Virginia Lau’s Slow Rise to Stardom
For the past five years, Virginia Lau (劉溫馨) has been both a familiar yet distant name. The 28-year-old was one of the hot favorites to win the 2013 Miss Hong Kong Pageant, and though she finished fourth in the end, she was eventually overshadowed by her peers Grace Chan (陳凱琳), Sisley Choi (蔡思貝), and Moon Lau (劉佩玥), in which all three have become leading TVB stars.
Unlike Grace, Sisley, and Moon, Virginia was not offered high-profile supporting roles after signing her management contract with TVB. Her very first role was an unnamed character in the sitcom Come Home Love <愛·回家>. Over 15 background roles later, Virginia had her first supporting role as Amy in Come Home Love 2.
Her tough start with TVB is misleading. Virginia is actually a veteran performer—she earned a gold medal at a youth piano competition when she was 14 and was a Miss Dalian Contest winner at 18. In 2009, Virginia graduated from Beijing’s The Central Academy of Drama, majoring in performance. In July 2008, Virginia became a torchbearer for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics torch relay in Dalian and was the 108th runner.
It really wasn’t until last year’s Wife Interrupted <救妻同學會>—which starred Hubert Wu (胡鴻鈞) and Virginia’s pageant class member Moon Lau—when Virginia was finally given the opportunity to try bigger roles. In Wife Interrupted, Virginia portrayed Wu Choi-chi, the nerdy one in the dormitory. Her big, bushy, and curly hair made a memorable appearance.
Currently, Virginia portrays “Siu Yin” in the TVB period drama I Beg Your Pardon <荷里活有個大老千>, starring Kent Cheng (鄭則仕), Paul Chun (秦沛), Elaine Jin (金燕玲), Selena Lee (李施嬅), and Kent Tong (湯鎮業). Virginia has a romantic storyline with her costar James Ng (吳業坤), and although the onscreen pair share some kissing scenes, they are not overly intimate. On finding chemistry with James, Virginia said, “He’s the kind of guy who would speak lowly of himself to praise others. He has a great sense of humor. He makes us all laugh.”
Her next big project is To All the People I’ve Loved <致所有愛過的人>, starring Frankie Lam (林文龍), Priscilla Wong (黃翠如), and Shiga Lin (連詩雅). Sharing that she plays a nurse on the show, Virginia has been receiving training on how to imitate the accurate movements of taking blood pressure and drawing blood.
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
