Kara Wai facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kara Wai BBS
惠英紅
Wai at the USA Smithsonian Institution world premiere of Happiness on 15 July 2016
Born	(1960-02-02) 2 February 1960 (age 65) British Hong Kong
Other names	Kara Hui
Occupation	actress
Years active	1976–present
Family	Austin Wai (brother)
Awards	Changchun Film Festival Best Actress 2010 At the End of Daybreak Hong Kong Film Awards – Best Actress 1982 My Young Auntie 2010 At the End of Daybreak 2017 Happiness Best Supporting Actress 2014 Rigor Mortis Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards – Best Actress 2010 At the End of Daybreak Asian Film Awards – Best Supporting Actress 2010 At the End of Daybreak Golden Horse Awards – Best Leading Actress 2017 The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful Best Supporting Actress 2009 At the End of Daybreak Asian Television Awards – Best Actress 2017 Affairs of the Heart TVB Anniversary Award – Best Actress 2019 The Defected
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	惠英紅
Simplified Chinese	惠英红
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Huì Yīng Hóng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Wai6 Jing1 Hung4

Kara Wai Ying-hung is a famous actress from Hong Kong. She was born on February 3, 1960. She is especially known for her roles in action-packed wuxia films. These movies feature martial arts and adventure. She starred in many of them during the 1970s and 1980s. These films were made by the Shaw Brothers Studio.

Since then, Kara Wai has played many different characters in movies and on TV. She has won many awards for her acting. She was the first person to win the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress. She has won this award three times! Her role as a mother in the 2009 film At the End of Daybreak earned her many acting awards. These include awards from the Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards. She has won many acting trophies across Asia, making her one of Hong Kong's most celebrated actresses.

In 2018, she received the Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS). This is a special award from the Hong Kong government. It recognized her great contributions to the film industry and her acting performances.

About Kara Wai

Kara Wai was born in British Hong Kong. She is the fourth of six children in her family. Her family has Manchu roots. Her older brother, Austin Wai, was also an actor. When she was young, her family lived in a poor area called Rennie's Mill.

Her family lost all their money because of a business problem. This meant Kara Wai had to stop school after primary grades. She and her family had to sell things on the streets of Hong Kong. As a teenager, she often sold gum and souvenirs to sailors in Wan Chai.

When she was 14, she started taking dance lessons. She also learned Chinese martial arts from Bow-sim Mark. Bow-sim Mark is the mother of famous action star Donnie Yen. Kara Wai performed Chinese dance in a nightclub for three years.

Her Acting Journey

Early Career: Shaw Brothers Studio (1977–1987)

Kara Wai started her acting career with the Shaw Brothers Studio. In 1979, she was an extra in the film Dirty Ho. The main actress left the movie because the martial arts stunts were too hard. The director, Liu Chia-Liang, had seen Kara Wai's audition tape. He decided to give her the lead role. This was the first time they worked together.

The director was very impressed with her. He cast her in many of his other movies. Kara Wai became very famous with her role in My Young Auntie (1982). For this film, she won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress. This was at the very first Hong Kong Film Awards. Her last film with Shaw Brothers was The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984).

Returning to the Spotlight (2003–2010)

In 2005, Kara Wai quietly returned to the entertainment world. She joined the TV network TVB. She was nominated for a TVB Anniversary Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009 and 2010.

In 2009, she won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress. This was for her role as a protective mother in At the End of Daybreak. This movie brought her many awards. She won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards. She also won Best Supporting Actress at the Asian Film Awards.

Recent Success (2011–Present)

In 2011, Kara Wai appeared in her first TV series in mainland China. She played a role in The Glamorous Imperial Concubine. She even took a lower salary to play Wu Zetian in another drama, Women of the Tang Dynasty. This role earned her another award nomination.

In 2013, she won Best Supporting Actress for the Malaysian film The Wedding Diary. In 2014, she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards. This was for her role in the film Rigor Mortis.

In 2017, she won the Best Actress Award at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards for the movie Happiness. In 2018, she received the Excellence In Asian Cinema Award at the 12th Asian Film Awards. She was also awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Carrie Lam.

In 2018, Kara Wai starred in Tracey. She played the wife of a person who is secretly transgender. This role earned her more awards for Best Supporting Actress. In 2019, she received great praise for her role in the TVB crime drama The Defected. She won the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress for this role.

In 2021, she starred in "Sunshine of my life" as a blind parent. She also appeared in the TVB crime thriller Murder Diary. In this show, she played a mental hospital assistant with schizophrenia. Her acting in this role was highly praised.

Filmography

Film

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Television dramas

Awards and Nominations