Shaw Babe Fang Ying dead at age 64
Former Shaw Brothers beauty Fang Ying, the lovely actress who starred in no less than 17 Shaw movies in the 60ies, died on January 14th after losing a long running fight against cancer.
She was one of the famous babes of the Shaw Studio, albeit she never climbed to the very top of the rankings. Starring alongside superstar colleagues like Wang Yu (Asia-Pol & Auntie Lan), Lo Lieh (Trapeze Girl), Ling Yun (Gun Brothers & Iron Buddha) or Chin Han (Diary of a Lady Killer) her career was overshadowed and often relegated to second string by female stars and on-screen-partners like Betty Loh Ti, Ivy Ling Po, Li Ching and Ching Li.
Born as Ni Fan Ying in Hong Kong in 1946 she had a different life than most of her colleagues because she first moved to Mainland China before returning to Hong Kong to become a Shaw starlet. She was fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English and French and enjoyed a formidable education. After retiring from Shaw in 1970, she did only two more flicks before marriage and pregnancy took over. In 1986, after her divorce, she returned to the movie business and worked for around 37 movies. But she never stepped before a camera again but rather worked in the background of many productions. First she returned as a costume designer but soon she took praise for her work as an art director.
She leaves behind two children and a grandson and will be missed not only by them but by many fans worldwide!
