The transcript below is from the video “She played the sister of Bruce Lee and owned hapkido (Angela Mao)” by OLD COMBAT CINEMA.

OLD COMBAT CINEMA:

Hi friends. Angela Mao was born to a local famous Peking Opera actor on September 20, 1950 in Taiwan. From a young age, she studied opera and ballet, and at the age of eight she was sent to the local Peking Opera School, after which her life turned into a series of difficult and exhausting trainings for ten long years. During her studies, she mastered taekwondo and hapkido, as well as kungfu and some other types of martial arts, so she graduated from school prepared in all respects.

OLD COMBAT CINEMA:

Together with her, future stars of Hong Kong cinema, such as James Tien and Charlie Chin, studied martial arts. The girl came to the cinema later than everyone else and did not stay in it for so long, but she has enough fans even now. In 1968, she starred in the Taiwanese film The Eight Robbers, starring Paul Chang. In 1969, she arrived in Hong Kong, where she was immediately noticed by director Wong Fung, who convinced the girl to sign a contract with the then -nascent Golden Harvest studio.

OLD COMBAT CINEMA:

The manager of Golden Harvest, Raymond Chow, immediately realized that Angela would be a good idea and signed her for several films at once. These are the films “Rough River” for which Wong was looking for an actress. And “The Invincible Eight” in which Angela played with her longtime friend James Tien. The girl was a real find for action directors. She had excellent combat training, she was charming and quickly mastered the basics of acting, and the very next year the film Hapkido appeared, which made her more popular.

OLD COMBAT CINEMA:

In the same 72 year, the kungfu action movie “Lady Whirlwind” was released, which further strengthened her status and in 1973 she became a full-fledged star of martial cinema. Roles fell on her like a cornucopia, but not all of them were the main ones. But the girl managed to make even her small appearances bright and memorable. We are talking here primarily about the cult film “Enter the Dragon”, in which she played the sister of the protagonist performed by the main star of the fighting movie, Bruce Lee.

OLD COMBAT CINEMA:

Although her character spent very little screen time and received only $100 for the role, the film was a huge hit in the west. Angela was noticed, prompting Golden Harvest to invest in the western release of some of her other films. Simultaneously with her career, the girl arranged her personal life. In 1974, she met a young man named Kelly Lau, and in 1976 gave birth to his daughter. Around this time, the contract with Golden Harvest also ended, after which Angela and her family returned to Taiwan, where she continued to act with redoubled energy.

OLD COMBAT CINEMA:

Her films since 1977, although not as well known as hits Golden Harvest, but among them there are good pictures that have found their audience. Nevertheless, in 1982, the actress decides to leave the cinema, as the traditional kungfu cinema was slowly but surely dying out and was replaced by stunt and acrobatic films. At the moment, the girl lives in New York and runs a small restaurant. By the way, for promoting hapkido with her film of the same name, Mao was awarded an honorary second dan. She is currently in her 70s, but she still keeps herself in good shape and looks great. We wish her health and longevity. Like and subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss the next video.