Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1950-04-19
- Born Place: Shandong Province, China
Also Known As:
Cheung Cheun-Nam, Phoenix Kim, Yuan Qiu, Qiu Yuen, یوئن چی
Yuen Qiu
Yuen Qiu (born Cheung Cheun-Nam on April 19, 1950, in British Hong Kong) is a celebrated Hong Kong actress, martial artist, and stuntwoman, perhaps best known globally for her iconic role as the chain-smoking, formidable Landlady of Pigsty Alley in Stephen Chow's 2004 film, Kung Fu Hustle. Her career began after rigorous training at the Peking Opera School under the famous master Yu Jim-yuen, where she was a member of the legendary performance troupe, the "Seven Little Fortunes," alongside future stars like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.She entered the film industry as a stuntwoman in the late 1960s, a rare path for women at the time, and had an uncredited but notable early role as a "Bond girl," Nara, who rescues Roger Moore's James Bond in the 1974 international production The Man with the Golden Gun. After acting sporadically in various martial arts films in the 1970s and early 1980s, Yuen Qiu married martial arts director Lu Chun-koo in 1985 and retired from the film industry to focus on raising her two children.Her comeback, almost 20 years later, was entirely by chance: she was accompanying a friend to an audition for Kung Fu Hustle when director Stephen Chow was captivated by her nonchalant, impatient demeanor and insisted she take the lead female role. Her performance, which required her to gain weight and master the Lama Pai Lion's Roar technique, was a phenomenal success, earning her the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Supporting Actress. Since her career revival, she has remained active in cinema and television, often appearing alongside her former fellow student, Yuen Wah, who played her husband in Kung Fu Hustle.
