Carina Lau

In 2016, she was one of the celebrities appearing on the Chinese reality show Up Idol. Since then, she has made guest appearances in other Mainland reality TV shows. In June 2017, she, along with her husband, was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Lau revealed in 2008 that she was abducted by four men working for a triad boss, as "punishment" for having refused a film offer. She said that she had not been taken advantage of during her two-hour ordeal.

She has been in a relationship with Tony Leung Chiu-wai since 1989. The couple married on 21 July 2008 at the Uma Paro resort in Bhutan. The wedding itself cost more than HK$30 million and Lau's 12-carat (2.4 g) Cartier wedding ring is worth over HK$10 million. Guests included singer Faye Wong who performed for them on their special day. Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai also directed the ceremony. The wedding created a media frenzy in Hong Kong, with companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue the wedding party.

Naked pictures of Carina Lau were published in the 30 October 2002 edition of East Week (magazine), years after Lau was kidnapped by triads who punished her for refusing to take part in a film they were funding.

The nude photos revealed the actress in distress. Massive protests and petitions were held by fellow Hong Kong entertainers, and media ethics by Hong Kong tabloids and gossip magazines were questioned. The magazine was shut down in November 2002, only to be resumed in late 2003. Mong, the publisher of the photo who is 52 years old as of 2009, received a 5-month jail sentence after pleading guilty in December 2008 to publishing obscene photos. Mong now lives in Beijing.

There have long been rumours that Tony Leung and actress Maggie Cheung were romantically involved, which is a hot topic among media outlets in Greater China due to the three's celebrity. Leung and Cheung starred in the film In the Mood for Love together in 1999. The rumoured Lau-Cheung feud was put to an end in 2013 when Lau uploaded a photo of them together to social media. Regarding the love triangle, Lau said in September 2016, during an interview on The Jin Xing Show that 'she knows about the affair as much as the public does', that 'if he really likes Maggie Cheung, I'd be happy too. It's his decision.'

In 1990, during the filming of Days of Being Wild, Lau was abducted for several hours, and topless photos of her were taken. At the time, local papers, through Reuters news agency, reported that Lau was kidnapped, though a police report was not filed. It was believed that the man behind the kidnapping is Albert Yeung, a successful businessman with whom Lau was having a financial dispute. Yeung has said that Lau never wanted to talk about what happened in those missing hours with anyone, including him.

Lau then expanded to films. She was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for her role in Her Beautiful Life Lies (1989). She received acclaim for her role in Days of Being Wild (1991), one of her many collaborations with film director Wong Kar-wai. Despite being embroiled in tabloid scandals, Lau's impressive turn as vivacious cabaret dancer in the film put the focus back onto her talent. She continued to showcase her versatility with impressive performances in martial arts epic Saviour of the Soul (1991), biopic Center Stage (1991), cross-dressing comedy He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994) and offbeat romance Gigolo and Whore (1994). Following parts in the wuxia classic Ashes of Time (1994) and James Bond pastiche Forbidden City Cop (1997), Lau once again attracted the attention of various awards juries with her measured portrayals of bisexual silk factory owner Wan in Intimates (1997) and a prostitute in 19th Century epic Flowers of Shanghai (1998).

Lau had a relationship with Hong Kong tycoon Julian Hui from 1986 to 1988. They were engaged and lived together, until in April 1988 Hui announced their split. The media described it to be a failed attempt on Lau's part to marry into a wealthy family, when Lau said publicly they split amicably and she remains friends with Hui and his family. Hui is currently married to actress Michelle Reis from 2008.

Lau made her on-screen debut in The Duke of Mount Deer (1984). She skyrocketed to fame following her role as a wealthy heiress in one of Hong Kong's most-watched ever series, Looking Back in Anger (1989).

Carina Lau Kar-ling (traditional Chinese: 劉嘉玲 ; simplified Chinese: 刘嘉玲 , born 8 December 1965) is a Hong Kong Canadian actress and singer. She started her acting career in TVB, before going on to achieve success in films after 2nd year at the college. She was especially notable in the 1980s for her girl-next-door type roles in films. She also plays Empress Wu Zetian in Tsui Hark's Detective Dee films, starting with Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame in 2010. She has won Best Actress awards at Hong Kong Film Award and Mainland China's Golden Rooster Awards, and nominated at Cannes Film Festival and Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards.

Lau was born in Suzhou, China, in 1965. She moved to Hong Kong at the age of fifteen, and joined TVB's acting classes. She holds citizenship from China and Canada.