Irene Wan Bik-ha (born Wen Bik-ha on 30 July 1966) is a Hong Kong actress, singer and producer. Her father was an officer of the Republic of China Army. In her early years, she was known as a "sexy beauty". After her marriage, Wan faded out of the entertainment industry and occasionally participated in dramas and films. She is currently based in mainland China.
Early life and career
She was born and lived in District 8 of Rennie's Mill squatter district in the New Territories of Hong Kong. She is the youngest of four brothers and three sisters. Growing up her family was poor. Her father had been an officer of the Republic of China (Kuomintang) Army and settled in Hong Kong after fleeing Mainland of China. The artist Chen Yulian was her next door neighbor, and Wang Xiaofeng was also the neighbor below her residence. When Irene Wan was a child, she often played with boys in the same district, mainly playing table tennis and badminton with them. She once attended Mingyuan Primary School and enjoys music and fine arts. Later, in order to want her to enroll in a better secondary school, her mother arranged for her to continue her studies in a secondary school on Hong Kong Island .
After completing the first grade at Catholic Mingyuan Middle School, Irene Wan went to the former St. John's College for Co-Education in Tai Koo Shing. During the latter's schooling period, she was a member of the school's basketball team . She moved to Shau Kei Wan to live with her sister in order to facilitate schooling when she was 12 years old. She was sold by her mother because of her poverty. Because of his father's strict discipline, she developed a rebellious character. "When I was in middle school, I learned to smoke, go to the dance hall (P field) and make friends with problem teenagers". Later, when she was 15 years old (1983), she was discovered by scouts on the street to participate in the filming of the movie "Lonely Fifteen" and joined the entertainment circle. She had not graduated from high school at the time .
She was nominated for the Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards for her role in Lonely Fifteen.
She gained notice for her beauty and remarkable performance in Everlasting Love (1984), co-starring with Andy Lau and Loletta Lee, when she was only 17 years old. Later, she also gave impressive performances in Stanley Kwan's Love Unto Waste (1986) and Rouge (1988).
However, in the 1990s, her film career sputtered when she agreed to star in All of a Sudden (1996), which would be her first and only time appearing fully nude in a film. Wan later went on to star in several TVB television series.
In 2019, at the age of 53, Wan drew controversy for her suggestive scenes with two younger actors in the thriller The Fallen (the male actor being 14-year-old younger than Wan and the female actress 27 younger). Her performance in the film would later eventually won her the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 8th Silk Road International Film Festival in 2020.
Personal life
Wan married Kenneth Ho (), a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, on 1 October 2000. Their wedding was held at Banyan Tree Hotel in Phuket, Thailand. Ho is the grandnephew of the Kuomintang veteran He Yingqin and worked at Solomon Brothers Hong Kong Asia Pacific Investment as the Vice President of the Banking Department. The two have never planned to have children until 2010 when Wan and her husband adopted an orphan who was abandoned in a train station in Mainland China. They also sought a doctor to cure his skin disease and cough, and renamed the child to Xavier Ho (ä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂå«).
Filmography
- Lonely Fifteen (éÂÂ妹ä»Â) (1982) (Hong Kong) â Irene/Xia Nu
- Happy Sixteen (ä¿Âç®女å¦çÂÂ) (1982) (Hong Kong) â Da Yan Zi
- Possessed (çÂÂ鬼åº籠) (1983) (Hong Kong) â Irene (Hsiao's Sister)
- 101 Citizen Arrest (101æÂÂæÂÂ令) (1983 â 1984, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Irene
- Pom Pom (ç¥ÂÃ¥ÂÂéÂÂé¿ç®) (1984) (Hong Kong) â Koo's Prostitute
- Everlasting Love(Ã¥ÂÂä¸ÂäºÂçÂÂç±) (1984) (Hong Kong) â Liang Peijun
- Lucky Stars Go Places (æÂÂä½³ç¦ÂæÂÂ) (1986) (Hong Kong) â Lady Officer
- Love Unto Waste (å°ä¸ÂæÂÂ
) (1986) (Hong Kong) â Ruan Bei Er
- Caper (è¦贼åÂ
Âå¼Â) (1986) (Hong Kong) â Annie San Fun
- Rouge (èÂÂèÂÂæÂ£) (1988) (Hong Kong) â Cheng Shuxian
- Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch (ä¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂÂå¾Âä¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂ太ç£) (1988) (Hong Kong) â Zhao Di
- Tiger Cage (ç¹è¦屠é¾Â) (1988) (Hong Kong) â A Mei
- Ruthless Law (æ³Âå¾ÂæÂ æÂÂ
) (1988) (Hong Kong) â Huang Peiyan
- Bloody Brotherhood (Ã¥ÂÂæ ¹çÂÂ) (1989) (Hong Kong) â He Jiao (Jiahua's wife)
- The Wild Ones (æÂÂæÂªæÂÂå¹´) (1989) (Hong Kong) â Chen Yuqin
- Hearts, No Flowers (å°Â女å¿Â) (1989) (Hong Kong) â Li Xiangyun
- Armageddon (Ã¥ÂÂå¸Âå¤å®Â) (1989) (Hong Kong) â Yang Min
- Running Mate (追女éÂÂæ¡Âç»Â) (1989) (Hong Kong) â Lin Luoxin
- Fatal Vacation (å®Âä¹ÂæÂÂåº) (1990) (Hong Kong) â Candy
- The Sniping (å¥ÂÃ¥Â
µ) (1990) (Hong Kong) â Elaine
- Fragrance Soul (é¦ÂéÂÂ) (1990) (Hong Kong)
- The Fugitives (æÂ«è·¯çÂÂå¥Â) (1991, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Huang Xiaoying
- Touch and Go (ä¸Â触å³åÂÂ) (1991) (Hong Kong) â May
- The Tigers (äºÂèÂÂå°Âä¹Âå³è£Â) (1991) (Hong Kong) â Shirley Lam
- Heartbreak Blues (èÂÂéÂÂÃ¥Â
±èÂÂ) (1991, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Jiang Qingzhao
- In The Lap of God (è®èÂÂçÂÂç«¥è¯Â) (1991) (Hong Kong) â May Tse
- Now You See Love, Now You Don't (æÂÂç±æÂÂ纹æÂ´) (1992) (Hong Kong) â Canoe Girl
- Vengeance (ç«ç«ç°) (1992, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Haichao
- The Knight and the Concubine (Ã¥ÂÂæÂÂå¦Â姬) (1992, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Dong Er
- Twilight of the Forbidden City (Ã¥ÂÂå¥紫ç¦ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) (1992) (Hong Kong) â Zhao Di
- Class of '93 (ç±çÂÂäºÂå®¶åºÂ) (1992 â 1993, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Liang Huan
- Just Gold Modern Woman (é®éÂÂ女人é±è¨Âï¼Âä¸Âè·æÂ°å¥³æÂ§) (1993, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Joanne (appears in episode 8)
- Man of the Times (ä¸Â代æ¢ÂéÂÂ: ä¸ÂæÂ¯æÂÂ) (1993) (Hong Kong) â Guo Qiuju
- Labor revenge (1993) (Hong Kong)
- Mr. Sardine (æ²Âç¸鱼æÂÂ人äºÂä»¶) (1994) (Hong Kong) â Bei An Na
- Circus Kids (马æÂÂå°ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) (1994) (Hong Kong) â Xiao Lan
- Gentle Reflections (æÂ¨éÂÂéÂÂç¶) (1994, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Pan Jinlian
- Just Gold Modern Woman II (é®éÂÂ女人é±è¨Âï¼Â第äºÂ輯ï¼Âï¼ÂÃ¥ÂÂå¥éÂÂè¹) (1994, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Mo Qiqi (Vicky) (appears in episode 5)
- The Flame and the Fiancee (Ã¥ÂÂæÂ¸ä¸ÂæÂ¥æÂÂ
) (1995) (Hong Kong) â Cat
- Justice Pao (Ã¥ÂÂ
éÂÂ天) (1995 â 1996, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Zi Tong/Tong Fei (appears from episode 71 to episode 75)
- All of a Sudden (æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ) (1996) (Hong Kong) â Miao Ke Yi/Lam Ho Yee
- Take to Probity (Ã¥ÂÂ貪風æÂ´) (1997, TV Series) (China) â Bai Xue
- Shigong Qi An Danyuan Ju III (æÂ½åÂ
¬å¥Âæ¡Âå®åÂ
ÂÃ¥ÂÂï¼Âè¡ÂæÂÂå°) (1997, TV Series) (Taiwan) â Qin Meiniang (appears from episode 13 to episode 19)
- Against the Blade of Honour (Ã¥ÂÂæÂÂå½ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) (1997, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Qin Keqing
- Shigong Qi An Danyuan Ju XXVII (æÂ½åÂ
¬å¥Âæ¡Âå®åÂ
ÂÃ¥ÂÂï¼Â審妻è¨Â) (1997, TV Series) (Taiwan) â Li Huiniang (appears from episode 146 to episode 150)
- Shigong Qi An Danyuan Ju XLIV (æÂ½åÂ
¬å¥Âæ¡Âå®åÂ
ÂÃ¥ÂÂï¼Â獶é¾ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) (1998, TV Series) (Taiwan) â Xie Xuezhen (appears from episode 263 to episode 272)
- Burning Harbor (çÂÂç§çÂÂ港湾) (1998) (Hong Kong) â Xu Meili
- The End of Love Generation (æÂÂæÂÂç¼ç¶) (1999) (Hong Kong)
- Scary Scorpse (å±ÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂ³å¾Â) (2000) (Hong Kong) â Wen Wen
- Tequila Sunrise (ç«é¾Â女) (2001) (Hong Kong) â Coco
- Kang San Lau (æ±Â山楼) (2001, TV Series) (Taiwan) â Jin Bao/A Chun/Yan Chun
- Situation change (é£ÂäºÂÃ¥ÂÂ) (2001, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Ruan Kaiwei
- Gods of Honour (å°Âç¥Âæ¦Â) (2001, TV Series) (Hong Kong) â Su Daji
- A Tragic Room (æÂÂ室96å°ÂæÂÂ) (2003) (Hong Kong) â Luo Ping
- Di xie Wenshen (æ»´è¡Â纹身) (2003, TV Series) (China) â Ouyang Yiyun
- The Happiness of Family Reunion (2004) (Hong Kong) â Jiang Wan Shu
- Magic Needle (幻影ç¥ÂéÂÂ) (2005, TV Series) (China) â Liu Langyue
- The Spirit of Nu River (æÂÂæ±ÂéÂÂ) (2005) (China) â Na Shan
- Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito season 5 (康çÂÂå¾®æÂÂç§Â访记5) (2006, TV Series) (China) - Concubine Yi (Yi Fei - Yi Feng Er)
- Exodus (åºåÂÂÃ¥ÂÂè¨Â) (2007) (Hong Kong) â Pan Xiaoyuan
- Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu (æ¥ÂéÂÂä¸Âç³ç§Â) (2010) (China) - Pan Qiaoyun
- The Loan Shark (大è³窿) (2011) (Malaysia) - Chen Xin (A Xin)
- 72 Heroes (è±éÂÂÃ¥ÂÂè¡Â) (2011) (China and Hong Kong) - Jiang Meixi
- The Drunkard (éÂ
Âå¾Â) (2011) (Hong Kong) â Wang taitai (Mrs. Wang)
- Triad (2012) â Irene
- Impetuous Love in Action (2014) â Irene
- Love in Late Autumn (2015) â Linda Wen
- 708090 (2016) â Zhao Yuan Yuan
- Across The Ocean To See You (2017) â Melinda Zheng
- Guardian Angel 2018 Web Drama (2018) â Sister Mi (appears in episode 14âÂÂ16)
- The Fallen (2019) â Fu Yu Yu
- My Dear Destiny (2020, TV Series)
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Concerts
- 19 June 2018ï¼ÂãÂÂIrene Wan Haichao Concert2018ãÂÂ
Song scores
Awards and nominations
Hong Kong Film Awards
Macau International Film Festival
Silk Road International Film Festival
Annotation
References
External links