‘90s Sex Symbol Rachel Lee Reveals Why Starred In Cat III Movies & Why She Quit The Genre After Just 3 Films
Much to the dismay of her male fans, of course.
Before Hongkong star Rachel Lee, 56, won Best Actress at the 1999 Golden Horse Awards for her role as an activist in Ann Hui's Ordinary Heroes, she was famous for being one of the era's foremost sex symbols.
Rachel, who used to be known as Loletta Lee, got her start in showbiz at 17 playing sweet young things in movies like 1984's Happy Ghost and All's Well, Ends Well (1992).
Then in 1993, she ditched her girl-next-door image to star in Category III film Crazy Love.
Rachel on talk show My Theatre
In a recent episode of ViuTV talk show My Theatre, Rachel revealed that she made the career switch as she felt typecast after playing the same roles for 10 years.
“At that time, me and my management agency felt that things would remain stagnant if I continued playing such roles," she said. "After that I started making those films, which were called ‘art films’ then. They sold sexiness and youth, and were all very natural,” she said.
Rachel in Crazy Love
It wasn't an easy decision to make, of course.
Worried that she might be uncomfortable undressing in front of many people on set, her managers even arranged for her to do a risqué photo shoot first so she could “familiarise herself with such situations" and be "mentally prepared”.
When host Chan Char Man asked Rachel if she was worried that directors would ask her to have real sex onscreen, she was taken aback by the question.
“That never crossed my mind. Back then, just taking off our clothes was a big deal. We wouldn't even think about that," she said.
So why did Rachel leave the Cat III world?
The risk paid off. Crazy Love did well at the box office, pushing Rachel to the peak of her fame.
She would go on to star in Girls Unbutton the following year, and then Sex and Zen 2 in 1996.
However, Rachel turned down Cat III film offers after that.
"Even if I wasn't shooting sexy scenes, and just ordinary ones, there would be people who liked and disliked them. The most important thing is whether you could accept it or not, like it or not. After making three movies, I found that there was a lot of repetition, so I decided not to make that kind of ‘art films’ anymore,” she said.
Photos: Rachel Lee/Instagram
