Athena Chu (Chu Yan in Cantonese, Zhu Yin in Mandarin) was born in October 25, 1971 in Hong Kong . A pure local product, she was raised under the growing economical and cultural boom of the British Colony. But, unlike many of her future colleagues, her striking beauty wasn't the main asset that propelled her into the acting world. It's a real vocation, a deep interest for acting that led the teenager to enter the Academy of Performing Arts of Hong Kong. Her skills were soon appreciated and she became one of the leading students of the academy.
Always on the lookout for new talents, the all mighty TV network TVB took notice of her talent and wasted no time in proposing her to finance her study with a contact at the end. The kind of proposition no one could refuse!
Consequently, around the same time she graduated, Athena started appearing on the Hong Kong small screen. Her youth made her a perfect candidate for hosting a popular kid TV-show called Space Shuttle 2000. Specialists of Hong Kong movie world will certainly remember the show for being one of the first assignments of superstar Stephen Chow. A personality who had a isignificant influence in the beginning of Chu's cinema career. The experience was probably more enjoyable for her than for Chow, who is known to dislike children!
It's not clear if, because of this connection, Stephen Chow and Gordon Chan cast her in Fight Back to School 2, her debut feature film. |