Irene Wan Bik-ha (born Wen Bik-ha on 30 July 1966) is a Hong Kong actress, singer and producer. Her father was an officer of the Republic of China Army. In her early years, she was known as a "sexy beauty". After her marriage, Wan faded out of the entertainment industry and occasionally participated in dramas and films. She is currently based in mainland China.
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Early life and career
She was born and lived in District 8 of Rennie's Mill squatter district in the New Territories of Hong Kong. She is the youngest of four brothers and three sisters. Growing up her family was poor. Her father had been an officer of the Republic of China (Kuomintang) Army and settled in Hong Kong after fleeing Mainland of China. The artist Chen Yulian was her next door neighbor, and Wang Xiaofeng was also the neighbor below her residence. When Irene Wan was a child, she often played with boys in the same district, mainly playing table tennis and badminton with them. She once attended Mingyuan Primary School and enjoys music and fine arts. Later, in order to want her to enroll in a better secondary school, her mother arranged for her to continue her studies in a secondary school on Hong Kong Island .
After completing the first grade at Catholic Mingyuan Middle School, Irene Wan went to the former St. John's College for Co-Education in Tai Koo Shing. During the latter's schooling period, she was a member of the school's basketball team . She moved to Shau Kei Wan to live with her sister in order to facilitate schooling when she was 12 years old. She was sold by her mother because of her poverty. Because of his father's strict discipline, she developed a rebellious character. "When I was in middle school, I learned to smoke, go to the dance hall (P field) and make friends with problem teenagers". Later, when she was 15 years old (1983), she was discovered by scouts on the street to participate in the filming of the movie "Lonely Fifteen" and joined the entertainment circle. She had not graduated from high school at the time .
She was nominated for the Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards for her role in Lonely Fifteen.
She gained attention for her performance in Everlasting Love (1984), in which she co-starred with Andy Lau and Loletta Lee, at the age of 17. She later appeared in Stanley Kwan's Love Unto Waste (1986) and Rouge (1988).
However, in the 1990s, her film career sputtered when she agreed to star in All of a Sudden (1996), which would be her first and only time appearing fully nude in a film. Wan later went on to star in several TVB television series.
In 2019, at the age of 53, Wan drew controversy for her suggestive scenes with two younger actors in the thriller The Fallen (the male actor being 14-year-old younger than Wan and the female actress 27 younger). Her performance in the film would later eventually won her the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 8th Silk Road International Film Festival in 2020.
Personal life
Wan married Kenneth Ho (何祖光), a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, on 1 October 2000. Their wedding was held at Banyan Tree Hotel in Phuket, Thailand. Ho is the grandnephew of the Kuomintang veteran He Yingqin and worked at Solomon Brothers Hong Kong Asia Pacific Investment as the Vice President of the Banking Department. The two have never planned to have children until 2010 when Wan and her husband adopted an orphan who was abandoned in a train station in Mainland China. They also sought a doctor to cure his skin disease and cough, and renamed the child to Xavier Ho (何國倫).
Filmography
Lonely Fifteen (靚妹仔) (1982) (Hong Kong) – Irene/Xia Nu
Happy Sixteen (俏皮女学生) (1982) (Hong Kong) – Da Yan Zi
Possessed (猛鬼出籠) (1983) (Hong Kong) – Irene (Hsiao's Sister)
101 Citizen Arrest (101拘捕令) (1983 – 1984, TV Series) (Hong Kong) – Irene
Pom Pom (神勇雙響炮) (1984) (Hong Kong) – Koo's Prostitute
Everlasting Love(停不了的爱) (1984) (Hong Kong) – Liang Peijun
Lucky Stars Go Places (最佳福星) (1986) (Hong Kong) – Lady Officer
Love Unto Waste (地下情) (1986) (Hong Kong) – Ruan Bei Er
Caper (警贼兄弟) (1986) (Hong Kong) – Annie San Fun
Rouge (胭脂扣) (1988) (Hong Kong) – Cheng Shuxian
Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch (中國最後一個太監) (1988) (Hong Kong) – Zhao Di
Tiger Cage (特警屠龙) (1988) (Hong Kong) – A Mei
Ruthless Law (法律无情) (1988) (Hong Kong) – Huang Peiyan
Bloody Brotherhood (同根生) (1989) (Hong Kong) – He Jiao (Jiahua's wife)
The Wild Ones (我未成年) (1989) (Hong Kong) – Chen Yuqin
Hearts, No Flowers (少女心) (1989) (Hong Kong) – Li Xiangyun
Discography
Singles
1994：《一醉化千愁》(Theme song of TVB TV series Gentle Reflections)
2020：《Make You Smile》
Concerts
19 June 2018：《Irene Wan Haichao Concert2018》
