Tien Niu (恬妞, 朱凱莉) Biography

Tien Niu
Other names: 恬妞 / Тень Ню / 朱凱莉 / 朱凯莉 / Tanny Chu, / Tim Nau / Tien Nik / Kelly Chu Kai-Li / Kelly Tien Niu
Gender: Female
Birth date: January 23, 1958
Zodiac sign: Aquarius
Active years: 1970 – 2022
Occupation: Actress
Number of movies: 144

Information:

Tien Niu was born Zhu Kai Li on January 23, 1958 in Taiwan in a family originally from Shanghai. Her older sister, Tien Ni (Tanny), is an actress at the Show Brothers studio, so it is natural that the youngest followed her example. At the age of 8, the girl entered the Madame Phan Fo Ka Opera Academy, from the age of 10 she participated in opera performances, and at the age of 11 she appeared on television for the first time.

She was already an idol of Taiwanese teenagers when she made her debut in Hong Kong – in 1974, she played with her sister Tien Niu in the very provocative film “Too Young”. The theme of teenage love raised by this film has not lost its relevance to this day, judging by the fact that in 2005 Derek Yee directed a remake under the same title, in which the role of the heroine, who made Tien Niu famous 30 years ago, was played by Fiona Sit.

Of course, the actress did not miss working on Show Brothers – In 1974, Tien Niu, who had never missed the opportunity to appear in episodes of films with her sister, in 1977 she already appeared in a full-fledged role in the studio’s action film “The Brave Archer”. It was followed by “Invincible Shaolin” (1978), “Lackey And The Lady Tiger” (1980) – films in which the actress had the opportunity to demonstrate her mastery of martial arts.

At the same time, Tien Niu remained a star of Taiwanese romantic films and for her leading role in one of them, “The Diary of Di-Di” (1977), she was named best actress at the Golden Horse Award and at the XVI International Film Festival in Panama.

The actress actively starred in films of various genres in Hong Kong and Taiwan until 1991, when she unexpectedly disappeared from films for 10 years, until returning to the screen in Para Para Sakura (2001) as Cecilia Cheung’s mother. However, during this period she did not waste time – she played in the theater, sang, acted as a model and raised her daughter. Tien Niu was helped to believe in herself as a singer and record an album by the once extremely popular singer in Taiwan, Liu Wenzheng, who, unfortunately, long ago left for the USA and disappeared from the media’s view.

Naturally, such a smart and beautiful woman like Niu always attracted the attention of men. Her first love was Kenny B. They met in the early 1980s, but their romance was short-lived and each went their own way in life. They managed not to cross paths for 25 years and met only in 2007 on the set, and this meeting excited both actors, already wise from the experience of broken marriages.

In 1984, Tien Niu met a handsome Indonesian man named Yecong Hao, fell in love with him so much that she flew to him from Hong Kong to Indonesia twice a week and gave birth to a daughter from him. They got married, but the happy young wife was in for a shock – on her wedding night, Tien Niu found out that her husband already had a wife and children! Despite the entreaties of her husband and his relatives, offended in her best feelings, Niu and her tiny daughter left Indonesia and her deceiver husband in 1986. Memories of this story still bring tears to the actress’s eyes.

Time and new love helped heal mental wounds – in 1988, on the set of “Gangland Odyssey,” Tien Niu met Alex Man. Their whirlwind romance ended with a wedding in 1992. The newlyweds were so popular that the ceremony was shown live on television, with Stephen Chow as best man and Run Run Shaw himself as officiant!

Unfortunately, after just four years, this beautiful couple separated. The formulation of the reasons, since the water was standard, did not match the characters. When Alex Man remarried in 2002, Tien Niu received almost more press attention than the newlyweds – reporters were interested in her reaction to her ex-husband’s new marriage. However, the actress maintained Olympian calm and calmly wished Alex happiness, and also stated that she would be happy to work with him in films again.

In 2010, such a chance presented itself – the former spouses met on the set of the film “The Jade and the Pearl”. They treated each other warmly, Alex Man even publicly asked Tien Niu for forgiveness for the past, which caused a wave of sensational publications in the press that the couple had allegedly decided to get married again! They even named the wedding location – Singapore. However, Tien Niu’s press agent refuted these speculations, saying that someone was simply wishful thinking and that, although Tien Niu’s heart was not free, it was not occupied by her ex-husband.

The actress herself says that she is not going to get married a third time, but of course she wants to have a person nearby who takes care of her. In the meantime, her family consists of herself and her now adult daughter, who, by the way, has never seen her Indonesian father and only recently talked to him for the first time on the phone. However, the girl always wanted her mother to be happy so much that from childhood she literally forced her to communicate with men, claiming that a loved one will not fall from the sky, you need to look for him!

Tien Niu, in turn, has always been a caring and devoted mother. Raising her daughter alone, she tried to give her the best. A good housewife, she often prepared various dishes with her daughter, her favorite being dumplings. And when the girl graduated from Les Roches Hotel Management School in Switzerland, Tien Niu refused to participate in 3 theatrical productions in order to be with her at this crucial moment.

To pass the time, the famous actress spoiled her daughter’s classmates with homemade cooking and not only did not consider this time lost for her career, but also admired: “We live in the mountain Alps, next to a mineral spring, we wash ourselves with mineral water, take mineral baths, it’s just luxury!”

In 2007, they both returned to Hong Kong, and Tien Niu, proud of her daughter’s academic success, stated that she would be categorically against her participation in show business, since with such scientific abilities a better fate awaits her. However, you can’t go against nature, and now the daughter is starring next to her mother in a small role in the TV movie “Kingdom of Fashion” (the Chinese version of “The Devil Wears Prada”).

Tien Niu herself, as they say, having put the child on her feet, announced her full and unconditional return to cinema and television. At over 50, she looks like she’s 30, doesn’t miss a single social gathering, is full of creative plans and enjoys life to the fullest!