Biography
Cheung Kwok-Wing (Chinese: 張國榮, English name: Leslie, September 12, 1956 – April 1, 2003) was a Hong Kong Canadian singer and actor. Born in Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung moved to the United Kingdom in 1971, settling in Leeds, where he enrolled at university to study fashion design. After completing his studies, he returned to Hong Kong and, in 1977, took part in an amateur singing competition—the ATV Asian Music Contest—where he won second prize. The following year, he released his first album, I Like Dreaming. He soon began appearing on television and quickly landed his first film role in Erotic Dreams of the Red Chamber (1978), an erotic production that Cheung himself later described as a “shameful disaster.”
Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent pioneers that shaped the identity of Cantopop during the 1980s. His studio albums Summer Romance (1987) and Most Beloved (1995) each sold over 300,000 copies and are among the best-selling albums of all time in the territory. In addition to music, Cheung achieved pan-Asian fame with such films as A Better Tomorrow (1986) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). He won the Best Actor at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Days of Being Wild (1990). His venture into acting in the 1990s was recognized for his portrayal of queer characters in the then-conservative film industry, he was one of the few Hong Kong actors willing to take on gay roles—such as in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together—or to play a cross-dressing opera performer in Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1993. Leslie Cheung died by suicide on April 1, 2003, at the age of 46, by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. In the note he left behind, he stated that he had been suffering from depression.
Filmography (93)
In Memory Of Leslie Cheung
2023
TME Live「想你 張國榮」線上音樂會
2021
Ashes of Time Redux
2008
Inner Senses
2002
熱 : 情演唱會演唱會 Karaoke
2001
Okinawa Rendez-vous
2000
Double Tap
2000
From Ashes to Ashes
2000
Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing Passion Tour 2000
2000
Moonlight Express
1999
The Kid
1999
Buenos Aires Zero Degree: The Making of 'Happy Together'
1999
Left Right Love Destiny
1999
Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema
1998
A Time to Remember
1998
Ninth Happiness
1998
Anna Magdalena
1998
All's Well, End's Well '97
1997
Happy Together
1997
張國榮跨越97演唱會
1997
星空下的傾情
1997
Temptress Moon
1996
Shanghai Grand
1996
Tri-Star
1996
Viva Erotica
1996
Who's the Woman, Who's the Man?
1996
The Chinese Feast
1995
The Phantom Lover
1995
Ashes of Time
1994
Over the Rainbow, Under the Skirt
1994
He's a Woman, She's a Man
1994
Long and Winding Road
1994
It's a Wonderful Life
1994
The Bride with White Hair 2
1993
The Bride with White Hair
1993
Farewell My Concubine
1993
The Eagle Shooting Heroes
1993
All's Well End's Well, Too
1993
All's Well, Ends Well
1992
Arrest the Restless
1992
Once a Thief
1991
The Banquet
1991
A Chinese Ghost Story II
1990
Days of Being Wild
1990
Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit
1989
Sunset in Paris
1989
Leslie Cheung: Final Encounter of the Legend
1989
Leslie Cheung Special '89
1989
Celebrity Talk Show
1989
Fatal Love
1988
張國榮’88演唱會
1988
梅艷芳特輯之夢裡風情
1988
A Chinese Ghost Story
1987
A Better Tomorrow II
1987
Rouge
1987
A Better Tomorrow
1986
Last Song in Paris
1986
張國榮86濃情演唱會
1986
Leslie Cheung: Surprise
1985
For Your Heart Only
1985
Crazy Romance
1985
The Fallen Family
1985
Merry Christmas
1984
Behind the Yellow Line
1984
The Intellectual Trio
1984
Double Decker
1984
Once Upon An Oridinary Girl
1984
Little Dragon Maiden
1983
The Drummer
1983
First Time
1983
Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing World Tour Bangkok 1983
1983
Nomad
1982
Teenage Dreamers
1982
Energetic-21
1982
凹凸神探
1982
On Trial
1981
岛的故事之大屿山沙之城
1981
Agency 24
1981
Pairing
1981
珠海枭雄
1981
Tai Chi Master (II)
1981
Heritage: The Young Concubine
1980
Encore
1980
Dynasty
1980
Make a Wish
1980
Gone with the wind
1980
Dynasty (II)
1980
Teenagers
1978
Dog Bites Dog Bone
1978
Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber
1978
Hong Kong Tragedy
1978
Crocodile Tears
1978
The Spirit of the Sword
1978