In Asia, most entertainers are expected to juggle multiple talents, meaning that pop stars often act and actors often sing. However, not many people in the entertainment industry can extend their talents as wide as Sylvia Chang. By any measure, Chang’s filmography as a film actor in the past 50 years is already enough to make her a legend in her own right, but she has also acted on the stage; has performed as a pop star (her song The Cost of Love is a generational favourite); has written, produced and directed films; has worked as a radio DJ; and has even chaired a film festival for multiple years. A prominent figure in not just Taiwan or Hong Kong, but all of Chinese-language cinema, Chang is truly a cinematic Renaissance woman unlike any other.
As the record holder for the most nominated actor at the Golden Horse Awards (11 acting nominations and three wins), Chang is already unparallelled as an actor. With over a hundred roles under her belt, Chang has refused to be pigeonholed into archetypes and cliches. Her roles cover all genres, from comedy to wuxia to serious arthouse dramas. No matter what, Chang has always found ways to surprise her audiences. In Tsui Hark’s Shanghai Blues (1984), she plays a nightclub performer who makes it through the turmoil of post-war Shanghai with grit and tough survival instincts. In Chen Kun-hou’s My Favorite Season (1985), she plays an independent career woman who defies social conventions by searching for a surrogate husband for her baby from an extramarital affair. In one of her most acclaimed roles to date, she plays a mother who spends a lifetime caring for her haemophilia-afflicted son in playwright Raymond To’s Forever and Ever (2001). In her most recent film, Huang Xi’s Daughter’s Daughter (2024), she plays a mother struggling with a difficult dilemma after her daughter’s untimely death, only to be reminded of the aftermath of another difficult decision decades ago. Regardless of the genre she is working in, Chang always has brought intensity, elegance and emotional authenticity to her characters.
In the 1980s, Chang also branched out to writing and directing. One of the few active female filmmakers of her generation, Chang often takes sensitive and incisive approaches to stories about women of all backgrounds. Her second directorial effort, Passion (1986), explores female friendship and romantic entanglements in Hong Kong’s then bourgeoning middle-class. In what could be considered a companion piece, Tempting Heart (1999) tells a story of teenage first love from a feminine perspective and even includes a meta twist that sees Chang play a screenwriter of the film-within-a-film, analysing the story with a fellow screenwriter. Both 20 30 40 (2004) and Love Education (2017) also explore the contrasts between the experiences of women in different generations.
But just as she does with her choice in roles, Chang has never boxed herself in with a certain type of stories as a filmmaker. With Run Papa Run (2008), Chang’s deep dive into the challenges of fatherhood, she employs a vibrant, MTV-esque visual style to tell the story of a triad member trying to keep his work and personal lives separate. In Princess D, Chang ponders mankind’s ever-shifting relationship with technology and the virtual world with a story about a computer programmer who turns his crush into a virtual idol. If there is a common thread that ties Chang’s creative work together, it’s her continuing interest in compelling conundrums of the human experience and riveting characters that audiences can relate to.
In addition to her creative work, Chang has also shepherded new talents throughout her career. While serving as the Taiwan representative of Hong Kong film outfit Cinema City in the early 1980s, Chang discovered Edward Yang and produced his feature directorial debut, That Day on the Beach (which she also starred in). Since then, Chang has lent her talents to films by new directors, including starring in Kenneth Bi’s Rice Rhapsody (2005) and Tan Seng Kiat’s Shuttle Life (2017), as well as producing Hong Kong documentary My Way (2012) and longtime assistant director Benny Kung’s forthcoming directorial debut, Measure in Love (2025). She also famously serves as mentor to actors Rene Liu, Angelica Lee and Kate Yeung, all of whom co-starred with Chang in 20 30 40.
It’s a no-brainer that everyone in the film industry addresses Chang as “Big Sister Chang”. It’s not only a sign of respect for her accomplishments or her seniority in the industry – her footprints all over the film industry truly make her a big sister to all.
Kevin Ma