Brigitte Lin

Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia (Template:Zh; born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. Regarded as a screen icon, Lin played a key role in boosting Taiwan’s film production with her romantic heroine roles in the 1970s before transitioning to Hong Kong, where she achieved great success with her androgynous roles in wuxia films. Following her marriage in 1994, she retired from acting and transitioned to writing in the 2000s, publishing four essay collections. In 2023, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 60th Golden Horse Awards.

Biography

Lin was born in Chiayi, Taiwan to waishengren parents from eastern Shandong who had moved to Taiwan in the KMT exodus in 1949.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was scouted in 1972 on the streets of Taipei by a film producer after she finished women's high school and was preparing for university.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="elephant">Template:Cite book</ref> Lin debuted in the film adaptation of Chiung Yao's Outside the Window (1973), which propelled her to stardom.<ref name="elephant"/><ref name="lin" /> Lin, along with Joan Lin, Charlie Chin and Chin Han, thus became known as the "Two Chins, Two Lins" (二秦二林) for their extensive roles in romantic movies of the 1970s based on Chiung Yao's novels that dominated the Taiwanese box office.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> She subsequently joined Chiung Yao's company in 1976.<ref name="cri">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She appeared in 55 films in the period between 1972 and 1979, and all her roles were romantic heroines in love stories, many based on Chiung Yao's stories.<ref name="elephant" /><ref name="lin" /> Lin won the Best Actress award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival for her role as a girl scout in Eight Hundred Heroes (1976). She left for the U.S. in 1979 for a year and a half to study and relax.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Lin branched out of Taiwan with her collaborations with Hong Kong New Wave directors Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark and Jackie Chan in Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), The Other Side of Gentleman (1984), Police Story (1985) and Peking Opera Blues (1986), establishing her as a screen icon. In 1990, she won the Best Actress at the 27th Golden Horse Awards for her depiction of a Chinese female writer who fell in love with a Japanese collaborator in Red Dust (1990).<ref name="lin">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lin gained particular acclaim for her androgynous roles, which are common in Chinese operas and movies.<ref name="lin" /> Her earliest being Jia Baoyu, the male protagonist of the 1977 film adaptation of Dream of the Red Chamber.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Peking Opera Blues (1986), she was a guerrilla revolutionary<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in Royal Tramp II (1992), she was the leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, both of whom were women characters dressed as men. And in Ashes of Time (1994), she played twin brother/sister duo Yin and Yang.<ref name=":2" /> However, she is perhaps most well known for her role as Dongfang Bubai in Swordsman II (1992). Swordsman II marked the peak of her career in terms of box office earnings<ref name="lin" /> for which she was listed among the 10 greatest performances in cinema of all time by Time magazine.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The success of the film brought her to other notable martial epics such as New Dragon Gate Inn (1992) and The Bride with White Hair (1993), until she retired from acting after Ashes of Time (1994).<ref name=":0" /> She made a small-screen comeback by joining the Hunan TV reality show Up Idol (2015).

Personal life

Lin dated both Chin Han and Charlie Chin of the "Two Chins, Two Lins" fame in the 1970s.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lin married Hong Kong businessman Michael Ying in 1994. She is the mother of Eileen Ying Oi Lum (born 1996) and Melani Ying Yin-oi (born 2001) and stepmother to Claudine Ying.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	English Title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
1973	Outside the Window	窗外	Jiang Yanrong
1974	Gone with the Cloud	雲飄飄	Li Zhongjiang
	Ghost of the Mirror	古鏡幽魂	Susu
	Love, Love, Love	純純的愛	Lin Chunchun
	The River of Cloudy	雲河	Liang Xinlan
	Female Reporter	女記者	Shen Fuhui
	Girlfriend	女朋友	Xia Xiaochan
	The House of Love	愛的小屋	Xiao Yu
	Green Green Meadow	青青草原上	Fang Menglan
	Long Way from Home	長情萬縷	Lin Shanshan
1975	Misty Drizzle	煙雨	Ji Chunxia
	The Life God	雲深不知處	White-clothed girl
	Xiao Yi Huai Chun	小姨怀春	Wan Qing
	Run Lover Run	愛情長跑	Shui Liping
	Hot Wave	熱浪	Xia Xiaoyu
	The Unforgettable Character	在水一方	Tu Hsiao-shuang
	He Loved Once Too Many	水雲	Shui Jiao
	Love Story of Pian Pian	翩翩情	Pian Pian
	The Forest of Forever	長青樹	Luo Yanan
1976	Eight Hundred Heroes	八百壯士	Yang Huimin
	Autumn Song	秋歌	Dong Zhiyun
	The Chasing Game	追球追求	Fang Meihan
	Tomorrow I'm 20	明天二十歲
	Love Kungfu	戀愛功夫	Xia Xiaoyun
	The Beauty with Two Faces	海天一色
	Love Forever	海誓山盟	Yi Lian
	Today and Tomorrow	昨夜，今夜，明夜
	Forever My Love	楓葉情	Li Jinwen
	Different Love	不一樣的愛	Song Xiaoyu
	My Funny Intern	鬼馬俏醫生	Fang Jie
1977	Come Fly With Me	我是一沙鷗	Liu Yanmei
	The Cloud of Romance	我是一片雲	Tuan Wanlu
	The Dream of the Red Chamber	金玉良緣紅樓夢	Jia Baoyu
	There's No Place Like Home	異鄉夢	Ye Hualing
	The Love Affair of Rainbow	奔向彩虹	Xiao Hong
	My Sweet Love	溫馨在我心	Li Huifang
	Orchid in the Rain	幽蘭在雨中	Qiu Meng
1978	The Misty Moon	月朦朧鳥朦朧	Liu Lingshan
	Love of the White Snake	真白蛇傳	Madam White Snake
	Morning Fog	晨雾	Du Xiaowu
	Moon on the Beach	沙灘上的月亮	Luo Xiaolu
	A Journey of Love	無情荒地有情天	Yin Meizhen
	Birds Are Singing Everywhere	處處聞啼鳥	Shen Yalun
	The Story of Green House	綠色山莊	Fang Yizhu
1979	The Wild Goose on the Wing	雁兒在林梢	Tao Lifan
	Love Under a Rosy Sky	彩霞满天	Yin Tsai-Chin
	A Love Seed	一顆紅豆	Xia Chulei
	Cheng Gong Ling Shang	成功嶺上
	The Choice of Love	一片深情	Wen Jiayi
	By Love Obsessed	情奔	Ruo Ping
	An Unforgettable Day	難忘的一天	Tian Yuqiu
1980	Magnificent 72	碧血黃花		Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actress
	Marigold	金盞花	Han Peiyin
	Poor Chasers	戀愛反斗星	Shen Rong
1981	Love Massacre	愛殺	Ivy
	The Women Soldiers	中國女兵	Wen Jingyi
1982	Golden Queen's Commando	紅粉兵團	Fang Huijun
	Burn Phoenix Burn	燃燒吧！火鳥	Wei Yanran
	Pink Force Commando	紅粉遊俠	Hu Fangling
	Lily Under the Muzzle	槍口下的小百合	Xiao Han
	The Deadly Angels	脂粉奇兵
	Hero vs Hero	慧眼識英雄	Shen Liangbai	Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actress
1983	Four Shy Guy	四傻害羞	Mo Hailun
	Black and White Pearl	黑白珠	Guan Xuezhu
	Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain	新蜀山劍俠傳	Ice Queen	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress
	Fantasy Mission Force	迷你特攻隊	Lei Li
	All the Wrong Spies	我愛夜來香	Ying Hong
	1983 Da Jing Qi	1938大驚奇
	Demon Fighter	午夜蘭花	Susu
1984	Victims of the Assassin	情人看刀	Ling'er
	The Other Side of Gentleman	君子好逑	Jojo
1985	Seven Foxes	七隻狐貍	Miss Lin
	Police Story	警察故事	Selina Fong	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress
1986	Dream Lovers	夢中人	Cheng Yuet-heung
	Peking Opera Blues	刀馬旦	Tsao Wan
	True Colours	英雄正傳	May
1987	The Thirty Million Dollar Rush	橫財三千萬	Sister Maria
	Flag of Honor	旗正飄飄	Qin Feng
	Lady in Black	奪命佳人	Chan Mei-fung
1988	Starry is the Night	今夜星光燦爛	To Cai-mei
1989	Web of Deception	驚魂記	Jane Lin
1990	Red Dust	滾滾紅塵	Shen Shaohua	Golden Horse Award for Best Actress
1992	Swordsman II	笑傲江湖之東方不敗	Dongfang Bubai	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress
	Royal Tramp	鹿鼎記	So Chuen	Cameo
	New Dragon Gate Inn	新龍門客棧	Yau Mo-yan
	Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring	暗戀桃花源	Yun Zhifan
	Royal Tramp II	鹿鼎記II神龍教	Long'er
	Handsome Siblings	絕代雙驕	Hua Wuque	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress
1993	Swordsman III	東方不敗之風雲再起	Dongfang Bubai
	The Eagle Shooting Heroes	射鵰英雄傳之東成西就	Third Princess
	Boys Are Easy	追男仔	Ching Siu-tung
	The Bride with White Hair	白髮魔女傳	Lian Nishang
	The Black Panther Warriors	黑豹天下	Ching-ching
	The Bride with White Hair 2	白髮魔女傳2	Lian Nishang
1994	Deadful Melody	六指琴魔	Huang Xuemei
	Semi-Gods and Semi-Devils	新天龍八部之天山童姥	Lei Chau-shui / Lei Chong-hoi
	Fire Dragon	火雲傳奇	Fire Dragon / Ying Ha
	Chungking Express	重慶森林	Woman in blonde wig
	The Three Swordsmen	刀劍笑	Ming-kim
	Ashes of Time	東邪西毒	Murong Yang / Murong Yin / Dugu Qiubai
1998	Bishonen	美少年之戀	Narrator
2001	Peony Pavilion	遊園驚夢

Television

Year	English Title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
2015	Up Idol	偶像来了	Herself	Reality show

Awards and nominations

File:Brigitte Lin, Avenue of Stars.JPG

Brigitte Lin's hand print and autograph at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1975	Asia-Pacific Film Festival	Best Actress	Eight Hundred Heroes	Template:Won
1980	Golden Horse Awards		Magnificent 72	Template:Nom
1982			Hero vs Hero	Template:Nom
1984	Hong Kong Film Award		Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain	Template:Nom
1986			Police Story	Template:Nom
1990	Golden Horse Awards		Red Dust	Template:Won
1993	Hong Kong Film Award		Swordsman II	Template:Nom
			Handsome Siblings	Template:Nom
	Golden Phoenix Awards	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		Template:Won
2010	Iron Elephant Film Award	Best Supporting Actress	Ashes of Time	Template:Nom
2018	Far East Film Festival	Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award<ref name=":0" />	Template:NA	Template:Won
2023	Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards	Golden Horse Lifetime Achievement Award<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:NA	Template:Won

Related publications

• The Last Star of the East: Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia and Her Films (2005)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 窗裏窗外 Inside and Outside the Window (2011)<ref name="worldcat.org">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• 雲去雲來 Cloud Goes, Cloud Comes (2014)<ref name="worldcat.org"/>

External links

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