Amy Yip Chi-mei[2]
(born 10 July 1966), commonly known as Amy Yip, is a Hong Kong former actress, model and entrepreneur. Known for her small frame and voluptuous figure,[3] she was one of the leading sex symbols of Hong Kong cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[4] Yip began her entertainment career as a trainee with the Hong Kong broadcaster Asia Television (ATV), taking on minor television roles after signing a two-year contract in 1985. During her tenure at ATV, she was approached by Raymond Chow, founder of the film production company Golden Harvest, who offered her a position once her contract ended. She had small roles in films such as Jackie Chan's Miracles and The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 (both 1989), until she got her break in the Category III filmErotic Ghost Story (1990).
Born in Hong Kong on 10 July 1966, she has family roots in Taishan, Guangdong. Yip's father was a barber, and her mother was a housewife. She is the youngest of five children.[10] After studying at Kau Kam English College,[11] Yip first started working in the entertainment industry as a trainee for Asia Television, appearing in small television roles after signing a two-year contract with them in 1985. During her training, she was approached by Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow, who made her an offer to join his company after fulfilling her contract with ATV.[12] Yip agreed, but stipulated in the contract that she would not be shot fully naked nor bare her nipples.[12][13]: 36
After making brief appearances in Miracles (1989) and The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 (神勇飛虎霸王花, 1989), Yip scored a breakthrough role with Erotic Ghost Story (1990). This was a Category III film where she played a fox spirit aiming to seduce the protagonist scholar.[12][14]: 66–67 She became one of the most popular actresses in Hong Kong and many other parts of Asia in the early 1990s. She had large, full breasts which made her much in demand for nude scenes. However she refused to appear fully naked on film. Her efforts to avoid fully exposing her breasts on screen through clever use of camera angles, whereby the side of her breast is seen, became known as the "Yip tease". However, in Erotic Ghost Story for example, she did show her buttocks in one scene.
She retired from acting in 1997. She expressed regret that, given the nature of her films, there were not many memorable roles during her acting career. The only exceptional movie for her was the 1991 movie Queen of the Underworld in which she portrayed Sister Har, a woman who climbed from the lowest depths of society to become the celebrated queen of nightlife in 1960s and 1970s Hong Kong.
Public image
Yip is described as a sex symbol by the press.[15][16] A 1990 article by the South China Morning Post directly attributed her success to her figure, stating that "her 36-inch [92cm] bust has certainly carried her publicity."[15]
Personal life
In 1990, Peter K. L. Chan, a vice-president for Bank of America, was sent to prison for 27 months for trying to fraudulently transfer $2.37 million USD into Yip's bank account. According to the Associated Press, Chan had told police that Yip was his girlfriend, and that he had committed fraud in an attempt to fund her lifestyle.[17][18] Yip denied dating Chan, stating that the two were only friends.[19]
Yip's long term boyfriend was the orthopedics surgeon Dr. Sammy Sek Chiu Lui (呂錫照); the pair met in 1992.[20] Numerous rumours have surfaced over the years about Yip marrying Lui, and being pregnant. In an interview in early 2006 with an East Weekly reporter, who spotted Yip walking her dog at Repulse Bay, however, she said she was in a steady relationship with her boyfriend of more than 15 years and had no intention of getting married or having children. She added she had food and beverage businesses set up in Hong Kong and Macau that kept her busy and occupied.
When asked if she would consider a comeback into the film business, Yip flatly rejected the idea, saying that she was very happy with her carefree lifestyle and had no desire of returning to filming long hours and traveling intensively for movies and record publicity. She also said that she is content with not showing her breasts to make a living.
In May 2018, an English language book detailing her career in movies and television was released.[21] Her boyfriend Lui died of a heart attack while flying to the United States in November 2018.[20]
Cultural influence
One of Yip's nicknames, "Boba" (Chinese: 波霸; Jyutping: bo1 baa3, slang for a woman with big breasts), was adopted as the name of the tapioca pearls in Taiwanese bubble tea during the 1980s.[22][23][24]
Nam Kee Pau, a baozi chain in Singapore, sells a large steamed bun named the Amy Yip Big Pau after the actress' bust size.[25][26]
She has garnered a cult following for the numerous films that she starred in.[27]
^ ab張哲鳴 (2 June 2020). "【幕後祕辛】葉子楣來台拍片堅上牛郎店 「波霸找鴨」真相曝光" [[Secrets from behind the scenes]: Amy Yip came to Taiwan to film Requital; the truth about "boba" is revealed]. Apple Daily. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
