Charlene Choi

Charlene Choi (Cai Zhuoyan), born October 17, 1980, is from Hong Kong. Her father, Cai Jiusheng, once served as an executive at Hong Kong Feng Shengxingye Entertainment Company. Her parents divorced when she was 12, and she was subsequently raised by her father. She liked singing and dancing from a young age, but in junior high, following her father's advice, she did not immediately sign with any entertainment company. In her final year of high school she began working part‑time as a model, mainly doing magazine and advertising shoots.

On May 18, 2001, Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung (Zhong Xintong) formed the female singing duo Twins and released their first EP, Twins, officially debuting. In September 2002, she held three consecutive “Ichiban Exciting Concerts” at the Hong Kong Coliseum, becoming at the time the youngest female and Hong Kong artist to hold concerts at the Coliseum. That same year she starred in the film Chang Zai Wo Xin (常在我心; literal English: Always in My Heart) and was nominated for the Best New Performer award at the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 2003, Choi held five New Year’s concerts at the Coliseum titled the “04 Fun Concerts” (零4好玩演唱會). In 2004, as a member of Twins she received the Media Award for Artist of the Year at the Four-Stations Joint Music Awards. In 2005, Twins began to enter the Mandarin market and released the album Jianxi Ai Shen (见习爱神), which sold 800,000 copies. That same year she contributed lyrics to songs for the film A Chinese Tall Story (情癫大圣). In 2006 she held four “One and Only” concerts at the Coliseum and had a wax figure unveiled for her at Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong, becoming that year the youngest Hong Kong artist to receive that honor. She also released a self-composed song, “You Are Not a Good Lover” (你不是好情人).

In 2008, Twins won the “Most Popular Hong Kong Female Singer in the Asia-Pacific” award for the first time. Charlene Choi began pursuing independent projects, releasing a solo single “Make A Wish” and duetting with Singaporean singer JJ Lin (Lin Junjie) on the song “Little Dimples” (小酒窝), which won several Asian music awards. In 2009 she formally released her first solo album, Er Que Yi (二缺一), which achieved platinum certification. Her singing career continued to expand, and she went on to release multiple solo albums and diverse works.

From 2012 onward, Choi continued to release Cantonese and Mandarin albums, winning various music awards including “Hong Kong’s Most Popular Female Singer.” She has received multiple nominations and honors at major film awards such as the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Hong Kong Film Critics’ Awards (Gold Bauhinia Awards), and her work spans film, television, music, stage and charity. She has been actively involved in social and charitable projects, serving as an ambassador for several charities and donating to disaster relief on multiple occasions.

Beyond performing, Choi has worked in songwriting, composing, publishing, directing and design, earning recognition in the industry. She reportedly registered a marriage with Ronald Cheng (Zheng Zhongji) in Los Angeles in 2006 and announced their divorce in 2010. She has since had romantic relationships with William Chan (Chen Weiting) and Shi Hengcong, among others. In recent years she has remained active in variety shows, film and music, showcasing a progressively mature public image and receiving continued attention and acclaim from the industry and the public.

In 2024, Charlene Choi and Twins announced their comeback, releasing a new EP, We Are Twins, and holding a series of concerts at the Hong Kong Hung Hom (Hung Kiu) Coliseum, continuing to influence the Asian entertainment scene.