[Sudden Weekly 735] Love. Fighting. Charmaine Sheh

Mag scans credit to Kwan5170 from www.shehsheh.com



Every year when Charmaine Sheh hears the music of Miss Hong Kong Pageant, it sent a cold shiver down her spine. "It's like evidence that I've grown older another year." So what if you aged? The most important thing is that your position is rock steady. She has always been the steadiest one among the lead actresses. Those who entered entertainment business earlier than her such as Ada Choi, Kenix Kwok, Maggie Cheung they have either gotten married or retired. Most of them don't have the mood to fight. On the other hand those who entered later such as Sonija Kwok, Myolie Wu, Shirley Yeung could become as popular even though they are heavily promoted. They should be glad if they are not chasing the audiences away.

Charmaine Sheh's acting is convincing, and her rumors sound true as well. While filming [ROTC] with Chilam Cheung, Anita Yuen had to supervise the filming. As her relationship with Benny Chan grows, we listened to an intimate conversation. Clicked with Ron Ng, sitting in his lap and presenting an expensive watch. The married Joe Ma accompanying her at birthday party...

Her position is steady because she's up to the challenge. Only a lady full of fighting spirit has the ability to receive the title of Double TV Queen, and at the same time conquer a group of desirable men. Ah, right... Love Fighting. That's also the same title of a movie by Niki Chow, the ex-flame of Charmaine's new beau Kevin Cheng. What could be better than a 34 years old winning over a 29 years old?



We are friends

Charmaine Sheh's rumors are an endless list. Early phase there were Chilam Cheung and Benny Chan, and then at middle phase there were Ron Ng and Joe Ma. Recently it's Kevin Cheng.

Love relationship between a man and woman is very common, no big deal. However, Kevin Cheng's ex-flame keep pulling a long face and implied that Charmaine stole her boyfriend. On top of being labeled 'Flirty Sheh', now she's accused of being the '3rd party'. This allegation is more serious than just a love relationship between man and woman.

"Kevin and I are friends. We do see each other and work together but we are not dating. Before dating we need to go through the phase of being friends. Currently we are trying to know each other better. I need to spend time considering carefully before starting a relationship. I do not want a brief fling.

About the rumors of me being the '3rd party', I do not need to clarify myself. I will not comment on someone that I not familiar with. Actually I've never read her (Niki Chow) news, I'm not sure what she said but I hope that she is living happily.

Is Kevin marriage candidate? First of all, he matches the most important criteria – which is single. Apart from that he is very practical and not the flippant type. He is more mature and reliable. I think that he is the dream guy of many girls. Me? (laugh) I will consider it.

3, 4 years ago, I really wanted to get married because many of my friends have gotten married in droves. You will naturally get affected with the heartwarming mood after attending so many weddings.

Nowadays, I don't feel like getting married anymore. Some of the friends that got married 3, 4 years ago now have problems in their marriage. What my mother said is true, it's not necessary to get married as long as you are happy. If you want children, you can always adopt in the future.

Actually I really love family life and I will definitely have my own family in the future. I think the reason why I'm having so many rumors in recent years is because most of my friends are guys. Such as Bobby Au Yeung, Joe Ma, Michael Tse, I can discuss my troubles with them. Why? Because they are not my competition, therefore we naturally become true friends. I was once betrayed by a female artiste before; she used my gossips to get ahead...

I'm already numbed toward rumors. Most of the allegations are falsely made up. If all the rumors are true, why would all of them celebrate my birthday together? It doesn't matter if I mind or not, I'll still end up being written about. When my mother saw me being unhappy, she consoled me instead: "Having news is better than none at all!" I do not see it that way because when the rumors become too outrageous, it will affect my reputation.

Actually, I do not know the definition for [flirty]. Maybe because my voice is rather soft and gives a coy feeling to others. But what can I do? Pretend to speak hoarsely? Or dress like a robot to tell everyone I am very tough? The audiences who like me will naturally like me. Those who doesn't, I can't do anything about it. I can only hope that one day, I will be able to move you."



What about No.1 Sister

Apart from rumors, since entering entertainment business for 10 years Charmaine Sheh has filmed more than 100 episodes of TVB series annually. She is TVB most productive artiste. Back in 1999, she was heavily criticized for her chicken voice acting as Miew Yeurk Lan in [FFOSM]. 10 years has passed and now she is promoted to the status of No. 1 Sister. The series [Maiden's Vow] in 2006 brought her 'Best Actress' and 'Favorite Female Character' awards, making her the 'Double TV Queen'. Recently, her uncouth 'Sam Sui Mui' role in [You're Hired] is highly praised by netizens as classic Hong Kong material girl. Hence, she can afford buying multimillion dollar luxury condominiums.

"I do not have backgrounds or support. I must work in order to survive. Money can give me the feeling of security. I don't know how to invest in stock market. I only know how to invest in real properties because their value is more guaranteed.

For 10 years my philosophy in way of life is that there is no such thing as luck in the entertainment business; there are no reward without hard work. There are some girls who entered the entertainment circle to get quick money or husband. OK, everyone have their own goals, if they can achieve the lifestyle they wanted, then I congratulate them. Or maybe we didn't see their 'hard work'! However, I choose a more difficult path.

1997, after graduating from Hotel Management studies in Switzerland, I returned to Hong Kong. Coincidentally it was Lunar New Year celebration, therefore no one is hiring. I was also quite ambitious; I did not go to job interviews unless it's a 5-star hotel. My mother saw me doing nothing at home and suggested to participate in MHK.

Back then I'm not the hot candidate tipped to win. Others easily took my spot when taking pictures. Can you imagine the speech and manners during competition and interviews? In two months, I've seen enough of rivalry and sabotage.

Finally when I'm filming series, my mother regretted asking me to participate in MHK because it's really strenuous. My mother was hurt seeing me being criticized as 'chicken voice'. I have also asked seniors how to correct my 'chicken voice'. There's only one answer: "Act more!"

At my busiest time, I filmed [Seven Sisters], [Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre] and [Country Spirit] overlapping one after the other. I don't even have time to sleep; I don't have the space to be bothered with what the outside world is talking about. If I'm unhappy, I will cry heartily during shower and will forget about it the next day.

Sometimes, I feel like taking a break to rest. However, every time I receive a good script I could not come up with a good reason not to film them. [War & Beauty], [Dance of Passion], [The Drive of Life]; all these are grand productions. I'm very grateful to be given such the opportunity.

After receiving the awards two years ago, my approach has become more relaxed. Firstly I've already earn the reward for my hard work; secondly I know that the company will not be giving the awards again in short period of time. As for the title of 'Dongka Fadan', 'No.1 Sister', I'm rarely concerned. So what if you are 'No.1 Sister'? You still have to film a 20 episode series for two months. No one will shorten it to one month just because you are 'No.1 Sister'. When you are filming outdoor scene, you have to eat box lunch like everyone else. There's no difference at all.

In this circle, there's no such thing as 'celebrity' anymore. Because all 'celebrities' has been written to the point of worthless by magazines.

Luckily my EQ is high and can adapt easily, I can survive in any environment. I'm all by myself during my studies in Switzerland. It's not a problem to film [Dance of Passion] at the remote Yin Chuan. Gigi Lai and the others keep re-applying sunblock. I didn't apply at all, what's to worry."

Tears flowing through the nose

Charmaine has strong adapting skill because she needs to be independent since young. Her father passed away when she is 5 years old. Her mother brought her and her brothers up alone. Her mother has remarried in recent years and is now residing in Hawaii with her Caucasian husband. Previous year her mother contracted lung illness and had to be operated on. It was a life and death situation as her heart stopped and she was resuscitated. Now, the only reason why Charmaine goes on holiday is to accompany her mother in Hawaii.

"Dad passed away in a traffic accident. It was a huge blow to our family. I remember one time, me and my little brother want to watch movie at cinema. Mum's expression turned uneasy and she said: "How about next month instead?" At that time I can feel that our family is having financial difficulty. Our lives improved after we received Dad's insurance compensation.

Therefore I'm really impressed of my mother, she promised to bring us to cinema next month, and she kept her promise. She brought up the three of us without a word of complaint.

She and Uncle (stepfather) has been living quite well, just that she has contracted lung illness. She operated once and later there were complications due to infection. In year 2006, I was in Beijing to received the 'Most Popular Hong Kong Actress' when Uncle suddenly called me. When I heard him calling me 'Charmaine', I immediately feel something bad. He said that Mum heart stopped briefly during the surgery and was resuscitated. She is currently in coma and Uncle said that even if she wakes up, she might suffer from memory loss...

I was about to walk down the red carpet that moment. Miss Lok (Virginia Lok) noticed my expression changed and quickly pulled me onto the car. We keep driving around the venue in circles to help me calm down my emotions. I really wanted to cry, but I can't because tears will ruin my makeup. Do you know, when you can't hold the tears, they can flow through the nose?

Roger Kwok accepted his award together with me onstage. His speech: "An artiste is being passive. We will start acting when you switch us on, and stop whenever you switch off. This is our professionalism." He's purposely saying those words to encourage me.

Now Mum has already recovered a lot. Of course she likes to watch my series, but she only watch comedies like [You’re Hired]. She doesn't want to see me being treated badly onscreen."

Vodka

Charmaine Sheh - flirty? I don't think so. In our brief, few hours of interaction today, she did not reveal any signs of a seductress. She looked directly into my eyes when we are talking. Her eyes are bright and sharp. She will not mention a word on the things that she refuse to disclose.

When asked to choose a type of alcoholic drink to describe herself, she chose the hard Vodka.

"It doesn't seem much on the outside, but it can taste burning. You can drink it alone, or achieve different tastes by mixing with other alcohols. It can also taste really sweet. Like me, I can portray different characters."

The version I saw today must be the undistilled vodka. Kevin Cheng's glass should be very sweet.

Flirty or not is like drinking alcohol, it depends on the person drinking.

No repost of the translation allowed.


There, finally done with the translation. Another two more to go.

I think Charmaine is quite straightforward in her recent interview articles, about her work and personal life. We shouldn't be too concerned whether she wants to disclose her relationship with anyone, as long as she is happy. In the end, it's just a private matter between two person.