Tsai Chin (actress)

Infobox actor
name = Tsai Chin


imagesize = 200px
caption =
birthname = Tsai Chin Zhou
birthdate = birth date and age|1936|11|30
birthplace = Shanghai, China
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Actress
spouse = Frank Change (1955-1956) (divorced) 1 Child
Peter Coe (?-?) (divorced)
awards =

Tsai Chin (zh-cp|c=周采芹|p=Zhōu Cǎiqín; born November 30, 1936), also known as Irene Chow, is a Chinese-born actress living in England.

Biography

Early life, family & education

Chin was born to Peking Opera actor Zhou Xinfang in 1936. She spent her early life in Shanghai. She had two short marriages which both ended in divorce. Her brother is Michael Chow, owner of the Mr. Chow restaurant chain. (Through Michael Chow, she is the aunt to actress/model China Chow and her brother Maximillian, who are the children of Michael and his late ex-wife, Tina Chow.)

She was the first Chinese to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London in 1951, and later became an associate member.

Career

Chin is probably best known for her role as Lin Tang, the diabolic daughter of Dr. Fu Manchu in the Christopher Lee Fu Manchu movies. She is also memorable for her role as Ling in pre-titles sequence of the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice" and in the role of "Juicy Lucy" in "The Virgin Soldiers". She continues to appear in films to this day, including "The Joy Luck Club", "Memoirs of a Geisha", and the recently released James Bond film "Casino Royale". She also has a recurring role in "Grey's Anatomy" as Helen Rubenstein, the mother of Cristina Yang.

Chin appeared on stage in London in "The World of Suzie Wong".

She is the author of "Daughter of Shanghai". Chinese title:《上海的女儿》.

In the early 1960s she made records for the UK Decca Records label, notably "The Ding Dong Song", based on a traditional Chinese song with an English lyric provided by Lionel Bart.

Tsai Chin recorded two Long play albums for UK (Decca)

'The World Of Tsai Chin (1962) in (stereo) and (mono).

'The Western World Of Tsai Chin' (1965) LK 4717 (mono)

The latter album contained a mixture of ballads, pop and quirky songs, including the mid-sixties hits: 'Yeah Yeah!' and 'Little Boxes' made popular by folk singer Pete Seeger, the album has also a rendition of 'Daisy Bell' in which Tsai sings amusingly in a London cockney accent.

This very hard to locate album had Tsai sing in the 'Queens English'

Filmography

*"The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (1958)
*"The Face of Fu Manchu" (1965)
*"The Brides of Fu Manchu" (1966)
*"The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" (1967)
*"You Only Live Twice" (1967)
*"The Blood of Fu Manchu" (1968)
*"The Castle of Fu Manchu" (1968)
*"The Virgin Soldiers" (1969)
*"The Joy Luck Club" (1993)
*"The Interpreter" (2005)
*"Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005)
*"" (2006)
*"Casino Royale" (2006)
*"Year of the Fish" (2007)
*"The Other Side of This Life" - Grey's Anatomy (2007)

External links

*imdb name|id=0157796|name=Tsai Chin
* [http://www.bh2000.net/special/patzak/detail.php?id=475 Interview]
*http://www.hljdaily.com.cn/enpsearch/gb/content/2002-05/12/content_49757.htm (in Chinese)