Film grants belated recognition to first Chinese Bond girl

Breaking into London show business

When studying at RADA, Tsai was a misfit. Her fellow students believed this 150-centimeter-tall Asian woman would end up nowhere, as London's theater scene was never short of Eastern faces.

However, the 23-year-old Tsai shot to stardom overnight in 1959, leaving most of her old fellows in the dust. That was due to a stage drama, The World of Suzie Wong, in which she bared her shoulder in a satin slip as Suzie Wong, a Hong Kong courtesan.

The West End show was a big hit and played to sold-out audiences, making Tsai Chin's name glitter on a huge neon sign at the Prince of Wales Theater throughout its three-year run. Meanwhile, the Chinese actress started a fad in London where women vigorously copied her style, dyed their hair black, wore qipao dresses, and used make up to create almond-shaped eyes.

In the 1960s, aside from captivating western audiences by playing doe-eyed Chinese beauties in James Bond and Fu Manchu films, Tsai Chin branched out into the music industry by recording her single, The Ding Dong Song for Decca Records. The single soon hit the top of the music charts in Asia. In her heyday, the artist was so popular that she even had a Chinese leopard in the London Zoo named after her.