HK star Samantha Ko once had only RM309 in her early showbiz years

Samantha Ko's journey to success has been far from easy. Photo: Samantha Ko/Instagram

Hong Kong actress Samantha Ko is one of the city's most recognisable television stars of the modern era.

Since making her acting debut in 2010, the 39-year-old has built an impressive portfolio, starring in dramas including Outbound Love (2014), Love As A Predatory Affair (2016), Battle Of The Seven Sisters (2021) and more.

She reached a career high in January 2024 when she won Best Supporting Actress at the TVB Anniversary Awards for her performance in the hit drama The Queen Of News (2023).

But behind her success lies a difficult journey, marked by challenges that even made her consider walking away from showbiz at one point.

In a recent interview with HK01, Ko revealed she had no income while competing in the 2008 Miss Hong Kong pageant, where she eventually finished in the top five.

During that period, the TVB star had to rely on her parents for financial support.

"I remember when Suki Chui (Hong Kong actress) got married, the standard rate for a wedding gift at the time was HK$800 (RM412), but I had only a little over HK$600 (RM309) in my bank account.

"I could only withdraw HK$600 to give her, so I felt really embarrassed… But that was everything I had," she said.

On top of the financial hardship, Ko had to deal with rumours alleging she had breast augmentation to achieve a voluptuous figure.

She was also the subject of fabricated tabloid reports claiming she was being supported by a wealthy businessman and had suddenly become rich.

"At that time, I felt like everyone was targeting me," she said.

Years later, Ko received a personal apology from a reporter who admitted that the allegations about her being supported by a wealthy businessman were untrue.

The reporter told her they had simply followed their superiors' orders to write the stories, as the reports could boost the magazine's sales.

The rumours also affected Ko's family, particularly her father, who blamed himself for being unable to protect his daughter.

She recalled him saying that the family did not have any powerful connections, which was why others felt they could publish false stories about her.

"For a while, I seriously considered not doing this job anymore," she said.

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Samantha Ko的成功之路并非一帆风顺。照片：Samantha Ko/Instagram

香港女演员高海宁是香港当代最知名的电视明星之一。

自 2010 年首次出道以来，这位 39 岁的女演员已经积累了令人印象深刻的作品，主演了《出走的爱》（2014）、《爱情是掠夺性的》（2016）、《七姐妹之战》（2021）等多部电视剧。

2024年1月，她凭借在热门剧集《新闻女王》（2023）中的出色表现，荣获TVB万千星辉颁奖典礼最佳女配角奖，事业达到巅峰。

但她的成功背后是一段艰难的历程，充满了挑战，甚至一度让她想要退出娱乐圈。

在最近接受HK01采访时，高宝璟透露，她在参加2008年香港小姐竞选期间没有任何收入，最终她获得了前五名的好成绩。

在那段时间里，这位TVB女星不得不依靠父母的经济支持。

“我记得徐淑仪（香港女演员）结婚的时候，当时结婚礼物的标准价格是800港元（412令吉），但我银行账户里只有600多港元（309令吉）。

“我当时只能取出600港元给她，所以我觉得很尴尬……但那是我全部的钱了，”她说。

除了经济困难之外，高宝璟还不得不面对有关她为了拥有丰满身材而进行隆胸手术的传闻。

她还成为一些小报捏造报道的对象，这些报道声称她得到了一位富商的支持，并突然变得富有。

“那时候，我觉得每个人都在针对我，”她说。

多年后，高宝璟收到了一位记者的亲自道歉，该记者承认有关她受富商资助的指控不属实。

记者告诉她，他们只是奉上级命令撰写这些报道，因为这些报道可以提高杂志的销量。

这些谣言也影响了高宝璟的家人，尤其是她的父亲，他自责没能保护好自己的女儿。

她回忆说，他曾说过，他们家没有任何权势人物，所以其他人才觉得可以随意散布关于她的虚假故事。

“有一段时间，我认真考虑过不再做这份工作了，”她说。

香港影星罗家英（79岁）感慨生死：“我大概还能活7、8年。”

78岁的香港天后汪明珠坦言自己没有孩子，曾有过流产经历。

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