Sonija Kwok Feels More Beautiful Than Ever
Above: Sonija Kwok currently stars in TVB drama, “The Day of Days”.
Nothing makes the Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International winner feel more beautiful than motherhood.
Sonija Kwok (郭羨妮) is the iconic Miss Hong Kong – graceful, beautiful, intelligent, and educated. She stands at 168 cm tall, three-quarter Cantonese and one-fourth British, and is a Simon Fraser University graduate.
After her landslide victory at the 1999 Miss Hong Kong Pageant, and again at the 2000 Miss Chinese International Pageant, TVB quickly recruited Sonija into their acting department. Her first drama was the highly successful and critically acclaimed A Step into the Past <尋秦記>, co-starring Louis Koo (古天樂). In the blink of an eye, Sonija became the next biggest thing in town.
Like many Miss Hong Kong winners before her, many expected 38-year-old Sonija to settle down with a short, bald, but extremely wealthy old man. To everyone’s surprise, Sonija chose to marry the humble and modest action director Zhu Shaojie (朱少杰) in 2011.
“I never thought I would get to give birth. By the time I turned 35, I already gave up on my soul-searching. The normal route in a relationship is to marry and have kids, but it is really hard to do that in this industry. It is very hard to find someone who is compatible, but this all depends on fate! I know many people believed that since I was a Miss Hong Kong, I should find a well-educated, wealthy, and powerful individual to be my husband! There is no need to over-think this! At first, because my husband and I are always separated, I didn’t think [our relationship] would work out. But now I gave birth to his daughter, hahaha! To all the single ladies and men out there – don’t be scared! It is already arranged; it’s just that he or she hasn’t shown up yet!”
Sonija is Content with Simple Life
Zhu Shaojie, an action director and choreographer, is not famous, and nor is he wealthy. Last year, quite a few rumors were floating around indicating that Sonija had to be the breadwinner of the family. Sonija gave birth to baby daughter, Kylie, on May 22, 2012 and returned to TVB Studios a few months later to film The Day of Days <初五啟市錄>.
Sonija laughed, “People think I would marry a bald, ugly, and rich man, but I know that usually those marriages never end happily. I am not a materialistic person. Having a sense of security is the most important feeling for me. [Shaojie] provides me a normal and simple life. He listens to me and respects me. This is the reality I want.”
So Sonija rather chose a wooden and frank martial artist as a husband over a businessman who can provide her with an endless amount of riches? Sonija laughed out loud, “What’s wrong with that? It’s hilarious! Occasionally I would tell him to show off a few of his moves, and he would actually listen to me and do it! It is so funny!”
Wooden and modest he may be, but to Sonija, Shaojie is a rare gem among the many other men in this world. “Just because he is a martial artist and a fighter, it doesn’t mean he is any more violent! I’ve actually never heard him speak profanity. Not even a single word! He has great self-cultivation. He is very quiet and not very romantic, but no one is perfect. It’s impossible to meet someone who fulfills your entire list of expectations. I know I am not perfect myself, so I cannot require too much from others. Not being romantic is a very minor fault.”
Motherhood Makes Sonija More Beautiful Than Before
It has been a while since Sonija had been so calm, so relaxed, and so easy-going and fun at an artist interview. In fact, it is not at all wrong to say that Sonija is even more beautiful, more stunning, and more alluring than she ever was.
Sonija thanked motherhood. She gushed that Kylie is her best accomplishment, and that motherhood had positively changed her perspectives on life. “My mentality has changed. When I was younger, I took great important in my performance. I wanted to show everyone my best. I was at war! But now, I would tell everyone to not bother me unless it is something important.
“I’m not as tense as I was before. I am much more relaxed. Things are not as important as they seem. Now everything has become more smooth and coherent for me. In the past, I would concentrate too much on one thing, and if I didn’t get it in the end, I would become very unhappy. But now I’ve gotten more laid-back. All I would think about now is taking care of my daughter, and the grocery shopping I should do once I am off from work!”
Wants Daughter to be a Doctor
When discussing about her daughter’s future, Sonija stressed that she would not let her daughter follow her footsteps into the entertainment circle. “I really don’t want her to join the industry. This road is too difficult to walk on. It would take both luck and skill, and it’s hard to reach a breakthrough. I would rather she live a normal life and do normal things.”
Sonija also reassured that she won’t be a rigid parent. “I want her to be happy. She can learn whatever she wants! I will definitely not be a monster mom.”
But Sonija already has plans for her daughter’s career future. “I honestly really want her to be a doctor. She is very brave, very tomboy-ish, and I will trick her into being a doctor, haha! I will let her play with many medical things, and lead her into liking the profession!” Sonija joked.
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
motherhood does mak a woman beautiful but sincere heart gives eternal beauty. I think sonija emcompasses both
Ha ha …… It is not easy to be a medical doctor. Sonjia’s daughter needs to have very high IQs, EQs, intelligence, brightness, good memory skills, and work very hard in school and colleges. She needs super good marks to enter medical schools. Most Chinese kids want to be medical doctors (so do their parents).
Not every Chinese kid ^_^
I did not say every, just most or many. Even if he/she wants to be a medical doctor, he/she may not be able to get admitted by medical schools. I know tons of Life Science major students in undergraduate did not get admitted to medical schools. They had to pursue in other fields.
And then you have those who are completely lost while in undergrad completing the pre med route. Theyre failing simple courses like general chem and yet somehow they think they can get into the field. Also there are those who do excel in the classes but clinicals come by, they find themselves lost and missing something called passion for this type of career.
they find themselves lost and missing something called passion for this type of career.
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Totally agree. Every kid (as well as the parents) know that medical doctors are well-paid and have good social status. However, some kids do get super good marks in colleges/universities but they may not have the passion to be a caring medical doctor.
Yes thats why parents play a pivotal role in a child’s upbringing especially in the asian community. Im chinese myself but I had lenient and strict parents at the same time. Strict was they wanted to see As only. Lenient because they let me choose my own career path…even though it was the med field at least I can proudly say it was my own decision. I do hope with the new wave of students, they find their true calling rather than simply following the demands of their parents or blinded by $$ and status.
Awe so happy for her.
A fellow SFU graduate 😀
I think Sonija would respect her daughter’s decision when picking a career. And as long as she is happy with her life, that’s great
Sonija Kwok is indeed more beautiful than ever.
But her marriage with Zhu Shaojie happened too fast too soon. It was still in the ‘romantic dating’ stage when they got married.
that’s great, they get to know each other while being married
Their marriage did not happen that fast. I guess you forgot about Barbie Hsu’s extremely fast wedding and engagement along with a few others that were way faster and sudden. Sonjia’s was not that bad. I know a couple in real life that only knew each other for 6 months and are now happily married with 2 kids.
She seems down to earth person not how reporters painted her in the past. Many hk pageant winners marry rich old men and are labelled as gold diggers but she chose a simple man, I think she made a good decision cause she’s happy. The wealthy with their complicated problems. And doesn’t everyone want their kids to become doctors?
I have seen that many want their kids to be doctors, but in many cases that just does not work out…
not everyone desire to be a doctor, there are many other good professions too.. architect, engineer, lawyer, teacher.. most important is for the child to grow up normally and love the parents even when they grow old
Agree. Not everyone can become a medical doctor, and not everyone is good to be a doctor. There is a lot of pressure to be a doctor, before and after. The best is for the child to choose his/her profession and be a lovable and happy person.
With all her bad luck in the romance dept. I’m glad she has found someone and the happiness most girls dream of.
Great to read about Sonjia and really admire her. She choose to marry someone she loves and it is great that she did. Money cannot buy love and happiness….
Motherhood can make you a better person but there are 2 sides to everything. Motherhood can also change you for the worse in some cases too..
Where does Sonjia get her British blood from?? Is it from her mom or her dad??
Her dad. Her mother is Chinese (I believe Hongkonger).
But Sonjia has a Chinese name “Kwok”. Or it was her grandparents. I am not sure then.
If it is from her dad and she still has the surname “Kwok”, then I think it is her dad’s mom(her paternal grandmother)that is British.
I remembered seeing her Dad’s photo in a Chinese magazine shortly before Sonija got married. He did not look Chinese at all.
Really?? Do you have the link to the photo?? I am curious to see how Sonjia’s dad looks.
No, I saw his photo in a magazine at a hair salon last year, a few months before Sonjia’s wedding. I think she invited her dad to attend her wedding.
Oh ok, no wonder I could not find his photo online. If she invited him, then I wonder why her dad did not lead her down the aisle?I remember reading that it was her older brother that did. I find that strange. You would only have your older brother lead you down the aisle if your father was not around…
I also admire how she knows that she is not perfect herself so cannot expect too much from others. I have that same thinking too and wish that others would isntead of expect too much from others when you aren’t perfect yourself…
Sonija laughed, “People think I would marry a bald, ugly, and rich man, but I know that usually those marriages never end happily.”…
Please do not typecast bald, ugly, rich man as never end happily… We all should respect ho happy is Gigi Lai, Chingmy Yau are doing now in marriage
I would say everyone’s fate is very different. Sonjia did not seem to have much luck in her love life.
Everyone does have a different fate and some are luckier than others when it comes to love,career or anything…
100% correct. Some are luckier than others.
yup, that one comment thats NOT as agreeable.
I am sure lots of golddiggers or women who married such men beg to differ w/her. hhahaha. NOT a wise thing to comment on…
well, I can see why Sonjia says that since if you just go for the money, there will be a day that it may end up unhappily. Materialistic things can only give you so much “happiness” but once that wears out and you still have no true emotional feelings, life becomes really unhappy emotionally even if you are materialistically well off…
Great interview.
Very happy for Sonija’s new found happiness! Hope the best for her. 🙂
Motherhood doesn’t make a woman beautiful. It is the happiness and feeling of contentment that makes a woman beautiful.
maybe she was just joking about wanting her daughter becoming a doctor. she was just trying to make a point that she doesn’t want her in the entertainment industry.
What’s wrong with wanting her daughter to be a doctor? Surely all parents will aim high.
not all parents will aim high,many parents have only the wish that their children will find happiness and joy in life.its a pressure for the children if the parents are aiming high, this will only cause the opposite effect.
It is not true that all parents want to aim high, but some do. My cousin and my own parents never really aimed high. They just want us to have a career that we like and can support ourselves with. One of our family friends did since he was a major braggart… He went around saying that his daughter was going to become a doctor but she was nothing close to that… She is now unemployed and living off of her husband who makes a mediocre salary.. Therefore, it is always good to be humble and I personally doctors get way more credit than they deserve. Recently, I have met many of them who don’t give a care about their patients at all. They just care about money so being a doctor is becoming more of a business but they just get more respect than business people do.
It is not only high remuneration, it is the social status. A kid needs to get a 3.9+ GPA in undergraduate programs to get into medical schools. Thus, most of the bright and smart kids want to get in. I think being a good doctor, he/she needs more than high marks, he/she needs to be a people person who cares about his/her patients. If a person is not sociable and does not have the patience, he/she should not be a medical doctor. Many of the patients are suffering and they are already miserable. It is bad if they don’t have caring doctors who would listen to them.
You don’t necessarily need a 3.9+ to get in. People have gotten in with extras on their resume. First-hand experience before application. Extremely successful professors/medial staff who wrote recommendation letters for the applicant. Passing the interview. Etc. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, but definitely the exceptional grades does make the applicant confident in his/her chances. However, some still lose out even with those grades because compared to all the other applicants, they lack something usually that is the direct patient contact experience.
I personally think being semi anti social is fine amongst their peers but it isn’t okay towards their patients. I do think the asian community needs to understand that choosing a profession in the medical field, whether it is to become a doctor, physician assistant, occupational therapist, physical therpaist etc, is more than just for the money. Money is nothing more but a reward after years of schooling and practice…but theres more to come even after you get licensed. When I was doing undergrad work, I took a sociology of medicine course and the professor gave out a statistics sheet on the ethnic groups heading into the med field. While it is true that many people go towards the med field and back out before med school process even begins…Asians have the highest percentage of backing out after they’re admitted into med school and even after they’ve completed med school. I’m Chinese and Taiwanese desecent, seeing those stats makes me very disappointed and quite sad. But it could be that I’m just a sensitive person. Lol.
Crystal:
It is very hard to get into medical schools in Ontario, Canada. We don’t have private medical schools here (like the States). The cut-off marks for admissions have to be at least a 3.8 GPA, plus MCAT. If the marks are no good, your applications will not be considered for any further assessments.
If that is the case then that is a true shame. Canada is missing out on a lot of potentially good candidates for this field. Private and ivy league schools use to put all the emphasis on grades but they figured the future would be shunned if they continued that approach thus they implemented other ways e.g. interviews and other things to seek out right people for med school.
I agree with you. However, there are only 6 medical schools in Ontario, and there are just too many applicants. The medical schools have a tough time to select the possible candidates. Therefore, if you don’t get a super high GPA (not average) in undergraduate programs, you don’t stand a chance. After the first cut-off, then they look at other requirements, such as scores in MCAT, interviews, references, related experiences in hospitals/health areas.
@HeTieShou,
I know alot of parents are who like this as well. Their parents probably never taught them modesty and humility. I have a few HK cousins and there are distant relatives that are exactly like this. Brags about her lives like there’s no tommorrow on family gatherings. Esp HK ppl n i dont mean to sound bias but w/HK ppl but thats what i am seeing, they just love to brag n go w/the trend. whether it’s brand names or fashion, whatever it is IN @ the moment, they have to have it and and show it off like they know everything. The good thing is 2 of their kids did go to a very good university and graduated which is a good thing but the bragging to others ears just sound a little weird. But fortunately most closer relatives that we know are quite humble and not like that. But i am sure we always see such ppl everywhere, that’s why the world is filled w/all kinds of sane and insane ppl ahhaa i guess it balances out? lol…
The psychology of Asian parents is even more fun to study than anything else!
In Australia, we have very few medical/dental universities. During the screening process, they use the UMAT (kinda like the State’s MCAT i suppose), university entrance scores (has to be in the top percentile), and interviews (face to face).
Provided you get through all these barriers, there is also the RACE barrier. They try to ‘phase out’ the asians (i.e. won’t let too many in).
A lot of chinese kids still get through; however, it’s pretty unfair with some caucasians of lower marks getting in over an asian kid just because of their race.
I’ve had a very demanding father growing up; I suppose all fathers think that they know best for their kid, and can see into the future for their kid lol.
I graduated 1st from my class both highschool and university… i was probably also the most stressed out kid that existed! it was a terrible ‘journey’… but the ending is sweet 🙂
I’ve been a private surgeon for many years now; it’s the most enjoyable job for me… i suppose i’ve always had an addiction for blood of some sort haha…. lucky dad got it right huh? 😛
As a parent, we do know more than our kids. We would, of course, make some planning for our kids as per their abilities and potential. I don’t like to put tons of pressure on them; however, some kinds of pressure are a must Human beings are all lazy by nature. Almost everyone likes to take the easy way to get things done. The bottom line is:
“You get for you pay for”.
From what I see in kids, if they have an easy life in university, they will have a tough life in future (to find good jobs with good pays). But if they have a tough life in university, they will have a comfortable (or even well-off) life in future.
Typo …… “You get what you paid of”.
Typo …… Should be “You get what you paid for”.
@HeTieShou,
Funny you mention on ‘bragging or showing off’
I once have this neighbor who’s children were in college same as me a while back and she was laughing saying how she thinks her kids will get jobs starting right off @60K annually. I was thinking to myself what garlic breath hahaha… n i heard til this day, her kids cant even find a stable job let alone starting off salary of @60K. Yes, it is always good to be humble since we are more than that and we never feel the need to BRAG it out loud to anyone ahhaha..LOL…
@Kiki,
Thanks for sharing and I have seen that way too much… But with our family friend, he was just plain annoying and keeps on bragging about his daughter who was an ex friend of mine so I know it all too well. My mom always stays silent and hates braggarts because she thinks that if you brag too much and you don’t live up to it, then people will laugh at you. This is exactly what happened with our family friend. Everyone in our family and others that know him are all laughing at him, his daughter and their family… But the saddest part is they don’t even realize that we are all laughing at them…
More than ever, she looks really beautiful.
Too bad for the bald short and old guys in HK. They lost one. LOL!!
hahaha she didnt exactly married a handsome guy either. the china man the she marry is very typically average joe no? i mean, bald, old n ugly he is not but he is NOT that much better? no? hahaha..
”People think I would marry a bald, ugly, and rich man, but I know that usually those marriages never end happily ”
those marriages dont end happily, i think some women who do marry such men will beg to differ w/her hahhaa…lol….