Julie Yeh Feng (born 19 October 1937), originally Wang Jiuling, was born in Hankou, Hubei, and moved with her family to Taiwan at eleven, where she attended secondary school. In 1954 she was signed by the American studio Universal, but the planned production fell through; arriving in Hong Kong that year, she was introduced by Li Han-hsiang and Li Zuyong to the Yonghua studio, which soon collapsed. In 1957 she joined Motion Picture and General Investment (Cathay) at the invitation of Stephen Soong, making her debut in a family drama as the second of four sisters. Tall with a low voice, she stood out among Cathay's stars for a romantic, glamorous image in comedies, musicals and melodramas, was especially noted in a 1961 film directed by Yi Wen from a novel by Xu Su, and also recorded for Pathe. After her contract ended in 1962 she moved to Shaw Brothers, starring in musicals and period dramas; she retired after a 1969 picture, made a cameo in Tong Shu-hsun's 1975 film and appeared in more than twenty movies in all. She married Cathay actor Chang Yang in 1961 and divorced in 1965, later married and divorced the Shaw actor Ling Yun, and remarried. She went into business after retiring, travelling often between Hong Kong, the mainland and the United States. With notable work at both Cathay and Shaw, her range stretched from musicals to literary melodrama, and her glamorous yet melancholic presence was rare among the Mandarin-film actresses of her day.
With her tall figure, low voice and glamorous air, Julie Yeh Feng stood apart among Cathay's stars as a performer who combined romance and fashion in 1950s–60s Mandarin cinema, and her musical and literary melodramas added a distinctive colour to the screen of that era.
Achievements
- 1957 · Joined Cathay at Stephen Soong's invitation, making her debut in a family drama
- 1961 · Married Cathay actor Chang Yang (divorced in 1965)
- 1962 · Moved to Shaw Brothers after her Cathay contract ended, starring in musicals and period dramas