Li Ching, born Li Guoying in Shanghai on 8 November 1948, moved to Hong Kong with her family as a child. While in secondary school she was admitted to the second training class of Shaw Brothers' Southern Drama Group, joining the company in 1963. She first appeared in The Lotus Lamp (1965), taking the stage name Li Ching, after small roles in The Dancing Millionaires (1964) and The Story of Sue San (1964) and larger ones in The Crimson Palm and The Female Prince (both 1964). Landing the lead in The Mermaid (1965) brought her the Best Actress prize at the 12th Asian Film Festival at just seventeen, earning her the nickname 'Baby-faced Queen'. Though not a trained singer, she appeared with Ivy Ling Po in huangmei diao films such as The West Chamber (1965) and The Three Smiles (1969). She moved into contemporary films with Sweet and Wild (1966), Susanna (1967) and the top-grossing musical Hong Kong Rhapsody (1968), and won Most Popular Actress at the Asian Film Festival for The Merry Wife (1972). After The Invincible Fist (1969) she worked several times with director Chang Cheh, and injured her left foot performing a stunt in Killers Five (1969). She left Shaw Brothers in 1976, made films in Taiwan, and co-founded Long Horizon Film with director John Lo Ma in 1978. She also ran Million Film, producing Big Leap Forward (1979) and Snake Deadly Act (1980). She withdrew from the industry in the early 1980s and died in Hong Kong in February 2018.
Winning an Asian Film Festival best actress award at seventeen made Li Ching one of Shaw Brothers' brightest stars of the 1960s, and her 'Baby-faced Queen' label helped open the way for young actresses to carry leading roles. Her shifts from period huangmei diao to contemporary musicals, martial arts and erotic films mirrored the versatile paths of studio-era actresses. She later set up her own companies as executive producer and producer, among the few actresses of her day to move behind the camera.
Achievements
- 1965 · Won Best Actress at the 12th Asian Film Festival for The Mermaid at just seventeen, earning the 'Baby-faced Queen' label.
- 1972 · Named Most Popular Actress at the Asian Film Festival for The Merry Wife.
- 1978 · Co-founded Long Horizon Film (Hong Kong) Limited with director John Lo Ma, also serving as executive producer.