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He was awarded the Golden Needle Award, the highest distinction of the RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards, in 1999. His comeback as a recording artist in the late 1990s, particularly with his 1996 album Red, was noted for sonic experimentation and extravagant, graphic imagery. Cheung's reputation as a queer celebrity consolidated with his role in the 1997 drama Happy Together, a film explicitly depicting a homosexual male relationship. His role as a homosexual Peking opera actor in Farewell My Concubine (1993) catapulted him to prominence in the western world. He played a womaniser longing for the return of his estranged mother in Days of Being Wild (1990), which won him Best Actor at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards. He announced his "retirement" from music and emigrated to Canada in 1989, but remained active in his burgeoning acting career.Ĭheung achieved widespread recognition as an actor in the 1990s.
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In addition to music, Cheung had breakthrough movie roles as a disillusioned teenager in Nomad (1982) and as a police officer torn between justice and brotherhood in A Better Tomorrow (1986).

Cheung's continued success with a string of hit albums in the mid- and late-1980s, most notably 1987 best-seller Summer Romance, won him numerous awards, including Most Popular Male Artist at the 19 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards. He achieved wide popularity with his 1984 self-titled album and its single "Monica", whose upbeat dance production introduced a new popular trend to Cantopop in addition to the contemporary pool of sentimental ballads. His career was marked with both praise and criticism, with numerous public discussions focusing on his sexual orientation and androgynous persona.īorn Cheung Fat-chung in British Hong Kong, Cheung studied in England from the age of 12 until returning to Hong Kong in 1976 to pursue a career in show business. His venture into acting in the 1990s was recognised for his portrayal of queer characters in a then-conservative film industry. He was one of the most prominent pioneers that shaped the identity of Cantopop during the 1980s and became known for his flamboyant, often outrageous stage appearance. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Leslie Cheung and the Chinese-style name is Cheung Kwok-wing. In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Cheung.
