KUALA LUMPUR: Taiwanese actress Shu Qi may look all cheerful, confident and optimistic, but she actually had a difficult childhood with abusive parents.
Entertainment portal AsiaOne reported yesterday that the 44-year-old actress, who is married to Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Fung, revealed in a recent video interview her painful memories growing up.
"The innocence in my heart stems from my lack of a childhood. When I was young I had to observe my parents' reactions. If they were in a bad mood, I had to keep my distance from them. If not, I'd get scolded very easily," she said.
"When I heard my father coming back from work on his motorcycle, I felt very afraid. The sound of the door opening, him muttering to himself, I would run away as far as I could and hide, even if it was in the middle of the night."
These experiences and the environment she grew up in made her a sensitive person.
Shu Qi ran away from home when she was around 15.
"I didn't feel like my mother was especially concerned or worried, because she simply scolded me. In my heart I felt very sad and I wondered why she would still scold me."
While Shu Qi is regarded as one of the most beautiful Chinese actresses, she was made to feel inferior while growing up.
In a 2018 interview, she said that her mother told her she was "especially ugly" and said, "How could anyone be as ugly as you?".
In a 2015 interview, Shu Qi said that her mother gave birth to her when she was only 18 and believed that she could not pursue her dreams because she had to raise a child.
To protect herself when she went to Hong Kong to work, Shu Qi "armoured up".
"If you make yourself weak and in need of sympathy, you will get bullied, she explained. But because of this, she inadvertently offended some people in the industry.
"That was why I had a famous nickname Da Xiao Jie that means diva," she said.
Shu Qi who began her acting career in 1996 appearing in the film Viva Erotica with the late Leslie Cheung, won Best Supporting Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards 1997 for her role in that film.
Her other films include Portland Street Blues (1998), Gorgeous (1999), The Transporter (2002), and Seoul Raiders (2005).