Lim Cho-cho facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lim Cho-cho
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| Born |
Florence Lim
January 21, 1905 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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| Died | February 16, 1979 (aged 74) |
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| Other names | Lin Chu-chu, Lam Cho-cho, Lam Chor-chor, Lim Cho-cho, Lin Chuchu, Lin Cho-cho, C. C. Lin, Florence Lim | ||||||||||
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| Children | 9 | ||||||||||
| Relatives | Lai Hang (son) | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 林楚楚 | ||||||||||
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| Original Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 林美意 | ||||||||||
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Florence Lim (born January 21, 1905 – died February 16, 1979) was a famous actress. She was better known by her stage name, Lim Cho-cho. She was a Chinese Canadian actress who starred in many films. She worked in the cinema of China and British Hong Kong from 1925 to 1954. She was the second wife of the filmmaker Lai Man-Wai. She was also the mother of actors Lai Hang and Lai Suen. Her granddaughter is the well-known actress Gigi Lai.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Florence Lim was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her grandfather had moved there from Xinhui, a part of Jiangmen, Guangdong, China. He owned a rice shop in Canada. Florence's father passed away when she was only three years old.
Education and Moving to Hong Kong
Florence went to the Chinese Public School in Victoria. This helped her become good at both English and Chinese. When she was nine, her mother, who was a widow, traveled to Hong Kong for medical care. Florence joined her in Hong Kong at age 12, after finishing primary school.
In Hong Kong, she enrolled in Ying Wa Girls' School. One of her classmates, Lai Hang-kau, later known as Lai Cheuk-cheuk, introduced Florence to her uncle, Lai Man-Wai. Even though he was 12 years older and already married, Florence married him in 1920. She was 15 years old at the time, and she became his second wife.
Acting Career
Lim Cho-cho began her acting journey in Hong Kong. Her first big role was in the film Rouge (1925). This was the first movie made by her husband's company, the China Sun Motion Picture Company.
Silent Film Era
In 1926, China Sun moved its operations to Shanghai. Lim Cho-cho continued to be a star in silent films there. Some of her notable silent movies include A Poet from the Sea (1927) and Romance of the Western Chamber (1927).
When China Sun became the Lianhua Film Company in 1930, Lim Cho-cho kept acting. She appeared in films like A Spray of Plum Blossoms (1931), Song of China (1935), and National Customs (1935). She was especially good at playing mother roles in her films. Her son, Lai Hang, also acted in many movies during this period. In 1931, she even acted in an Indian film called Kamar-Al-Zaman. It was based on a story from the Arabian Nights.
Wartime and Later Years
During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), life became difficult. When Japan invaded Shanghai in 1937, Lim Cho-cho and her family returned to Hong Kong. She continued to act in films there, many of which were patriotic and showed strong feelings against the Japanese invasion.
After Japan invaded Hong Kong in 1941, her family had to escape to mainland China. They first went to Chikan, Kaiping, Guangdong. At one point, Lim Cho-cho had to sell old clothes on the street to earn money for her family. When Japanese soldiers took over Kaiping in 1943, they fled again. This time, they went to Guilin, Guangxi, where they opened a photography studio.
After the war ended, the family returned to Hong Kong. Lim Cho-cho continued acting for another eight years. She retired from acting after her husband passed away in 1953. She then focused on raising their nine children. She visited mainland China in the 1970s before she died in Hong Kong in 1979.
