Josephine Siao Fong-fong is a Hong Kong film star who became popular as a child actress and continued her success as a mature actress, winning numerous awards including Best Actress at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival. Since retiring from show business, she has become a writer and a psychologist, known for her work against child abuse.
Biography
Josephine Siao Fong-fong was born as Siao Liang in Shanghai, with her ancestral home in Luzhi, Suzhou, Jiangsu. At the age of two, she was brought to Hong Kong by her parents. Siao's first movie appearance was at age six, and she 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 as disciples of the same master and sometimes—when Connie played the male lead—as young heroes in love. Back in the 1960s, Josephine's and Connie's fans maintained a heated rivalry. News of their fans getting into catfights was not uncommon in those days. Unlike many child stars, Siao made a successful transition to adult stardom, remaining one of Hong Kong's most prolific and popular actresses. She was also one of the directors and writers of Jumping Ash. This film is regarded as a prelude to the Hong Kong New Wave in the 1980s by film critics. Having largely missed out on formal education because of her acting career as a child, Siao pursued her studies in later years despite the handicap of increasing deafness and the demands of raising a family. During this time she made fewer films, but her output included highly praised work such as her award-winning performance in Summer Snow as a middle-aged widow trying to cope with her father-in-law suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Western fans of martial arts films will probably know her best from the Fong Sai-yuk films made in 1993, in which she played Jet Li's kung fu–fighting mother. Siao has been retired from show business since 1997 in favour of her work in child psychology. In particular, she is a noted campaigner against child abuse, and founded the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation, which she now chairs, in 1999. She is also a published author. Some of the milestones in her life include:
