Gigi Lai had to support her family when she was just 14

Former actress Gigi Lai’s road to success has not always been an easy one. On the first day of school in Hong Kong last Friday (Sept 1), the now successful entrepreneur posted on Weibo about how she missed going to school and revealed that she had been the breadwinner of her family since she was 14 years old.

Looking back at her school days, Gigi expressed that it is now a “very distant memory” due to her stepping into the working world at a young age.

Nonetheless, she felt very grateful for having gone to school, as she said it was a place where one could meet good teachers, friendly students and forge lifelong friendships as well as having classes for one to learn.

Despite her success, the 45-year-old has not forgotten her roots and where she started from, as she encouraged students to not only study hard but also to enjoy and cherish their youth.

From the start, Gigi’s childhood had not been the easiest as her family was not financially stable to begin with. Her father was deaf and could not hold down a proper job and her mother was only working as a truck driver. This was not sufficient to make ends meet and her family subsequently went bankrupt, causing her to enter the entertainment industry at the mere age of 14 to earn money to support her family.

Following her breakthrough into the industry, the former actress has made a notable name for herself by winning the Most Popular Actress Award at the 2004 TVB Anniversary Awards and also starring in several box office hits, one of them being the Young and Dangerous film series. However in 2007, Gigi announced that she would be taking a break from the industry to concentrate on looking after her brother's dermatology business after he was seriously injured in a car accident.

Gigi officially dropped out of showbiz shortly after in 2008 and has also succeeded in the business world, leading her to be promoted to Chairman of the dermatology centre early this year. She married businessman Patrick Ma in 2008 and the couple have 3 daughters together.

Photo: PBE Media

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