Hong Kong actress Lai Chi’s aunt, veteran Hong Kong actress Lai Xuan, passed away on August 28 at the age of 93. On September 31, Lai Chi posted a black and white photo on Instagram to express her condolences.
According to reports from multiple Hong Kong media outlets, on August 31, Lai Xuan’s daughter confirmed that Lai Xuan passed away at 3:21 am on August 28 at the age of 93.
Public records show that Lai Xuan, originally named Lai Xuan, was born in October 1931 in a family of Hong Kong filmmakers. She was the daughter of the father of Hong Kong cinema, Lai Minwei, and his wife Lin Chuchu, who was also an actress. Lai Xuan was the fifth child in the family, with her cousin being the Cantonese film actress Lai Zhuozhuo, and her niece Lai Chi, who was also an actress.
During her 63-year-long acting career, Lai Xuan starred in numerous works such as “Floating Life Six Jie”, “People in Rivers and Lakes”, “Great Earth Benevolence”, “Hero Huo Yuanjia”, “Tiger Mountain Again” and many others. In the early 1990s, Lai Xuan switched to TVB and appeared in classic works such as “The Greed of Man”, “The Great Time”, “Fatal Kiss”, “The Grand Adventure” and “Detective Investigation Files II”.
On August 31, Lai Chi mourned Lai Xuan on Instagram: “Aunt’s smile and warmth will always remain in our hearts, we will always remember you.” She uploaded five black and white photos, two of which were solo photos of Lai Xuan looking amiable, and the remaining three were group photos, with one showing Lai Xuan presenting the “My Favorite Leading Actress” award to Lai Chi at the “TVB Anniversary Awards 2004”. At that time, Lai Xuan was wearing a cheongsam, looking excited as she handed over the trophy to her niece, with a radiant smile. This was the first award Lai Chi received in her 18 years of debut, and she considered the award as a way to honor her grandparents, proudly declaring, “I have not let down my grandpa!”
Born into a family of actors, Lai Chi faced financial difficulties after her grandmother Lin Chuchu passed away, and her father suffered from meningitis and had poor eyesight. She worked odd jobs at a fitness club while her family relied on her mother’s truck driving for their livelihood. Lai Chi once acted in stage plays as a child worker to help with household expenses. She was discovered by singer Alan Tam while visiting her father at the fitness club and made her debut in the film “Happy Ghost”. From a young age, she captivated audiences with her beauty and mature acting skills on screen.
Lai Chi later starred in the “Young and Dangerous” series, as well as TV dramas like “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils” and “Heart of Greed”. Her role as Hou Jia – Yuk Ying in “War and Beauty” earned her the “Favorite Leading Actress Award” at the TVB Anniversary Awards, making her one of the “Four Most Popular Actresses” alongside Charmaine Sheh, Tavia Yeung, and Sonija Kwok from 2005 to 2007.
In 2008, at the peak of her career, Lai Chi announced her retirement to care for her brother who was paralyzed in a car accident, and she married wealthy businessman Ma Tingqiang, who used a wheelchair, the same year.
At the age of 53, Lai Chi is now a mother to three daughters. Despite changing her name to Lai Jia’er and choosing a more low-key lifestyle, she is still regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses in TVB by many audiences. Cecilia Cheung once admitted that Lai Chi was prettier than her. After taking over her brother’s medical cosmetics company, in 2017, she transformed the company into a publicly traded company and was crowned the “Most Beautiful CEO in the Entertainment Industry.”