Profile | The life of Hong Kong’s ‘happy fruit’ Lydia Sum: comedian, actress and emcee, ‘Fei Fei’ did everything from the heart

Fei Fei was a Hong Kong comedian, actress and emcee best remembered for her boisterous laugh, glasses, and the joy and positivity she brought to her audiences

Sum had a very successful acting and singing career but had a turbulent personal life that featured a high-profile divorce from actor Adam Cheng

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Lydia Sum Tin-ha at an interview with the Post in 1994. When it came to the Hong Kong television and comedy icon, known as Fei Fei, everything came from the heart, said the TV producer who turbocharged her career. Photo: SCMP

Mabel Lui

Published: 7:15am, 10 May 2024Updated: 12:17pm, 16 May 2024

This is the 24th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.

The late Lydia Sum Tin-ha (also known as Lydia Shum) was a Hong Kong comedian, actress and emcee whose presence in the city’s entertainment industry influenced three generations.

Known for her boisterous laugh, black-framed glasses and plump figure, the actress first gained mainstream recognition with her appearances on the variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight, after which she became a prolific comedic actress.

She was affectionately known by her nickname Fei Fei (“fat fat” in Cantonese) – the actress regularly poked fun at her own physique – and today she is regarded as Hong Kong’s queen of comedy and is remembered for bringing joy and positivity to her audiences.

Lydia Sum in a still from The Invincible Eight (1971).

Born in Shanghai in 1945, Sum moved to Hong Kong as a child and made her film debut in 1960 after signing with the film production company Shaw Brothers Studios.

SCMP Series

Hong Kong’s pop culture icons

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