Cantopop superstar Sammi Cheng’s story – and her rocky romantic life – South China Morning Post Feedzy

This is the 10th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.

One of Hong Kong’s most popular singers of recent decades, Sammi Cheng Sau-man is a Cantopop diva comparable in stature with other iconic figures such as Anita Mui Yim-fong, Sandy Lam Yik-lin and Faye Wong.

Boasting an entertainment career that spans more than 30 years, Cheng, who was one of four singers dubbed the “Heavenly Queens of Cantopop” in the 1990s, is also celebrated for her film acting and philanthropy.

Cheng’s road to fame began in 1988, when she was 16 and took part in the New Talent Singing Awards. While she only placed third, her potential was evident to the sponsoring record company, Capital Artists, which offered her a recording contract.

Balancing her studies with a burgeoning singing career, Cheng released three full-length studio albums – Sammi, Holiday and Never Too Late. These early albums laid the foundation for her future success.

One of her first major awards came in 1990, when she was recognised as a promising new talent in the RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards staged by Hong Kong’s public broadcaster.

God of Gamblers actress and Stephen Chow co-star Sharla Cheung: her career

But it was her duet with fellow singer and now husband Andy Hui Chi-on, “Do You Really Have Me in Your Heart?”, that propelled her to stardom. The song won the 1993 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards and marked a turning point in her career.

Cheng underwent a transformation, changing her appearance and releasing her fourth studio album, Sammi’s Happy Maze, which included the hit single “Chotto Matte”.

Her new avant-garde style, with red hair and loud fashion accessories, resonated with fans, who emanated her style with every album release after that. Her growing status as a style icon symbiotically bolstered her singing career.

In the mid-1990s, Cheng signed with Warner Music Group, leading to a shift in her image back to black hair and a more refined style. She soon expanded her fan base beyond Hong Kong by releasing her first Mandarin album, Worth It, which topped Taiwan’s IFPI chart for six consecutive weeks.

She has received numerous awards throughout her music career, including TVB’s Most Popular Female Artist award in 1996, 1997 and 2001. She also holds the record as the youngest female singer to perform more than 50 concerts in Hong Kong.

Cheng’s impact extended beyond her music. She ventured into acting with the TVB series A Life of His Own in 1991 and made her film debut in Best of the Best in 1992. Her performances in films such as the 2000 romantic comedies Needing You … and Summer Holiday were very popular.

Earlier in her film career, Cheng was quoted as saying that she wanted to win acting awards. She changed her tune later.

“Having been nominated 10 times or so without ever winning, I give a very low priority to acting awards these days,” she told the Post’s Edmund Lee in an interview in 2014.

“I refuse to let them affect my confidence. I can now keep calm in my pursuit as an actress. I’m not going to talk about awards any more. I feel silly that I said those words in the past.”

Cheng has received 10 Hong Kong Film Awards best actress nominations over the years – including a remarkable crop of three in 2002 – and finally won the award for the first time in 2023 for her role as a grieving mother in Lost Love.

In her personal life, there had been talk that Cheng and Hui were a couple ever since they worked together on that aforementioned duet in 1993. The world got confirmation from Hui in 2002.

The incident famously dubbed The Kitchen Pledge happened during the 2002 Jade Solid Gold Best 10 Awards ceremony, where Cheng was crowned best female artist and Hui best male artist.

When Hui got on stage, he made a moving tribute to Cheng, recalling how he was in her kitchen one day and mused about how amazing it would be if they ever received the awards for best male and female artist in the same year.

While Hui was a popular singer, his career was never quite as illustrious as Cheng’s. But he said at the time that Cheng believed in him, and encouraged him to keep persevering and that this dream would come true.

Cheng was sitting in the audience, listening to Hui’s words, and was moved to tears as well.

Just two years later, however, it was reported that Hui and Cheng had split. Fans were shocked as Hui’s name was attached to various women in and outside the entertainment industry.

During the filming of Everlasting Regret, which was subsequently released in 2005, the actress reportedly suffered from depression because of overwhelming stress, which led to her taking a 1,000-day hiatus from the entertainment industry.

In a 2013 interview promoting the film Blind Detective, Cheng candidly reflected on the lessons learned during her three-year battle with depression.

“When I was sick, many friends would tell me, ‘Take it easy, be more positive!’ You must understand, when you are in that situation it isn’t about whether you can let things go. I had many unresolved internal issues, many negative emotions that I could not get rid of,” she said.

“They slowly build up, and one day, I just exploded. My experience is this: we must all properly manage our emotions at every stage of our lives. Don’t let negative feelings build up.”

During her struggle with depression, Cheng reportedly met a friend who took her to a Bible study session at a church. This began her path to Christianity, and she slowly overcame her condition. She returned to work in 2007 and was baptised the same year.

In 2011, after two decades of on-and-off entanglement, it was rumoured that Hui and Cheng were back together again.

Media reports surfaced in 2013 that they had married in Bali, Indonesia. Cheng’s manager went on broadcast radio to clarify that Hui proposed in Bali, but the two did not get married then. And Cheng told the Post in July 2014 that “we haven’t officially registered our marriage yet”.

The celebrity couple never made their wedding ceremony public, although it is accepted that they were wed not long after that.

But the roller coaster ride didn’t end there. In an explosive exposé in 2019, dashboard-camera footage of Hui canoodling with then-TVB starlet Jacqueline Wong Sum-wing was released by Hong Kong tabloid newspapers. Hui gave a press conference and tearfully apologised to Cheng and their family.

Cheng’s response was delayed as she was busy preparing for a concert. After a few days she publicly forgave Hui.

On her Instagram account, Cheng posted an image with the Bible quote from 1 Corinthians 13:7 – “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” – and a long caption that read in part:

“This incident is an important lesson for us in our marriage … We’re going deeper in our marriage. Apart from sharing happiness and warmth, marriage also involves each other’s mistakes and forgiveness. It’s a cliché to say ‘to err is human’ but that’s also the truth.”

Cheng’s Christian faith has been a source of hope that has helped her through her struggles with depression as well as challenging times in her marriage.

The couple should be celebrating their 10-year anniversary soon and, by all accounts, they are still going strong.

Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook