Anita Mui – born Anita Mui Yim-fong on October 10, 1963 in Happy Valley, Hong Kong – was an award-winning actress and cantopop/gangtai singer. Referred to as the ‘Madonna of the East’, her live performances and contralto vocals made her one of the most popular singers in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. Mui began her singing career at the age of four, singing Chinese pop songs and operas in nightclubs, theaters, and on the streets to help her family make a living. In 1982, she won the first New Talent Singing Awards, beating out 3,000 other contestants. One of the rewards for winning the contest was a contract with local record label Capital Artists, who released her first album, Debts of the Heart (1982). She continued to win many talent contests, building her audience, and garnering critical acclaim for her voice. Her next album, Red Anita Mui, was released in 1983, followed a year later by Leaping in the Spotlight. The best-selling album of her career was 1985’s Bad Girl, which sold over 400,000 copies. That year, she played 15 nights at the Hong Kong Coliseum, one of the youngest entertainers to achieve that feat. In 1989, she released “Sunset Melody”, the song that is now most associated with Mui. She continued to receive many industry awards and release more hit singles and albums – sung in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Japanese - while also pursuing a career as an actress. She appeared in over 40 films including Behind the Yellow Line, Rouge, The Heroic Trio, Rumble in the Bronx, and others. As a successful actress, she won top honors at the Golden Horse Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards, and other ceremonies. She continued a very successful run of albums into the ‘90s and ‘00s including Caution (1994), The Song Girl (1995), Flower of the Woman (1997), Nothing To Say (1999), and I’m So Happy (2000). Mui, unlike many Asian pop stars of the era, was able to maintain her career and remain one of the region’s biggest stars for over two decades. On September 23, 2004, she announced publicly that she had cervical cancer. She performed a series of eight shows in November at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Anita Mui died on December 30, 2003.
