Lydia Shum

Lydia Shum Din-ha or Lydia Sum Tin-ha (Chinese: 沈殿霞; 21 July 1945 – 19 February 2008) was a Hong Kong comedian, emcee, actress and singer. Known for her portly figure, signature dark-rimmed glasses and bouffant hairstyle, she was affectionately known to peers and fans as Fei-fei (肥肥, lit. "Fat Fat" or "Fatty") or Fei Jie (肥姐 lit. "Fat Sister").

Early life

Shum was born on 21 July 1945 in Baoshan, Shanghai to Shum Yin-gee (沈賢祺; 1913–1978, with her ancestral home in Shanpei, Ningbo) and Shum Yao Tam-suh (沈邱淡素; 1913–2008).

Career

Shum entered the Hong Kong entertainment industry at the age of 13 in 1958. She made her film debut in 1960, joining Shaw Brothers as an actress at the age of 15. Shum debuted in When the Peach Blossoms Bloom, a 1960 Mandarin comedy directed by Griffin Yueh Feng. She took some time to adjust to Hong Kong as she found the local Cantonese cuisine very different from that of her native Shanghai.

TVB

While she worked at Shaw Brothers, her popularity grew and she became one of the first stakeholders in the up-and-coming television broadcast station TVB. In 1967, Shum's stardom took off with the popular variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight. She first sang in the Cantopop group, the Four Golden Flowers. Later, she played a Shanghai woman in the 1970s. She also sang as the partner of Roman Tam from 1971 to 1973.