The Yeung and the restless
Hong Kong singer-actress Miriam Yeung, 44, on how to handle mid-life crisis.
GOOD news for fans of Hong Kong singer-actress Miriam Yeung. Contrary to what news reports say, the 44-year-old is not retiring this year.
Late last year, Yeung stunned fans when she said at a concert that she may be quitting show business in 2018.
In a recent interview conducted in Singapore, she put the rumours to rest.
“What I said was a joke, but everyone took it seriously and thought that I was going to retire,” she says in Mandarin.
“Think of it this way – if I were really going to retire, why would I take on a new drama?”
She is referring to Wonder Women, a new TVB series that begins shooting next month. In the show, which also stars Pakho Chau and Raymond Wong, she plays a talented housewife who catches her husband cheating on her.
Heartbroken, she strives to learn to fend for herself and start a new life.
It is the first television drama Yeung is doing in nine years, as she has been busy making movies.
Some of her most famous film roles were in police comedy Love Undercover (2002) and the Love In A Puff romantic comedy series (2010, 2012 and 2017).
She is also known for her music, having released more than 40 Cantopop and Mandopop albums.
She says: “I was pulled to do (this) TV drama because of (scriptwriter) Ella Chan. I’m a big fan of her work and I was actually quite nervous when I first met her for this. I remember watching re-runs of her show, Blood Of Good And Evil (1990).”
Chan, 56, is known for penning classic Hong Kong television series such as medical drama Healing Hands II (2003) and long-form family drama A Kindred Spirit (1995 to 1999).
Yeung, who looked chic with a short platinum blonde hairstyle, was friendly and chatty during this interview and was even open to questions about her personal life.
She has a six-year-old son with her public relations consultant husband Real Ting, 38.
You will play a talented housewife in Wonder Women .Doyou see yourself as a wonder woman in real life?
I’m very good at organising my time. I make sure I have a good work-life balance, that I spend time with my family as well.
I’m terrible at household chores, though – it is a good thing I have a helper at home.
Fans love the chemistry between you and your co-star, Shawn Yue, in the Love In A Puff movies. Will there be a fourth film?
I think our characters had happy endings in the third movie and Shawn and I also found our own happiness with our other halves in real life.
So I think the third film should be the last one.
Of course, I’m more than happy to work with Shawn again, but I hope it’ll be something in a different genre.
Shawn, 36, will soon be a father for the first time. How do you think he’ll handle it?
Shawn is big on family and very filial. I believe he’ll be a very loving father. He’ll be the type to change aspects of his life for his baby.
So, what have you learnt from your own son?
To always be open-minded and think out of the box.
Recently, he likes to play with toys that are marketed for girls. One of his classmates asked him about it and he said very simply that toys shouldn’t be limited to just boys or girls, and that everyone can play with all toys.
I was so proud of him when he said that.
Many Hong Kong celebrities and their children are being featured on variety shows such as Dad, Where Are We Going?, and gaining new fans because of them. Do you see yourself filming such a show with your son?
My son is about to start Primary 2 and has a fixed school schedule. I wouldn’t want to disrupt his schedule too much because I think it wouldn’t be good for him, so I won’t be filming such a show any time soon.
One always reads about people in their 40s suffering from midlife crisis. Do you worry that it will happen to you?
People suffer from a mid-life crisis if they do not know what they want or if they can’t accept who they are.
Of course, I’ve felt lost in my life before, but I’ve learnt to accept who I am and what I want.
So, I don’t worry about suffering from a crisis. I just go about doing my work and spending time with my family.
If I feel stressed, I sit still and meditate.
How would you like to be remembered?
I would like people to remember some of my songs, such as Qin (Relations) or 123, 321.
My songs embody my life experiences and are full of hope, so it’ll be nice if listeners can take away something from that.
These songs can be therapeutic and help encourage them to face challenges head-on. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network