The HK entertainment industry’s ‘golden era’ of the 80s and 90s brought us TVB’s ‘Five Tigers’ [Tony Leung (梁朝偉), Andy Lau (劉德華), Michael Miu (苗僑偉), Felix Wong (黃日華), Kent Tong (湯鎮業)] as well as the music industry’s ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ [Jacky Cheung (張學友), Andy Lau (劉德華), Leon Lai (黎明), Aaron Kwok (郭富城)]. Today, almost 30 years later, the Five Tiger and Heavenly King titles may be considered a part of ‘history’ now, but the artists themselves are still very much a part of the HK entertainment world. These ‘Tigers’ and ‘Kings’ have all reached (or exceeded) the half century (50 year old) age milestone and all except for one (Aaron Kwok) have married and started families of their own.
Michael Miu’s children sent far away from industry
Back in the day, each of the ‘Five Tigers’ and ‘Heavenly Kings’ possessed their own charm and charisma that endeared them to fans and audiences around the world – therefore, it is not surprising that their offspring would possess a similar charm and interest toward the entertainment industry.
Recently, Felix Wong’s daughter Adrian Wong (黃芷晴) signed with fledgling [soon to be] TV station CTI and has already started filming a TV series for them, thereby becoming the first of the Tiger and King offspring to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the entertainment industry. As the saying goes, ‘all children are the best in the eyes of their parents’-- so when their children decide they want to pursue a career in the industry, it is natural for celebrity parents to try and help them out any way they can. Even though Adrian may not necessarily stand out in terms of looks, she does have a sweet smile and friendly personality, so hopefully, with ‘special training’ from her dad Felix, she will be able to gain the audience’s favor in her new acting career.
Actor Michael Miu and actress Jamie Chik (戚美珍)’s children – 20 year old daughter Phoebe (苗彤) and 18 year old son Murphy (苗俊) – inherited their parents’ good looks and definitely possess future ‘star’ potential. However Michael and Jamie decided to send them overseas to pursue their studies – far away from the ‘colorful’ HK entertainment industry.
With Felix’s daughter already starting in the industry and Michael’s children continuing with their educations, the next Tiger offspring likely to join the industry will undoubtedly be Kent Tong’s 17-year old twin boys Bruce (湯君慈) and Chris (湯君耀). The twins will be graduating this year and both are interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry – of course, Kent’s fellow ‘Tiger’ brothers have already voiced their support and encouragement.
Kent Tong’s eldest daughter has ‘star potential’
Back in the day, Kent Tong was considered the most handsome of the Five Tigers. Though that may no longer be the case now (as his mid-life weight gain and hair loss will tell you), one thing that hasn’t changed much is Kent’s affinity with females. After his well-known relationship with 80s TVB actress Barbara Yung (翁美玲) ended with her death in 1985, Kent has been in several subsequent relationships, two of which turned into marriages. His first wife was actress Jiang Kun (姜坤), who was a known beauty with looks resembling a younger version of veteran actress Brigitte Lin (林青霞). Not long after she joined the industry, Jiang Kun married Kent and together they had 3 children – eldest daughter Isabella (湯愛嘉) as well as the twins Chris and Bruce. Isabella is very much a beauty, as she inherited many of her parents’ handsome features -- in terms of looks, she resembles a ‘hybrid’ of Gigi Lai (黎姿) and Cecilia Cheung (張栢芝). It’s rumored that many of Kent’s friends in the industry hope to persuade 19 year old Isabella to join the HK entertainment industry, since it’s rare nowadays to find her type of young, fresh beauty in the industry.
Despite the invitations to join the entertainment industry, Isabella has expressed that she enjoys going to school more – therefore, she plans to finish college first, then decide at that time whether to join the industry. Instead, her brothers Bruce (the older twin) and Chris (younger twin) have actually expressed an interest in joining the industry. Earlier this year, the twins got the chance to introduce themselves on the Mainland variety program Tian Tian Xiang Shang《天天向上》—fortunately, the audience’s reaction was quite positive, so it looks like they may not have a problem gaining audience affinity. However, when the hosts asked the twins why they wanted to join the entertainment industry, they candidly replied: “To earn more money!” Perhaps the boys understand their father’s burden in taking care of their large family, so they hope to start working early to help him out.
During the program, Kent shared with his sons his personal experience being part of the entertainment industry and gave them some sound advice: next year, they will turn 18 and with the ‘official’ transition to adulthood, they will have the freedom to do things on their own, such as learn to drive, date girls, go to bars, etc. – though Kent encouraged them to be independent, he also reminded them to work hard, set goals for their futures, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and be responsible to their family, their friends, and to society in general . Even though his sons don’t live with him, Kent’s relationship with his sons is still very deep.
Two marriages, six children
Kent and his first wife divorced many years ago and he has since married second wife Alice, who is 20 years his junior – together, they have a pair of 3 ½ year old twin daughters, Tian Tian (甜甜) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓). Prior to his second marriage, he and his girlfriend at the time were together for a few years and they had a son – therefore, Kent has a total of 6 children to take care of. Towards his family responsibilities, Kent once said: “Even though I’m nowhere near as popular as Andy Lau or Tony Leung [in terms of career], I feel lucky to have my kids – seeing them grow up happy and healthy, that is my greatest happiness!” Kent may have had a lot of relationships in the past, but at the end of the day, he is a responsible man.
Source: Mingpao
Translated by: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics
Post a Comment