Who is Josephine Siao? How did the popular Hong Kong actress transform from child star to activist?

This is the 36th installment TV series broadcast every two weeks We profile key Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.

When child actors are mentioned, stories of children falling victim to adults’ greed, caught up in media attention, or even succumbing to addiction come to mind. Josephine Siao Fong-fong avoided such traps.

Born in Shanghai in 1947, Xiao Liang moved to Hong Kong with his family when he was two years old. His father died the following year, and Siao began acting at the age of six to support his family.

“I remember my mother sewing beads on clothes to make a living,” Siao said in an interview with the former Hong Kong trade and economic development minister. Frederick Ma Si-hang for broadcaster TVB.

(From left) Bruce Lee, Wong Cho-san and Josephine Siao, still from An Orphan's Tragedy (1955). — (From left) Bruce Lee, Wong Cho-san and Josephine Siao, still from An Orphan’s Tragedy (1955).

“This wasn’t enough to make ends meet; Moreover, my father left us a lot of debt. One of my mother’s friends told her they needed kids to act in some movies, so she took me to the studios. “That’s how it all started.”

Siao was a popular actor in the 1960s and frequently appeared alongside him. Connie Chan Po-chu In wuxia films and contemporary dramas. They fascinated the audience with their beauty and style. Colorful Youth (1966), in which they both starred, was credited with making Cantonese film musicals more popular.