and Loletta Lee, when she was only 17 years old. Later, she also gave impressive performances in Stanley Kwan's Love Unto Waste (1986) and Rouge (1988).

However, in the 1990s, her film career sputtered when she agreed to star in All of a Sudden (1996), which would be her first and only time appearing fully nude in a film. Wan later went on to star in several TVB television series.

In 2019, at the age of 53, Wan drew controversy for her suggestive scenes with two younger actors in the thriller The Fallen (the male actor being 14-year-old younger than Wan and the female actress 27 younger). Her performance in the film would later eventually won her the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 8th Silk Road International Film Festival in 2020.

Personal life

Wan married Kenneth Ho (何祖光), a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, on 1 October 2000. Their wedding was held at Banyan Tree Hotel in Phuket, Thailand. Ho is the grandnephew of the Kuomintang veteran He Yingqin and worked at Solomon Brothers Hong Kong Asia Pacific Investment as the Vice President of the Banking Department. The two have never planned to have children. Until 2010, Wan and her husband adopted an orphan who was abandoned in a train station in Mainland China. They also sought a doctor to cure his skin disease and cough, and renamed the child to Xavier Ho (何國倫).

Filmography

Discography

Studio albums

# Title Type Publisher Release date Repertoire
1 溫碧霞 Cantonese Album 全壘打（Hong Kong） September 1991
Repertoire
  1. 遠方的期待
  2. 美女與野獸
  3. Baby Don't Go（TVB "Heartbreak Blues" theme song）
  4. 蒼天不許（TVB "The Fugitives" theme song）
  5. 初戀情人
  6. Stranger in the Nite
  7. 寂寞吧（午夜愛人）
  8. 藍色的風
  9. Baby Don't Go (Reprise)
  10. 希盼得好夢（The theme song of the movie "Prison on Fire II"）
  11. 美女與野獸（Reprise）
2 海潮 Cantonese Album 全壘打（Hong Kong） July 1992
Repertoire
  1. 森巴嘉年華（Post-transition version）
  2. 午夜浮動
  3. 曾經愛過（Chorus by Cai Jiwen (蔡濟文), TVB "Vengeance" episode）
  4. 海潮（TVB "Vengeance" theme song）
  5. 只因這是愛（I Need You）
  6. 月亮代表我的心
  7. Boogie Night
  8. 離别彩虹
  9. 曾經愛過（Music version）
  10. 單身貴族
  11. 森巴嘉年華（High Mix）
3 水的個性 Cantonese Album 全壘打（Hong Kong） December 1992
Repertoire
  1. 某一個晚上
  2. 飛花（TVB "The Knight and the Concubine" theme song）
  3. 夢化粧
  4. 痴心
  5. 半生緣
  6. 水的個性
  7. 忘掉我自己
  8. 香檳
  9. 凍結情感
  10. 飛花（Music version）
4 海潮 新曲＋精選 New song + selection 全壘打（Hong Kong）
New Century Workshop (HK) 		1993
Repertoire
  1. 森巴嘉年華（Post-transition version）
  2. 海潮（TVB "Vengeance" theme song）
  3. 曾經愛過（Chorus by Cai Jiwen (蔡濟文), TVB "Vengeance" episode）
  4. 美女與野獸
  5. 蒼天不許（TVB "The Fugitives" theme song）
  6. Baby Don't Go（TVB "Heartbreak Blues" theme song）
  7. Stranger in the Nite
  8. 某一個晚上
  9. 半生缘
  10. 痴心
  11. Boogie Night
  12. 水的個性
  13. 飛花（TVB "The Knight and the Concubine" theme song）
  14. 希盼得好夢（The theme song of the movie "Prison on Fire II"）
  15. 月亮代表我的心
  16. 調景嶺之歌（New song）
5 情無後悔 Cantonese Album 耀榮唱片（China） November 1993
Repertoire
  1. 情無後悔
  2. 單身咖啡座
  3. 迷人小雨傘下
  4. 愛有代價
  5. 多一點愛，多一點痛
  6. 着了迷
  7. Don't Leave Me Tonight
  8. 心裡有夢想
  9. 戀愛未來
  10. 生命原是為着愛
6 掙扎 Mandarin EP 創音社（Taiwan） 1999
Repertoire
  1. 掙扎
  2. 別誤會
  3. 窩心話
  4. 守住自己守住你
  5. 解脱
  6. 掙扎（Music version）
  7. 別誤會（Music version）
  8. 窩心話（Music version）
  9. 守住自己守住你（Music version）
  10. 解脱（Music version）
7 美麗人生 Mandarin EP 九洲音像（China） February 2008
Repertoire
  1. 一千萬個擁抱
  2. 西湖遐想曲
  3. 掃心地
  4. 一千萬個擁抱（激情版）
  5. 我真的受傷了
8 我愛的你不在身邊 Mandarin EP 美樂文化（China） 29 August 2012
Repertoire
  1. 我愛的你不在身邊
  2. 夢醒之後
  3. 我真的受傷了
9 海潮（3"CD）（限量編號版） Small dish 全壘打（Hong Kong）
New Century Workshop (HK) 		12 May 2015
Repertoire
  1. 海潮
  2. 森巴嘉年華
  3. Baby Don't Go
  4. 水的個性
  5. 希盼得好夢
10 海潮 新曲＋精選
（Reprint） 		New song + selection 全壘打（Hong Kong）
New Century Workshop (HK) 		24 May 2019
Repertoire
  1. 森巴嘉年華（Post-transition version）
  2. 海潮（TVB "Vengeance" theme song）
  3. 曾經愛過（Chorus by Cai Jiwen (蔡濟文), TVB "Vengeance" episode）
  4. 美女與野獸
  5. 蒼天不許（TVB "The Fugitives" theme song）
  6. Baby Don't Go（TVB "Heartbreak Blues" theme song）
  7. Stranger in the Nite
  8. 某一個晚上
  9. 半生缘
  10. 痴心
  11. Boogie Night
  12. 水的個性
  13. 飛花（TVB "The Knight and the Concubine" theme song）
  14. 希盼得好夢（The theme song of the movie "Prison on Fire II"）
  15. 月亮代表我的心
  16. 調景嶺之歌（New song）

Singles

  • 1994：《一醉化千愁》(Theme song of TVB TV series "Gentle Reflections")
  • 2020：《Make You Smile》

Concerts

  • 19 June 2018：《Irene Wan Haichao Concert2018》

Song scores

Top position of the four songs on the chart
Record Song 903 RTHK 997 TVB Remarks
1991
溫碧霞 希盼得好夢 – –   – The theme song of the movie "Prison on Fire II"
Repertoire of the same song: Chen Baiqiang (陳百強) ~ 今宵多珍重
溫碧霞 Stranger in the Nite – –   –
溫碧霞 美女與野獸 – –   –
溫碧霞 Baby Don't Go 30 –   – TVB TV series "Heartbreak Blues" episode
1992
海潮 海潮 – –   6 TVB TV series "Vengeance" theme song
海潮 月亮代表我的心 25 –   –
海潮 森巴嘉年華 6 –   –
水的個性 水的個性 15 –   –
水的個性 飛花 – –   – TVB TV movie "The Knight and the Concubine" theme song
1993
情無後悔 情無後悔 – –   –
情無後悔 心裡有夢想 26 –   –
情無後悔 單身咖啡座 21 –   – OT：Donna De Lory ~ Think It Over
2012
我愛的你不在身邊 我真的受傷了 – – – – 翻唱張學友作品
2020
Make You Smile – – 15 6
Total number of champion songs in each station
903 RTHK 997 TVB Remarks
0 0 0 0 Total number of four champion songs: 0

Awards and nominations

Hong Kong Film Awards

Year Awards ceremony Awards Film Result
1983 The 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards Best new actress Lonely Fifteen Nominated

Macau International Film Festival

Year Awards ceremony Awards Film Result
2011 The 3rd Macau International Film Festival Golden Lotus Award for Best Supporting Actress 72 Heroes Won
2013 The 5th Macau International Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Award Triad Nominated
2015 The 7th Macau International Film Festival Best Actress Award Love in Late Autumn Nominated

Silk Road International Film Festival

Year Awards ceremony Awards Film Result
2020 The 8th Silk Road International Film Festival Best Actress in a Leading Role The Fallen Won

Annotation

  1. The information about Irene Wan’s childhood and schooling comes from the interview of the Hong Kong Radio No. 2 radio program "Shou Xia Liu Qing" broadcast on 5 June 2018.
  2. The information about Irene Wan’s family background and her middle school period comes from the 1008th issue "Single Interview·Forever Haichao Irene Wan" published on 21 November 2014.