Amy Yip

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Yip.
Amy Yip
葉子楣
Yip in 2023 at a charity event in Hong Kong
Born (1966-07-10) 10 July 1966 (age 57)
Hong Kong
Occupation(s)actress, model, entrepreneur
Years active1984–1997
PartnerSammy Lui (1992–2018)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese葉子楣
Simplified Chinese叶子楣

Amy Yip (born 10 July 1966) is a Hong Kong actress, model and entrepreneur. She was one of the leading sex symbols of Hong Kong Cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Yip is best known for her lead roles in popular Category III films such as Erotic Ghost Story (1990), Sex and Zen (1991), and Robotrix (1991). Among these, Sex and Zen is the highest grossing Category III movie in Hong Kong box office history.

Career[edit]

Born in Hong Kong on 10 July 1966, she has family roots in Taishan, Guangdong. Yip's father was a barber, and her mother was a housewife. She is the youngest of five children.[1] After studying at Kau Kam English College,[2] Yip first started working in the entertainment industry as a trainee for Asia Television, appearing in small television roles after signing a two-year contract with them in 1985. During her training, she was approached by Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow, who made her an offer to join his company after fulfilling her contract with ATV.[3] Yip agreed, but stipulated in the contract that she would not be shot fully naked nor bare her nipples.[3][4]: 36 

After making brief appearances in Miracles (1989) and The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 (神勇飛虎霸王花, 1989), Yip scored a breakthrough role with Erotic Ghost Story (1990). This was a Category III film where she played a fox spirit aiming to seduce the protagonist scholar.[3][5]: 66–67  She became one of the most popular actresses in Hong Kong and many other parts of Asia in the early 1990s. She had large, full breasts which made her much in demand for nude scenes. However she refused to appear fully naked on film. Her efforts to avoid fully exposing her breasts on screen through clever use of camera angles, whereby the side of her breast is seen, became known as the "Yip tease". However, in Erotic Ghost Story for example, she did show her buttocks in one scene.

She retired from acting in 1997. She expressed regret that, given the nature of her films, there were not many memorable roles during her acting career. The only exceptional movie for her was the 1991 movie Queen of the Underworld in which she portrayed Sister Har, a woman who climbed from the lowest depths of society to become the celebrated queen of nightlife in 1960s and 1970s Hong Kong.

Public image[edit]

Yip is described as a sex symbol by the press.[6][7] A 1990 article by the South China Morning Post directly attributed her success to her figure, stating that "her 36-inch [92cm] bust has certainly carried her publicity."[6]

Personal life[edit]

In 1990, Peter K. L. Chan, a vice-president for Bank of America, was sent to prison for 27 months for trying to fraudulently transfer $2.37 million USD into Yip's bank account. According to the Associated Press, Chan had told police that Yip was his girlfriend, and that he had committed fraud in an attempt to fund her lifestyle.[8][9] Yip denied dating Chan, stating that the two were only friends.[10]

Yip's long term boyfriend was the orthopedics surgeon Dr. Sammy Sek Chiu Lui (呂錫照); the pair met in 1992.[11] Numerous rumours have surfaced over the years about Yip marrying Lui, and being pregnant. In an interview in early 2006 with an East Weekly reporter, who spotted Yip walking her dog at Repulse Bay, however, she said she was in a steady relationship with her boyfriend of more than 15 years and had no intention of getting married or having children. She added she had food and beverage businesses set up in Hong Kong and Macau that kept her busy and occupied.

When asked if she would consider a comeback into the film business, Yip flatly rejected the idea, saying that she was very happy with her carefree lifestyle and had no desire of returning to filming long hours and traveling intensively for movies and record publicity. She also said that she is content with not showing her breasts to make a living.

In May 2018 an English language book detailing her career in movies and television was released.[12] Her boyfriend Lui died of a heart attack while flying to the United States in November 2018.[11]

Cultural influence[edit]

One of Yip's nicknames, "Boba" (Chinese: 波霸; Jyutping: bo1 baa3, slang for a woman with big breasts), was adopted as the name of the tapioca pearls in Taiwanese bubble tea during the 1980s.[13][14][15]

Nam Kee Pau, a baozi chain in Singapore, sells a large steamed bun named the Amy Yip Big Pau after the actress' bust size.[16][17]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title
1988 Who is The Craftiest 奸人本色
1988 Heart to Hearts 三人世界
1988 China Heat 霸王花之中華警花
1989 The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 神勇飛虎霸王花
1989 Miracles 奇蹟
1989 Mr. Sunshine 开心巨无霸
1989 Lost Souls 富貴開心鬼
1989 Ghost Fever 鬼媾人
1990 Jail House Eros 監獄不設防
1990 Erotic Ghost Story 聊齋艷譚
1990 Look Out, Officer! 師兄撞鬼
1990 Doctor's Heart 救命宣言
1990 My Neighbours are Phantoms 嘩鬼住正隔籬
1990 Mortuary Blues 屍家重地
1990 Raid On Royal Casino Marine 霸王花第三集皇家賭船
1990 She Shoots Straight 皇家女將
1990 Legend of the Dragon 龍的傳人
1990 Ghostly Vixen 天師捉姦
1990 To Spy with Love 小心間諜
1991 The Blue Jean Monster 著牛仔褲的鍾馗
1991 Queen of the Underworld 夜生活女王霞姐傳奇
1991 Magnificent Scoundrels 情聖
1991 Great Pretenders 千王
1991 Robotrix 女機械人
1991 Lethal Contact 龍貓燒鬚
1991 Erotic Ghost Story 2 聊齋艷譚續集五通神
1991 Easy Money 老表發錢寒
1991 Vampire Kids 殭屍福星仔
1991 To Be Number One 跛豪
1991 Sex and Zen 玉蒲團之偷情寶鑑
1992 China Dolls 妓女警察
1992 The Prince of Temple Street 廟街十二少
1992 Requital 五湖四海
1992 Stooges in Hong Kong 不文騷
1994 Underground Judgement 地下裁決

References[edit]

  1. ^ Yam, Norman (24 February 1991). "My dinner with Amy". The Straits Times. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  2. ^ Stokes, Lisa Odham; Braaten, Rachel (2020). "Yip, Amy Ji-Mei (1965–)". Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 552. ISBN 978-1-5381-2062-0. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Chung, Winnie (16 May 2024). "Adult film legend Amy Yip, star of Sex and Zen and Erotic Ghost Story, bares all about her soft porn career in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  4. ^ Dannen, Fredric; Long, Barry (1997). Hong Kong Babylon: An Insider's Guide to the Hollywood of the East. New York City: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-6267-X. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  5. ^ Weisser, Thomas (1997). Asian Cult Cinema. New York: Boulevard Books. ISBN 978-1-57297-228-5. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b Havis, Richard James (2 April 2023). "How Amy Yip, Hong Kong sex symbol, made her mark in erotic films without ever baring all – and insured her breasts for US$250,000". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  7. ^ Khoo, Yi-Hang (17 March 2023). "Still beautiful? Recent photo of 80s sex symbol Amy Yip appears online". AsiaOne. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Banker Jailed for Fraud: Peter Chan, 39,..." Los Angeles Times. 22 December 1990. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  9. ^ Howe, Kenneth (27 December 1990). "Ex-banker jailed in Hong Kong in scheme to pay porn starlet". Montreal Gazette. pp. F9. Retrieved 17 May 2024 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ "Jailed banker not my boyfriend, says Amy Yip". The Straits Times. 25 December 1990. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b 張哲鳴 (2 June 2020). "【幕後祕辛】葉子楣來台拍片堅上牛郎店 「波霸找鴨」真相曝光" [[Secrets from behind the scenes]: Amy Yip came to Taiwan to film Requital; the truth about "boba" is revealed]. Apple Daily. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  12. ^ Gower, Chaz (22 May 2018). The Movies of Amy Yip. Self. ISBN 978-1982967079. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  13. ^ Wong, Maggie Hiufu (30 April 2020). "The rise of bubble tea, one of Taiwan's most beloved beverages". CNN Travel. CNN. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  14. ^ Nguyen-Okwu, Leslie (16 March 2019). "Boba Explained: A Taxonomy of Taipei's Bubble Tea". Eater. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  15. ^ Tsang, Jocelyn (26 November 2020). "Hong Kong Gen Z, Part II: How We Made Bubble Tea Our Own". Zolima City Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  16. ^ Quek, Eunice (2 February 2019). "Teck Kee Tanglin Pau closes, but here are 7 other bao shops to get your fix". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Pau secrets busted". The Straits Times. 24 December 2005. p. 02. Retrieved 17 May 2024 – via ProQuest.

External links[edit]

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