Born to two iconic parents, 29-year-old Joyce Cheng is the Katniss Everdeen of the fuck-the-haters movement. The multi-faceted talent was raised by legendary comedian Lydia Shum Tin-ha and Adam Cheng Siu-chow, Cantopop singer supreme and TVB actor. She spent most of her childhood in Canada with her mother, and spent much of her teens trying to lose weight. Though she succeeded, her appearance as Snow White in the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005 drew undue public ire, which first spurred her fuck-the-haters attitude.
Despite beginning her life in showbiz at a young age (she performed a cover of Britney Spears on a charity show on local TV when she was 13), her career truly began after moving back full-time to Hong Kong in 2006. Two years later, after the loss of her mother to cancer, Cheng launched her career as a television actress and singer.
Since 2008, she's starred in two major TVB series, Off Pedder and 7 Days in Life, and 12 feature films, including Matt Chow's 2015 comedy, 12 Golden Ducks. She's spearheaded charity campaigns, including a major fundraiser for the victims of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, and co-founded a Canadian-style cookie business called Homie Cookies, which runs a popular kiosk in Harbour City.
Now her singing star is on the rise too. Her songs range from the bubblegum Cantopop to the moving ballad, winning her an army of fans citywide and, in May, she released her most recent album, Joyce. With an ever-growing collection of awards and accolades, Cheng's presence on stage is as inspiring as it gets.
