Kelly Chen

Kelly Chen Wai-lam, born Vivian Chen Wai-man on September 13, 1972, is a Hong Kong pop singer and actress. Recognized as one of East Asia's most prominent entertainment figures, she earned the moniker "Diva of Asia" following widespread success in music and film. Throughout her career, she has achieved nearly 20 million record sales across 38 albums and established herself as one of the highest-earning female celebrities in Hong Kong.

Raised in Hong Kong by a jeweler father and a homemaker mother, Chen completed her secondary education at the Canadian Academy International School in Kobe, Japan. She later moved to the United States to study at the Parsons School of Design in New York. While pursuing her degree, she began modeling for commercial advertisements in 1994. Upon returning to Hong Kong, she appeared in a Jacky Cheung music video, made her feature film acting debut in Whatever Will Be, Will Be, and released her debut Cantonese studio album, Intoxicated Lover, in 1995.

Chen rapidly expanded her reach across Asian markets in the late 1990s. She released her first Mandarin project, I Don't Think So, in 1996, followed by the popular Cantonese album Wind, Flower, Snow. She entered the Japanese entertainment industry around the same time with original Japanese singles and later starred alongside Kyoko Fukada in the 1999 television series Don't Be a Cry Baby. Her 1998 Mandarin release, Love Me Or Not, featured the hit track "Diary," which became a signature song throughout Asia. In 2001, she starred in the Japanese box-office success Calmi Cuori Appassionati and launched her Paisley Galaxy World Tour.

Throughout the early to mid-2000s, Chen maintained a prolific recording and performance schedule. Her 2005 track "Hope," recorded for the broadcast of the Korean drama Dae Jang Geum, became a massive commercial hit across mainland China and Hong Kong, breaking records for mobile ringtone downloads. She embarked on extensive global concert tours, including the Lost in Paradise World Tour, and starred in the 2008 historical film An Empress and the Warriors. That same year, she performed during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics.

Chen married her long-time partner Alex Lau Kin Ho in October 2008, and the couple has two sons. Following the birth of her children, she shifted her focus toward family, though she continued to work on select projects, including the 2010 album Chasing Dreams, the 2014 film Horseplay, and a series of new single releases in 2023. Alongside her artistic career, Chen has been actively involved in charitable causes, founding the Kelly Chen Children Education Fund and serving as an ambassador for organizations such as UNICEF, the Hong Kong Red Cross, and various environmental initiatives.