Profile | How Charmaine Sheh went from Miss Hong Kong runner-up to becoming the queen of TVB dramas

She almost quit acting after criticism over her first TV leading role, but now Charmaine Sheh is one of Hong Kong’s most popular actresses

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Hong Kong actress Charmaine Sheh has starred in a number of notable TVB shows, including War and Beauty (2004), Maidens’ Vow (2006), Forensic Heroes II (2008), You’re Hired (2009), Can’t Buy Me Love (2010) and Line Walker (2014). Photo: Instagram/charmaine_sheh

Published: 7:15am, 29 Aug 2025

This is the 58th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.

In the relentless machine that is Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, few television stars have shown the tenacity and dedication of Charmaine Sheh Sze-man.

During her peak of productivity, she was easily one of the most prolific actresses working at Hong Kong broadcaster TVB. She once shot six drama series – 120 episodes of TV – in one year, routinely working at least 18 hours per day. She also claimed to have taken only nine days off in a three-year period.

With such a work ethic, it is perhaps fitting to see her recent success as a formidable television news anchor in the hit TVB drama series The Queen of News, which captivated audiences across Asia and further cemented a career built on a decades-long grind of persistence and quiet reinvention.

Charmaine Sheh in a still from The Queen of News. Photo: Apple TV+

The role of Man Wai-sum, a decisive and ambitious news chief, has become a cultural touchstone for many local viewers, launching a thousand online discussions about the modern professional woman.

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Hong Kong’s pop culture icons

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