Profile | How singer-actor Jacky Cheung became one of the greats of Hong Kong entertainment

Known as one of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ of Cantopop, Jacky Cheung has enjoyed a stellar career as an actor and singer since 1984

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Jacky Cheung performs during a Commercial Radio concert in Hong Kong in 1995. He has enjoyed a four-decade singing and acting career and earned a string of accolades. Photo: SCMP

Mabel Lui

Published: 7:15am, 11 Oct 2024Updated: 7:59am, 11 Oct 2024

This is the 35th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.

As one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Cantopop, Jacky Cheung Hok-yau is among the most famous and enduring faces in Hong Kong entertainment history.

The pop music icon, who is nicknamed the “God of Songs” for his vocal talent, shot to fame in the early 1990s after releasing a string of soulful ballads that showcased his rich baritone voice.

Before long, the singer gained international popularity and numerous accolades, among them being crowned the world’s bestselling Asian artist at the World Music Awards two years in a row during the mid-90s.

Jacky Cheung (centre) pictured alongside Andy Lau Tak-wah (left) and Aaron Kwok Fu-shing at a press conference in 1996. Photo: SCMP

Cheung is also a formidable actor, having appeared in films such as Wong Kar-wai’s As Tears Go By (1988), John Woo Yu-sum’s Bullet in the Head (1990) and Ann Hui On-wah’s July Rhapsody (2002).

Born in Hong Kong in 1961, the singer and actor worked as a reservations officer for the airline Cathay Pacific before deciding to take part in an amateur singing contest in 1984. He beat out 10,000 contestants to win first prize, and was signed by the label PolyGram Records (now Universal Music Group).

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