Leon Lai Ming (born 11 December 1966 in Beijing), with family roots in Meixian, Guangdong, is a Hong Kong singer, actor and director and one of the Four Heavenly Kings of 1990s Cantopop. He moved to Hong Kong with his parents at the age of four and, after his parents separated, was sent to a boarding school in Britain at fourteen. He won a singing contest in 1985 and returned to Hong Kong, placing third in the 5th New Talent Singing Contest in 1986 with a cover of a song first sung by Choi Fung-wa; he made his television debut in 1987. In 1990 he released his first solo album, which reached gold status on its first day, and drew wide notice through the television drama The Breaking Point. In 1991 his album won the IFPI best-selling album award at the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards, and he released his first Mandarin album that year; he went on to take chart awards for many consecutive years. In 1992 he was named one of the Four Heavenly Kings alongside Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok, the youngest of the four. Among the four he moved early into art-house fare on film, starring in Peter Chan's Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996), for which he was nominated for best actor at the Golden Horse Awards, as well as Mabel Cheung's City of Glass, Three: Going Home and Infernal Affairs III, winning best actor at the 39th Golden Horse Awards in 2002 for Three: Going Home and becoming the first of the Four Heavenly Kings to take the prize. He has long been involved in charity work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and honorary vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Community Chest.
A defining figure of 1990s Cantopop, Lai's standing as one of the Four Heavenly Kings sealed his idol status; he then balanced music and film and, with Three: Going Home, became the first of the four to win a Golden Horse best-actor prize, showing a shift from pop idol to serious actor.
Achievements
- 1986 · Placed third in the 5th New Talent Singing Contest, entering the entertainment industry
- 1992 · Was named one of the media's Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop
- 2002 · Won best actor at the 39th Golden Horse Awards for Three: Going Home