Leila Tong

Leila Kong Lai-na (Chinese: 江麗娜 ;born 5 December 1981) known professionally as Leila Tong / Tong Ning (Chinese: 唐寧) is a Hong Kong actress. She was born into an Indonesian[2] Cantonese family. Her birth name is used in her works during her childhood and adolescence.

Leila Kong
Born
Kong Lai-na (江麗娜)

(1981-12-05) 5 December 1981 (age 42)
OccupationActress
Years active1989 – present
SpouseDesmond Tang (2010–2017[1])
Children2
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese唐寧
Simplified Chinese唐宁

Career

At the age of 8, Kong made her first film appearance in director John Woo's action-comedy Once A Thief, which was nominated for several categories at the 11th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards. TVB then recruited Kong as a child star, and she has since then appeared in dramas such as The Greed of Man and State of Divinity.

As an adult, she took a three-year break from the entertainment circle to attend a designing college. Kong has declined TVB's offer to personally manage her.

Before 2004, her popular works include the popular Aqua Heroes and Square Pegs, which also starred Roger Kwok and Jessica Hsuen.

In 2004, she was invited to film CCTV's Liao Zhai along with a host of mainland China's rising stars. The show was extremely popular and spun Liao Zhai II. She also filmed Twin of Brothers, alongside Raymond Lam, Ron Ng, Tavia Yeung and Li Qian of CCTV. Later that year, she starred in The Last Breakthrough, starring Nick Cheung, Raymond Lam and Sonija Kwok. Although The Last Breakthrough did not receive good ratings in HK, it is still remembered and favoured by many as one of the most meaningful and touching series TVB ever made.

The modern sequel to Square Pegs, Life Made Simple was filmed with the same cast and released in 2005. At the end of its run, the series became one of the highest rated of 2005, with Wars of in Laws, which also starred Bosco Wong.

Kong has been nominated for TVB's "Most Improved Actress" award consecutively. In 2004, she entered through Aqua Heroes and Square Pegs. Later in 2005, she made it to the top 10 list with both her character as Angel in Life Made Simple and as Ha Hiu Ching in The Last Breakthrough. Bar Benders was Kong's only series broadcast in 2006 but turned up on TVB's list of top five series of that year.

In 2007, two of her series — Ten Brothers and Family Link — have also made it into TVB's five top-rated dramas of 2007. Kong also came out of War and Destiny, which was received with praise and critical acclaim for her performance. She was invited by CCTV to film The Last Princess with Sammul Chan. The show was received very well in mainland China. In December, she released her first Mandarin music album named Singing with the Moon in Beijing.

The following year, in 2008, she filmed The Greatness of a Hero in TVB, starring as Shangguan Wan'er, a well-known historic figure. The drama also starred Sunny Chan, Kent Cheng, Bernice Liu and Sonija Kwok. She once again collaborated with Kenneth Ma in a new ancient drama, Man in Charge, alongside Kate Tsui. On the second time, she filmed L For Love♥ L For Lies with Stephy Tang and Alex Fong.

Personal life

Kong married Desmond Tang in 2010. The couple met during a collaboration of the stage play, Popcorn Killer (爆谷殺人狂), and dated for three years. Kong uploaded a photo of herself and Tang on Weibo on 10 September 2010 to announce their engagement, with the comment "To all my good friends, thank you all for being by my side to witness my growth. I want to tell everyone now that I am preparing to step into another phase in my life! I am announcing to everyone, I am getting married!" The couple announced that they would not hold a wedding banquet, but would celebrate with a meal with family on both sides. In March 2011, she gave birth to a baby boy, Chun Chun. In January 2015, Kong announced the birth of her second child, a baby girl delivered via caesarian section.[3] However, in 2017, they divorced.[1][4]

Kong is an advocate for animal welfare and environmental conservation. In order to properly reflect her position, she converted to a vegetarian diet in 2013.[5]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNetworkNotes
1990Return to the TruthMan Man
1992The Greed of ManFong FongTVB Jade
1993Racing PeakChung Oi LingTVB Jade
1994InstinctTVB Jade
1995When a Man Loves a WomanAppleTVB Jade
1996State of DivinityKuk Fei YinTVB Jade
2002Legal EntanglementSales in the Candy ShopTVB Jade
A Case of MisadventureSiu TuoTVB Jade
Let's Face ItKo Ka LeiTVB Jade
Burning Flame IIChan Siu LanTVB Jade
Golden FaithTVB Jadeepisode 18
Take My Word For ItYip Ho OiTVB Jade
Square PegsLing Choi DeepTVB Jade
2003Find the LightSiu Sun JiTVB Jade
Aqua HeroesYau WingTVB Jade
Vigilante ForceLuk Lai KunTVB Jade
In the Realm of FancyZi YeTVB Jade
2004Twin of BrothersSi Fei HuenTVB Jade
The Last BreakthroughHa Hiu ChingTVB JadeNominated – Most Improved Female Artiste (Top 5)
The ICAC Investigations 2004MaryTVB Jade
2005Liao ZhaiXiao Xie
Life Made SimpleOn KeiTVB Jade
2006Bar BenderTseung Si TingTVB JadeNominated – Most Improved Female Artiste (Top 5)
Good Against EvilLau Fei Fung
2007The Family LinkSue Siu ManTVB JadeNominated – Best Supporting Actress (Top 5)
Nominated – My Favourite Female Character (Top 24)
Nominated – Most Improved Female Artiste (Top 10)
Ten BrothersHung Siu LanTVB JadeNominated – Most Improved Female Artiste (Top 10)
The Legend of LovePo Hei YiTVB Jade
War and DestinyCheng Yuet FungTVB JadeNominated – Most Improved Female Artiste (Top 10)
Phoenix RisingSo Fei/Yeung Choi-LamTVB Jade(warehoused)
The Last PrincessLi Kai Xin (Lee Hoi Sum)
2009Man in ChargeChong Siu HanTVB Jade
Room For RentDorisRTHK
2010A Pillow Case of Mystery IILuk Siu Dip/Ting Mei YanTVB Jade
Rooms to Let 2010DorisRTHK
2011Love and AgainLau Fuo MeiTVB Jade
ICAC Investigators 2011Man Ka-keiRTHK
2012The Greatness of a HeroShangguan Wan'erTVB Jade(warehoused)
2014The BorderlineDing Siu-hoiHKTV
2015SexpediaherselfHKTVepisode 8
KarmaMichelle FongHKTV
Beyond the RainbowKwok ching-man / Kelly YeungHKTV

Films

The following is the filmography (films) for Leila Tong.[6]

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991Once a Thief
縱橫四海
young Red Bean
1993City Hunter
城市獵人
Kaori (child)
The Bride with White Hair
白髮魔女傳
young Zhuo Yihang
1995The Meaning of Life
1996Those Were the Days
4個32A和一個香蕉少年
young Minnie Liu
1997Lawyer LawyerGat's maid
1999Beach Girl
1999The Boss Up There
生命楂Fit人
Kitty (Fong's deceased girl friend)
2000An Eye for an EyeFan Yuk Shan
2000990714.comNun
2001Chinese HeroesSakura
Ultimate IntelligenceAlice
2002Love is a ButterflyPrince Wah'sgirlfriend
The Untold Story- Suddenly VanishedHelen Chan
2003Tragic RoomLok Yau Nam
The Trouble-Makers
2004Cop Unbowed
誓不低頭
Siu Dip (Butterfly)
2005Summer Breeze
2006Marriage With a Fool
獨家試愛
Sai-Mun
2007House of the InvisiblesGigi
Dead Air
鬼计
Tincy/Fu Wing Sze
2008L For Love♥ L For Lies
我的最愛
Man
2009A Very Short Life
短暫的生命
Becky Lee
2011Big Blue LakeCheung Lai-yee
2015Anniversary
2016Cold War 2
2017Our Time Will Come

[7][8]

Television Shows

YearTitleNetworkRoleNote
2018Stolen Homelands [zh]ViuTVHostEP1-8[9]

Discography

YearAlbum informationTracklist
2007Singing with the Moon 《邀月唱》
Release Date: December 2007
1.邀月唱
2.1234567
3.愛情物語
4.愛若是個圓
5.不走尋常路
6.那麼重要
7.傷心代碼
8.遠方的人
9.說聲GOODBYE

References