Joey Wong Cho-yee, also known as Joey Wong Cho-yin and Joey Wang, is one of the most well-known actresses of the 1980s and 90s Hong Kong entertainment scene. Born in 1967, Wong grew up in Taipei. During her teens, she became a basketball player while pursuing a modelling career in Taiwan.
Among the jobs she took on was a television advertisement for sports shoes, after which Wong was scouted by a film producer, who cast her as a leading actress in the Taiwanese film (1983). Soon afterwards she was noticed by Shaw Brothers producer Mona Fong Yat-wah, who convinced Wong to move to Hong Kong to pursue film roles. Wong had originally been passed over for the role.
“[Film producer] Nansun Shi had called me, saying that she was working on a film that she wanted me to be a part of,” she said on then Hong Kong broadcaster ATV’s in 1989. “At the time, I saw in the newspaper that was about to start filming, but the female lead was not set yet. I thought, I really like the name of it, and I’ve already thought about the character.
“So when Nansun called again, I told her, ‘There’s a film you’re working on called , right?’ I said, ‘How about this, I really want to be a part of it. Can I go and audition?’” Shi said she had previously considered Wong for the role, but that she was too tall for it. Nonetheless, the actress persisted.
Wong tried out for the role the next day and, once she was in full hair and make-up, Tsui was convinced she was right for the characte.