Grace Chang

{{Short description|Hong Kong-Chinese actress and singer}} {{infobox person |name = Grace Chang |image = Grace Chang.jpg |alt = Grace Chang at Lee's Studio |caption = Grace Chang at Lee's Studio |birth_name = 張玉芳 |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1933|6|13}} |birth_place = Nanjing, Jiangsu, China |other_names = Ko Lan |occupation = Singer, Actress |spouse = Gao Fuquan (married in 1961) | module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes | t = 葛蘭 | s = 葛兰 | p = Gě Lán }} }} '''Grace Chang''' (born 13 June 1933), known in Chinese as '''Ko Lan''' (葛蘭), is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She was a popular idol in the 1950s, especially among students and the middle class.<ref name="KarBren2004">{{cite book|author1=Law Kar|author2=Frank Bren|author3=Sam Ho |title=Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-cultural View |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85DKMniFe4gC&pg=PA259|year=2004|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-4986-0|pages=259–260}}</ref>

She was a renowned Cathay Organization actress with many successes including ''It Blossoms Again'', ''The Wild, Wild Rose'', and ''Mambo Girl''. Chang appeared in 33 films during her eleven-year acting career. Her last actual appearance was in 1964 though she has provided vocals for soundtracks.

== Biography == Chang was a Haining, Zhejiang native, born in Nanjing and grew up in Shanghai. In 1948, Chang moved to Hong Kong with her father. The great singer-actress Chow Hsuan was her idol.<ref name="KarBren2004"/>

Chang's stage name was Ko Lan, an approximation of her English name Grace. She began vocal training in her childhood. Chang began her career with Taishan Pictures where she starred in her debut show, “Seven Sisters” in 1952.

In 1961, Chang married Kao Fuchuan in London, England. Chang retired from acting in 1964.

A biography was written about her career titled ''The Life of Grace Chang''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Life of Grace Chang |url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G55ZC555/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MU2VFA5B7Y8N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aZg2P2IJCH-Sn4UsDS1iE7FR5d-NJ5GMgXc8TdarcpvTfjYnuG4pjmkiMbVnUjsFAOwSSyy-xXOLCOZEnksTfAa5puDPLCNmG27jNoJVqSzsum6pfK8cEV9uEEGOpBNfF73qYiRx_O_8I1ps6VRJAYk0Cx1-uKu0NQR3UxiT6A6bJM58GeSazB0VF6Ks_UiC9-LytwZiuNJX7xN21s22cDWdMh-4_p71DMxTHf5Xcr0.SEaPmC6b3lB4WFz11I8NAKoOabJBTcQYudxDuet7NzA&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+life+of+grace+chang&qid=1764902004&sprefix=the+life+of+grace+chan%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1 |website=Kindle}}</ref>.

==Filmography== * 1953 ''Seven Sisters'' * 1954 ''Red Bloom in the Snow'' * 1954 ''Blood-Stained Flowers'' * 1954 ''It Blossoms Again'' * 1955 ''Soldier of Fortune''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scmp.com/article/374152/memories-mambo-girl |title=Memories of the mambo girl |website=scmp.com |date=March 14, 2002 |accessdate=April 18, 2021}}</ref> * 1956 ''Surprise'' * 1956 ''The ingenious Seduction'' * 1956 ''The Long Lane'' * 1956 ''Over the Rolling Hills'' * 1956 ''The Story of a Fur Coat''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=2363&display_set=eng |title=The Story of a Fur Coat |website=hkmdb.com |date=December 14, 1956 |accessdate=April 18, 2021}}</ref> * 1957 ''Mambo Girl''<ref>{{cite book |title=Sounding the Modern Woman |chapter=The Mambo Girl |chapter-url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/173/chapter-abstract/106812/The-Mambo-Girl?redirectedFrom=fulltext |date=May 2015 |pages=139–183 |doi=10.1215/9780822375623-005 |isbn=978-0-8223-7562-3 |accessdate=April 18, 2021|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2008/cteq/mambo-girl/ |title=Mambo Girl |website=sensesofcinema.com |first=Kevin |last=Lee |date=May 2008 |accessdate=April 18, 2021}}</ref> * 1957 ''Booze, Boobs and Bucks'' * 1957 ''Love and Crime'' * 1957 ''Murder in the Night'' * 1958 ''Torrents of Desire'' * 1958 ''Golden Phoenix'' * ''Crimes of Passion'' (1959) * ''Spring Song'' (1959) * 1959 ''Air Hostess'' - Lin Ke-Ping. in French.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=2897&display_set=eng |title=Air Hostess |website=hkmdb.com |date=June 4, 1959 |accessdate=April 18, 2021}}</ref> * 1959 ''Our Dream Car'' - Lee Jiaying.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=2921&display_set=eng |title=Our Dream Car |website=hkmdb.com |date=July 9, 1959 |accessdate=April 18, 2021}}</ref> * ''My Darling Sister'' (1959) * ''The Girl With a Thousand Faces'' (1960) * ''The June Bride'' (1960) * 1960 ''Forever Yours'' - Yu Liying.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=3103&display_set=eng |title=Forever Yours |website=hkmdb.com |date=April 7, 1960 |accessdate=April 18, 2021}}</ref> * ''The Loving Couple'' (1960) * ''Miss Pony-Tail'' (1960) * ''The Wild, Wild Rose'' (1960) * ''Sun, Moon and Star'' (1961) * ''Sun, Moon and Star Part 2'' (1961) * ''Because of Her'' (1963) * ''The Magic Lamp'' (1964) * ''A Story of Three Loves Part 1'' (1964) * ''A Story of Three Loves Part 2'' (1964) * ''The Hole'' (1998) (soundtrack only) * ''The Wayward Cloud'' (2005) (soundtrack only) * ''Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang'' (2008) (soundtrack only) * ''Crazy Rich Asians'' (2018) (soundtrack only)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name| id=0151700 | name=Grace Chang}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Grace}} Category:1933 births Category:Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong Category:Living people Category:Hong Kong film actresses Category:Singers from Nanjing Category:People from Shanghai Category:Actresses from Nanjing Category:20th-century Chinese actresses Category:20th-century Chinese women singers Category:Pathé Records (Hong Kong) artists