How Hong Kong sex symbol Chingmy Yau, star of Naked Killer, became an adult-film sensation
- Chingmy Yau’s transition from respectable actress to adult-film star in movies such as ‘Naked Killer’ and ‘Raped by an Angel’ shocked Hong Kong in the 1990s
- She became one of the genre’s top stars, along with the voluptuous Amy Yip and the first Hong Kong actress to appear fully nude on screen, Veronica Yip
A ubiquitous face in the 1990s, Hong Kong actress Chingmy Yau Suk-ching was initially known for supporting roles in mainstream films such as the crime drama Lee Rock and the Stephen Chow Sing-chi costume comedy Royal Tramp.
But in 1992 she shocked everyone by starring in the Category III (adults-only) exploitation film Naked Killer, which was a potent mix of lesbianism, gross violence and crude humour.
Subway posters of a half-naked Yau posing with an ammunition belt and pistol caught the attention of Hong Kong viewers and even helped take Naked Killer, which was produced by lowbrow producer Wong Jing, international.
The film – and the posters, which are still revered by cult film fans – fired up the trashy “Deadly China Dolls” perception of Hong Kong cinema that has always dogged the city’s film industry abroad.
The Post was as confused by Yau’s transition from respectable actress to Category III star as everybody else.
“Has Chingmy Yau forsaken Chinese costume films for throwing off her clothes in Category III teasers?” pondered SCMP writer Brendan Delfino in an article entitled “The naked truth about Chingmy”.