Josephine Siao

Josephine Siao
Chinese: 蕭芳芳
Siao in the 1960s
Born	Siao Loeng (蕭亮) (1947-03-13) 13 March 1947 (age 77) Shanghai, China
Nationality	Hong Kong
Alma mater	Seton Hall University, Regis University
Occupation(s)	Actress, television personality, martial artist
Years active	1954–1997
Spouses	Charlie Chin ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1978)​ Clarence Chang ​ (m. 1980)​
Children	2
Parents	Xiao Naizhen (father) Cheng Fenghui (mother)
Awards	Best Child Actor – Asia-Pacific Film Festival 1955 The Orphan Girl – Mui Kit (childhood) Silver Bear for Best Actress – Berlin International Film Festival 1996 Summer Snow – May Sun Best Actress – Asia-Pacific Film Festival 1996 Hu-Du-Men – Lang Kim-sum Hong Kong Film Awards – Best Actress 1988 The Wrong Couples – Wong Mui 1996 Summer Snow – May Sun Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 Golden Bauhinia Awards – Best Actress 1996 Summer Snow – May Sun Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards – Best Actress 1995 Summer Snow – May Sun Asian Film Awards – Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema 2007 Golden Horse Awards – Best Supporting Actress 1975 Girl Friend – Meng Ya-ping Best Leading Actress 1995 Summer Snow – May Sun 1996 Hu-Du-Men – Lang Kim-sum Golden Bell Awards – Best Actress 1995 Autumn Water & Vast Sky – Hsiang I-hung
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	蕭芳芳
Simplified Chinese	萧芳芳
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiāo Fāngfāng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping siu1 fong1 fong1
Musical career
Also known as	Sister Fong-fong (芳芳姐)
Origin	British Hong Kong
Musical artist

Josephine Siao Fong-fong MBE (simplified Chinese: 萧芳芳; traditional Chinese: 蕭芳芳; pinyin: Xiāo Fāngfāng; Jyutping: siu1 fong1 fong1; born March 13, 1947) is a Hong Kong film star who became popular as a child actress and continued her success as a mature actress, winning numerous awards. Since retiring from show business (partly due to her increasing deafness), she has become a writer and a psychologist, known for her work against child abuse.

Born in Shanghai, Ciao emigrated to Hong Kong at the age of 2, and began her acting career at the age of 6. In 1955, she appeared alongside Bruce Lee in An Orphan's Tragedy. Her performance in The Orphan Girl (1956) garnered the Best Child Actor Award at the 2nd Southeast Asian Film Festival.^[1] Ciao subsequently became one of the biggest teen idols in Hong Kong during the late 1960s, along with frequent co-star Connie Chan Po-chu. The two were often cast in wuxia films and contemporary dramas. Colourful Youth (1966), in which they both appeared, is credited with popularising Cantonese film musicals. Siao briefly retired from acting in 1968 to attend Seton Hall University in the US. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in communications in 1970, she returned to Hong Kong, where she went on to become one of the city's most prolific actresses. In 1982, she starred in Plain Jane to the Rescue, which became one of her most famous roles.^[2]

Siao won the Best Actress Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards twice, for The Wrong Couples (1987) and Summer Snow (1995). Her performance in the latter also won her Best Actress at both the Berlinale and the Golden Horse Awards, while Hu-Du-Men (1996) saw her named Best Actress at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and the Golden Horse Awards.^[3][4] Siao appeared in the critically acclaimed martial arts film Fong Sai-yuk (1993), where she played Miu Tsui-fa, the kung fu–fighting mother of the titular character, portrayed by Jet Li. She reprised her role in Fong Sai-yuk II (1993). Her other memorable martial arts films include Fist of Fury 1991 (1991) and Fist of Fury 1991 II (1992). As one of Hong Kong's leading actresses, Siao played a pivotal role in introducing martial arts into mainstream cinema.^[5]

In 2009, Siao received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards.^[6] In 1998, she founded the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation to protect young people under the age of 18 from sexual abuse.^[7][8]