Maria Yi was born in 1953 under the name Wei Lina, with ancestral roots in Zhejiang; she grew up in Taiwan and graduated from the Chin-ou Girls' Commercial Vocational School in Taipei. Spotted by Golden Harvest's Raymond Chow, she signed as a contract player in 1970, was trained in Taiwan and came to Hong Kong, becoming, alongside Nora Miao and Angela Mao, one of the studio's early rising stars. Her screen debut was The Chase (1971), directed by Wong Tin-lam, and that same year she appeared opposite Bruce Lee in Lo Wei's The Big Boss as Qiaomei; the film was a box-office smash across Southeast Asia and made Lee an overnight star. The Big Boss was shot on location in Pak Chong, Thailand, where Bruce Lee looked after the inexperienced Yi during filming. In 1972 she was cast in Lo Wei's Fist of Fury, again opposite Lee, and she went on to appear in more of his films, including A Man Called Tiger (1973) and Seaman No. 7 (1973), working during this period as well with the action star Jimmy Wang Yu. Also in 1972 Golden Harvest loaned her to Taiwan's Ta Chung company, where, arranged by Bai Ching-zue and Li Hsing, she shot Sung Tsun-shou's drama Story of Mother, released in 1973 and one of her rare non-action roles, in which she played a mother weathering family misfortune. Back in Hong Kong she made The Tournament (1974) and Tiger of Northland (1976). Mainly cast in martial-arts action films at Golden Harvest, she had a fresh image and agile movements; both of her films with Bruce Lee set box-office records in Southeast Asia, and Fist of Fury broke Hong Kong's box-office record at the time. Story of Mother, shot on loan in Taiwan, revealed her potential in drama, with Sung Tsun-shou using a realist approach to portray a mother's life. She married the businessman Tsui Ching-poh in June 1974 and retired after completing Tiger of Northland in 1976, afterwards withdrawing from public view.
Maria Yi was one of the young actresses Golden Harvest pushed in its early years, becoming familiar to audiences through The Big Boss and Fist of Fury opposite Bruce Lee, both of which set box-office records across Southeast Asia; she also left a rare dramatic performance in Story of Mother, showing a side beyond action films.
Achievements
- 1970 · Was discovered by Raymond Chow and signed with Golden Harvest as a contract player.
- 1971 · Her debut film The Chase opened; the same year she appeared with Bruce Lee in The Big Boss.
- 1973 · Loaned to Taiwan to shoot Sung Tsun-shou's drama Story of Mother.