Hong Kong´s CAT III stars - where are they now?

THEY were the stars of Hong Kong’s celluloid strip-over-the-top sex-bomb queens who wowed legions of male fans in the 1980s and early 90s. But when the Hong Kong movie industry declined in the late 90s, the reign of the screen sirens faded, too.

Out of the spotlight, however, the sex goddesses haven’t been forgotten by audiences seared permanently by their sizzle. News that one of the era’s big names, Veronica Yip, is now a millionairess in New York, rekindled many a smitten fan’s flickering flame. And it prompted the eternal showbiz question: Where are the stars now? For a fortunate few, life after sexpot stardom is what many dream of being a tai-tai sipping tea. Others, though, remade their career. Shu Qi strove to become a serious actress and eventually won a Golden Horse Award last year. Tragedy struck, too. Pauline Chan fell to her death at the age of 29 in Shanghai four years ago. The single mother of a baby boy had reportedly been suffering from post-natal blues.

There were even those who discovered auntie-dom, as our update reveals. Like Amy Yip, 40. Marlon Brando was the once-gorgeous actor who became a human blimp – and Yip has, alas, become the new Brando. From the 1980s to the 90s, she was famous for her unnaturally big breasts, small waist and sense of humour. She would tease audiences in barely-there outfits, mostly as the bust – oops, butt – of jokes in comedies like Magnificent Scoundrels (1991), and was also known as the queen of soft porn Category III movies. But since she left showbiz in 1997, that iconic top-heavy hour-glass shape has gone.

Two months ago, a fuller-figured Yip was seen eating out in Causeway Bay in downtown Hong Kong with her doctor beau, looking like a roly-poly “auntie”. Apart from the loss of her curves, not much else is known about Yip now. In 2003, she denied talk that she was married with a daughter. She said then that she and her boyfriend were happy together but they were past the heady phase of plunging into marriage.

Nina Li Chi, 44. The sultry Shanghai-born beauty has always been better known for her mammaries than for her movies. The most important film she ever made was Dragon Fight (1989). Important for her, that is. It was how she met the love of her life, kung fu actor Jet Li.

By 1992, she had quit showbiz and Hong Kong to become a businesswoman in the mainland. Her investments in real estate went bust, however, and it was said that Jet Li had to bail her out financially. The couple married in 1999, after he divorced actress Huang Qiuyan in 1991, and now have two daughters. They lived in his mansion in Los Angeles for a few years but reports said they moved back to China last year.

Jet, now 42, is known to be devoted to his wife. He turned down the lead role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) because she was then pregnant with their first child. The part went to Chow Yun-fat. He said of her last year: “I can give up my fame and success, give up my status, give up my money. I’m even willing to die for her. You realise this is love.” He even lets her hold the purse strings. Two months ago, he told the Hong Kong press: “I don’t know how many bank accounts I have. All the money is handed to the missus. Romantic, isn’t it?”

Chingmy Yau, 37. The star made her name with erotic thriller Naked Killer (1995), and was rumoured to be romancing its director, Wong Jing, then. But she turned her back on him as well as acting after she married Hong Kong fashion boss Sham Kar Wai in 1999. Sham, 38, who owns clothing brands like izzue, was said to have popped the question at the cafe owned by singer Leslie Cheung, who died in 2003. Stars including Cheung, Tony Leung Ka Fai and Maggie Cheung all showed up at the couple’s wedding on the romantic Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo.

Life has not been all hunky-dory for Yau since then, however. Reports say she has two daughters and badly wants a son. The devout Buddhist was said to have gone all the way to Kathmandu, Nepal, recently to pray for a boy.

Veronica Yip, 39. For this former sex kitten, life has been a fairy tale, one whose title could be: Stripper Turns Cinderella. She entered showbiz after being crowned Miss Asia runner-up in 1985. But her star did not rise until she stripped in skin flicks like Pretty Woman (1992).

Her career high came in 1994 when she kept all her clothes on and did a little real acting in the arty Red Rose, White Rose – as a buttoned-up unhappy wife. Off-screen, she met her prince: Jeffrey Wu, a Chinese-American owner of eight supermarkets at the time. They tied the knot in 1996. Yip is now a New York tai-tai, with two sons and a daughter.

Since marrying her, Wu has been on a roll, expanding his business empire to include travel, real estate and now, banking. Six years ago, the family moved into a manor on Long Island. Last year, they even bought a private plane. Wu, who is in his 40s, is worth a reported HK$1bil (RM500mil). The newspaper said recently that they were venturing into banking. Their United International Bank opens its doors in New York this month.

Yip was quoted as saying: “My husband and I are the biggest shareholders. In fact, it’s just one of my husband’s investments, only he includes my name in every investment.” Does she feel she has brought him good fortune? "The feng shui master says so. But my husband says it would be no use if he wasn’t competent, so I let him take the credit,” she purred. As for their brand-new bank, she demurred: “Actually, opening a bank is not such a grand thing. It’s only one bank now. We’re not HSBC yet.” More important is what the banking licence, which took them more than three years to obtain, means. “It proves we’re really clean,” she said; “and it’s recognised by the government.”