Ada Cache: Knowing Ada - www.adacache.net

The following biography is written by just me. Please DO NOT replicate ANY PART of the writings for your own website. Thank You.

A Star is Born

September 17th 1973
If you were old enough to remember and if you by any chance looked up into the night sky over Hong Kong that night, you may have noticed one star shining more brilliantly then the rest. If you did, then know that that one star must surely be heralding the arrival of one of Hong Kong television's most talented and luminous actresses in the last decade.

A Difficult Beginning

When she was 15, Ada Choi made her first attempt to enter the entertainment industry when her mother helped the tall and willowy young girl sign up for a modelling competition. She did not find success there but didn't have to wait long either.

In 1991, she burst onto the scene at the tender age of 17 and everyone thought the newly crowned 3rd place winner had it made. She quickly followed the Miss Hong Kong win with MTVs with Andy Lau and other prominent singers and a television series with Aaron Kwok, her future looked bright, radiant and boundless.

However, in a badly advised attempt to gain exposure, an extravagant 18th birthday party was thrown and a series of sizzling and sexy photos were taken. Unpleasant rumours of her private life dogged the young woman and public opinion of the young star turned for the worse. It did not help that in three of her first four roles for TVB, she successfully played the villain.

Success at Last

In spite of the difficulties she faced, Ada persisted and worked hard, putting in solid performances in series after series and movie after movie. Finally her unrelenting knocking at TVB's door paid off when she got her first lead role in "Romance of the White Hair Maiden" (1995). Although her screen time wasn't all that high for a female lead and although the script for RWHM was anything but perfect, her portrayal of the eccentric Ngai Sheung and the doomed love between her and Chuk Yat Hung helped her gain a significant increase in fans.

1995 was a good year for the young actress as it was also the year that the HK film "The Golden Girls" was released. This was her first significant role in a film and she obviously relished the opportunity as she put in a memorable performance.

She quickly followed up the successes of 1995 with two amazingly good performances in 1996. Ada's electrifying performance in the small budget "Love and Sex among the Ruins" earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the Golden Bauhinia Awards (given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association) that year. And if that wasn't enough, she also managed a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Bauhinia Awards for a well essayed though smallish role in "Once Upon a Time in Triad Society 2".

From then on her career kept gaining steam as she proved her abilities again and again with strong performances in the popular TV series "Files of Justice V" (1997), "Your Place or Mine" (film, 1998), "Rape Trap" (film, 1998) and "My Heart Will Go On" (film, 1999).

In 1998, Ada confirmed her status as one of TVB's top hua dans when she won two awards at the TVB Anniversary that year. Her convincing portrayal of the doomed Diana in "Secret of the Heart" won her the coveted Best Actress Award and her equally good portrayal of Jackie in "Healing Hands" helped her pick up the "Best Partnership Award" with Lawrence Ng that year.

(Note: In those days those two awards were still known as the "Best Actress Award" and the "Best Partnership Award" as opposed to what they are known as now, i.e. the "My Most Favourite Actress Award" and the "My Most Favourite Partnership Award").

In 1999, she started a new relationship with Taiwanese film and television star Nicky Wu and it looked like the young 26 year old had finally put all her early troubles behind her.
(Note: Ada had since broken up with Nicky Wu in year 2000.)

Behind the Success

Although everything looked so rosy, Ada's weight plummeted and it was only in the year 2000 that the pressures that weighted upon her became public knowledge.

Dark clouds soon loomed over her again as she stunned the HK entertainment world when she made the painful move of publicly disowning her mother in a tearful press conference in May 2000. Ada revealed that her mother had been a gambler since Ada was very young and had gambled the family into debt. Ever since Ada entered the industry, most of her earnings have gone into trying to pay these debts. However, the debts have become bigger and bigger and she was no longer able to pay them. The press conference was a desperate move to ask people to stop lending money to her mother.

(For a fuller report on the press conference please go to this URL http://www.hkentreview.com/2000/may/0516/0516pics.html)

Once again, her future looked uncertain as no one knew how the public would take to the news. It soon became clear though that public sentiment was on her side and she received a lot of support both from inside and outside the industry.

As the public hungered for news, a clearer picture of the young actress' difficult childhood and subsequent salvation soon appeared. Aside from external news reports, Ada also wrote a candid article for "Zhong Xin Yue Kan" (translated article available in Ada Cache) revealing that her parents divorced when she was very young and her father subsequently left the family. Her mother was also addicted to gambling and as a result of that, Ada and her family has had to uproot more than 10 times in 10 years to escape creditors. She also changed schools frequently and developed few friendships and a strong sense of insecurity and inferiority.

She went on to reveal that she first came into contact with Christianity when she was still in high school but did not convert because her mother disapproved. It was only after she entered the entertainment industry and came into contact with more Christians that she began to participate in Church activities again. Her mother finally relented when she saw how determined Ada was and she officially converted to Christianity in 1996.

Ada also talked openly about the toll her mother's gambling had taken on her in the "Zhong Xin Yue Kan" article. She said that at one point in time, she was feeling so depressed and pressured over her mother's never ending debts that while she was sitting on a tour bus alone in San Francisco, she looked at a railway track and suddenly a wave of sadness and lost hit her. A thought came into her mind and she wondered to herself, saying, "Why don't I just go and die?" Fortunately, a voice within her pulled her back from the abyss saying, "No, God does not like people who commit suicide. This is not right." Ada said that she straightened out her thoughts and said to herself, "Yes, I don't have the right to take away my life."

Sunshine Again

Through the support from God, the church, friends, fans and people in the industry, Ada put aside all the unhappiness that had dogged her through the years and bounced back in the year 2001 with three TVB series entering the Top 5 Rated series of the year. She successfully played three varied characters in "Healing Hands II" (sequel to the highly popular "Healing Hands" from 1998), "On the Track or Off" and "Armed Reaction III", gaining her more fans and admiration. Her performance that year earned her a nomination for the "My Most Favourite Actress Award" for the role of Wai Ying Zhi ("Armed Reaction III") and her reunion with onscreen partner Lawrence Ng ("Healing Hands II") resulted in them picking up the "My Most Favourite Partnership Award" again.

The opening week's average rating of 33 points for "Armed Reaction III" also broke a ratings record and was the highest opening week ratings since "Duke of Mount Deer 2001"'s opening average of 32 points (information from www.hkentreview.com). With ARIII opening stronger than even DOMD2001, talk soon emerged that Ada was now the new No. 1 Sister (Yat Cheh) of TVB. TVB Weekly conducted a small poll (poll titled: Who has the most potential to be the Yat Cheh of TVB?) among its staff and members of the public and Ada emerged the winner. The magazine stopped short of naming her the No. 1 but did include comments from several prominent producers and artiste at TVB indicating why they picked her over the other hua dans (TVB Weekly #217, article is archived on Ada Cache).

Seagull's brief translation of TVB Weekly #217:
Here's a brief analysis from the magazine:

"Kenix Kwok and Jessica Hsuen both have a steady boyfriends (note: Jessica has since broken up with her boyfriend) and have plans to get married within these 2 years, once they get married, it'll bound to affect their work, they would most probably cut down on their workload. Maggie Chueng Ho Yi will be leaving TVB permanently soon (note: Maggie Cheung has since chosen to stay with TVB). Flora Chan has ventured into singing industry and is doing very well. She seems to be concentrating on her singing at the moment. Other newly groomed TVB actress like Charmaine Sheh, Sonjia Kwok and Michelle Yip haven't proven themselves yet so far."

Ada responded to the rumours saying "That title has a lot of pressure associated with it. I'm still young, a little sister like me still has a lot of work to do before I can live up to something like that. To me, a "Big Sister" has to be of a certain age. I always have to tell myself not to rest on my laurels and to keep working hard." (Source: www.hkentreview.com).

(Note: TVB has since refused to name a Yat Cheh. It is widely acknowledged that the top tier of hua dans, commonly known as the Top 5, comprise of Ada Choi, Flora Chan, Kenix Kwok, Maggie Cheung and Jessica Hsuen.)

Her career continued to soar as her magnificent portrayal of the tragic Empress Zhen of the Wei Dynasty (Three Kingdoms era) in the 2002 historical epic series "Lok Sun" (a.k.a. "Where the Legend Begins") earned her nods from the media, Uncle Six and even famed martial arts novelist Jin Yong. That superb performance earned her one of the 12 "My Most Favourite Roles Award" at stake and a nomination for the "My Most Favourite Actress Award" that year at the TVB Anniversary.

And just as her career has soared, so has her personal life. Ada's had to mature and deal with some of her darkest moments in the public eye and it is a testament to God, her will and a triumph of the human spirit that she is where she is today.

As Christianity helped restore confidence in herself, she gained a radiant glow and now she's very popular and has gained a reputation in the industry as a talented, hardworking and professional actress as well as one of the easiest actresses to get along with. Her straight forward and boyishly playful nature won her close friends including colleagues at TVB like Flora Chan, Kenix Kwok, Lawrence Ng, Moses Chan, Steven Ma, Joe Ma, Chin Kar Lok and colleagues outside of TVB like Athena Chu, Catherine Hung Yan, Monica Chan etc.

Even though she sadly announced the end of her three year relationship with actor Nicky Wu at the beginning of 2002, the break-up was an amicable one. Ada has also reconciled with her father and rumours emerged in 2002 that her relationship between her and her estranged mother, who had managed to quit gambling, were on the mend.

With both her private life and her career flourishing, it looks like there is no stopping this popular, determined, hardworking, talented and strong actress from moving on to greater heights both in her work and in her personal life. The only thing left to say is "The Best Is Yet To Come" and let us wish her happiness, success and all the good things life has to offer.

Career Milestones:

1991
Miss Hong Kong Pageant
- 3rd Place Winner

1995
"Romance of the White Hair Maiden" (TVB series)
- First lead role in a TVB series

"The Golden Girls" (HK film)
- First significant role in a HK film

1996
"Love and Sex among the Ruins" (HK film)
- Golden Bauhinia Awards, Best Actress nominee

"Once Upon a Time in Triad Society 2" (HK film)
- Golden Bauhinia Awards, Best Supporting Actress nominee

1998
"Secret of the Heart" (TVB series)
- TVB Anniversary Best Actress Award, winner

"Healing Hands" (TVB series)
- TVB Anniversary Best Partnership Award, winner with Lawrence Ng

2001
"Armed Reaction III"
- broke DOMD2001's opening week's average rating record

"Healing Hands II" (TVB series)
- TVB Anniversary My Most Favourite Partnership Award, winner with Lawrence Ng

"Armed Reaction III" (TVB series)
- TVB Anniversary My Most Favourite Partnership Award, nominated with Bobby Ouyang

"Armed Reaction III" (TVB series)
- TVB Anniversary My Most Favourite Actress Award, nominee

2002
"Where the Legend Begins" a.k.a. "Lok Sun" (TVB series)
- TVB Anniversary My Most Favourite Actress Award, nominee