Gillian Chung

In spite of the 2008 photo scandal which saw her dropped from many shows in Hong Kong and mainland China, Chung has recovered her reputation and returned to the screen in mainland TV dramas. The most well-known was Swords of Legends (古劍奇譚) in 2014 in which Chung portrayed Princess Xun Fang. The drama – the most viewed online at that time – was a huge success and helped Chung to develop her career in the mainland.

Last year, she joined Everybody Stand By (演員請就位) which pitted 50 actors against one another in a contest to re-enact classic scenes from TV dramas and films, while Chung has gained prominence for portraying the role of Ruan Lingyu in the movie Center Stage (阮玲玉).

Anita Yuen

As the winner of 1990 Miss Hong Kong and two-time best actress winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Anita Yuen – who now boasts more than 18.6 million followers on Weibo – was a household name in mainland China long before she began focusing on developing her career there over the last two decades.

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Yuen has been cast in an array of TV series since the 2000s, with the romantic drama Million Bride (真愛之百萬新娘) from 2006 regarded as one of her representative works in mainland China.

However, the 2015 reality show With You All The Way (一路上有你) gained her renewed attention. In the show Yuen, together with husband Julian Cheung and three other celebrity couples, lived under one roof and were given missions to complete. The sweet and romantic couple captured the hearts of the audience and the show was so successful that Yuen and Cheung were invited back to join season two.

Following this, the couple joined the adventure-reality-travel show Viva La Romance 2 (妻子的浪漫旅行2) in 2019 and recently, Yuen starred in the stylish urban drama Pride and Price (盛裝) which is set for release in 2021.

Charmaine Sheh

Although she played the villainous royal concubine – the first in Sheh’s television drama career – the audience loved her in the role and were impressed by her acting skills.

She then performed in two other TV series with star-studded casts including Winter Begonia (鬢邊不是海棠紅), alongside Huang Xiaoming, and most recently, The Legend of Xiao Chuo (燕雲台), which co-stars Tang Yan and Dou Xiao.

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Cherrie Ying

It was the popular reality TV show Where Are We Going, Dad? 5 (爸爸去哪兒5) – featuring five fathers and their children as they travel to rural places – which gave Ying, her husband Jordan Chan and their son Jasper, a big boost in popularity in 2017.

Most recently, she took part in Welcome New Life 2 (新生日記2), which documented her pregnancy and the birth of their new son Hoho, showing interactions between Jasper and his new brother.

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Ada Choi

She gained further recognition in mainland China by starring in two hit TV dramas, Paradise (水月洞天) and Eight Charts (神鬼八陣圖), in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

In 2011, Choi’s popularity soared to a new high when she portrayed the Empress Ulanara Yixiu in the TV drama Empress in the Palace: The Legend of Zhen Huan (甄嬛傳). The show was a major success and has remained one of the most popular television dramas streamed online today.

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Myolie Wu

Since leaving TVB in 2015, Myolie Wu has spent the last couple of years working primarily in mainland China.

In 2017, despite being just a supporting actress, the TV dram series Nothing Gold Can Stay (那年花開月正圓) co-starring Sun Li and Chen Xiao, helped Wu to develop a reputation with the mainland China audience.

Recently, she re-enacted a scene from the movie Dearest (親愛的) in the reality TV show Everybody Stand By 2, where her flawless Anhui dialect and acting skills were applauded by actress and director Zhao Wei, one of the judges, helping her win the show.

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