Ms Linda Lin Dai

1934-1964

Actress

Born Cheng Yueru, actress Lin Dai’s screen name is a transliteration of her English name, Linda. Born in Guangxi, Lin followed her father, political celebrity Cheng Siyuan, to Hong Kong in 1948. In 1950, Lin enrolled as an actress at Great Wall, but was not assigned important roles due to the sensitive background of her father. Disillusioned, she switched to Yung Hwa Motion Pictures, where her debut, Singing under the Moon (1953), catapulted her to instant stardom. Lin’s first award-winning film was MP & GI production Golden Lotus (1957), in which she played two roles. The film landed her Best Actress at the 4^th Asian Film Festival. Lin’s other memorable titles include The Battle of Love (1957) and Lady in Distress (1957). In 1958, she claimed another Best Actress award with Diau Charn (1958). After her marriage in 1961, Lin starred in Les Belles (1961) and Love Without End (1961), which again garnered Best Actress awards at the 9^th and 10^th Asian Film Festivals, respectively, making her the only person to have won the award four times. Other important works include The Kingdom and the Beauty (1959), Love Parade (1963), The Last Woman of Shang (1964) and Beyond the Great Wall (1964). Lin’s sudden death in 1964 shocked the city. She left two films unfinished, namely The Lotus Lamp (1965) and The Blue and the Black (1966). In her short career that lasted just over 10 years, the timeless diva starred in more than 50 films.