Ann Bridgewater is a mixed-heritage Chinese, English and Malaysian former Hong Kong actress and singer of the 1980s. A Hong Kong figure-skating champion nicknamed the queen of the ice before her screen career, she went to England as a teenager to study at King George V College in Southport, graduating in 1984, and gave up a university place there to stay in Hong Kong and make films. Discovered by Raymond Wong's Cinema City in the mid-1980s, she made her screen debut in I Do (1985) and was quickly promoted, appearing that same year in a youth comedy with the Happy Girls group, in the romance For Your Heart Only with Leslie Cheung, and in a further love story. She followed with films of 1986 to 1988, including the action hit Yes, Madam! (1988), and signed with the Cinepoly label, recording several albums from 1988. In the late 1980s she took on grittier roles, appearing in a horror comedy of 1989 and playing a drug-addicted informer in a 1989 crime film. She remained active into the early 1990s, in titles such as Curry and Pepper (1990) and a 1993 comedy, before retiring after Yesteryou, Yesterme, Yesterday in 1993. While still making films she continued her studies, taking degrees in biology at the University of Hong Kong and in occupational therapy at Hong Kong Polytechnic, and later worked as a children's occupational therapist.
With her mixed-heritage looks and buoyant manner, Ann Bridgewater became a face of Cinema City's youth films in the 1980s and a member of the Happy Girls trend. Her later qualification as an occupational therapist, moving from star to professional, is often cited as a rare example in Hong Kong's film circles.
Achievements
- 1985 · Discovered by Cinema City and made her screen debut in I Do
- 1988 · Signed with the Cinepoly label and began recording albums
- 1993 · Retired from entertainment after completing Yesteryou, Yesterme, Yesterday