Cantopop star Vivian Chow experienced great success during the early to mid-'90s as both a singer and actress before she retired in the late '90s once she grew tired of the accompanying media attention. Born in Hong Kong on November 10, 1967, she competed in the 1985 New Talent Singing Awards, and though she didn't win the competition, she proceeded to join the staff of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) in 1987. The following year she made her film debut in Heart to Heart (1988) and was nominated for Best New Performer at the 1989 Hong Kong Film Awards. She then made her recording debut in 1989 with the Cantopop album Zhou Hui Min and crossed over to the Mandarin music market a few years later with Liu Yan (1992). By 1997 or so, she was ready to leave stardom behind and chose to move abroad to Vancouver, Canada, where she could lead a private life away from the media spotlight. ~ Jason Birchmeier