The Lovely Athena Chu

Perky Hong Kong performer Athena Chu Yan entered the entertainment industry after graduating from Hong Kong's Academy for Performing Arts. She was subsequently offered contract by the TVB television station, and worked, initially, as a children's show presenter on '430 Space Shuttle'. She progressed to drama series, appearing in such highly rated local shows as 'Edge Of Righteousness', 'Romance Beyond' and 'The Legend Of The Condor'. She has also starred in several Taiwanese t.v series.

Chu made her film debut opposite Canto comic Stephen Chow in Gordon Chan's 'Fight Back To School II'. She went on to work with Chow in his double-bill of period pieces, 'A Chinese Odyssey'. The films, based very loosely on the classic 'Journey To The West', were hugely successful. Chu appears briefly in the first film, and has a major role in the second.

Peter Chan cast Chu in a key role in his 1992 comedy 'Tom, Dick And Hairy', which featured a whole generation of fresh young performers, including Anita Yuen. Chu has also developed a following in Taiwan, and has starred in several Taiwanese features. These include the schooldays comedy 'To Miss With Love', starring Taiwanese heart-throbs Nicky Wu and Jimmy Lin, the martial arts comedy 'Shaolin Kung Fu Kids' and the slapstick funfest 'Troublemaker'.

International audiences got their first taste of her unique charm when she appeared alongside action queen Michelle Yeoh in Stanley Tong's all-action police drama 'Once A Cop' (a.k.a 'Project S'.) Chu's bright presence illuminates the lack-lustre middle section of the movie, which was a spin-off featuring Yeoh's character from Jackie Chan's 'Police Story III'.

Athena Chu was first lady of choice for two faded kung fu idols, appearing opposite Yuen Biao in the unreleased period actioner 'Thief Of Swallow' and alongside Donnie Yen in the flop 'Shanghai Affairs'.
Chu recently signed a multi-picture deal with the prolific Hong Kong director/producer Wong Jing. He cast her opposite Andy Lau in his latest 'God Of Gamblers'-inspired movie, 'The Conman', and alongside Lau Ching-wan and Francis Ng Chan-yu in 'Hong Kong Triad'. Though still cast in variations of her 'cute girl next door' persona, Chu has shown evidence of a greater range in her recent acting outings.

Like many local artistes, Chu has launched a parallel career as a singer, and has so far released two CDs, a Mandarin album entitled 'Earthquake' and a Cantonese one called 'Glass'.

As well as her acting and singing commitments, Chu is also the 'face' of Epson colour printers, and has appeared in two successful campaigns for the company. Despite her success, she still lives with her family in the busy Hong Kong district of Mongkok, and cites her mother's home cooking as her favourite food in the world. Recently, she has been romantically linked with Paul Wong, a member of the Hong Kong-based rock band Beyond.