# Lin Dai as a cute, little tomboy.        Born on 27 December 1934 as Cheng Yueru, Linda Lin Dai was the eldest daughter of politician Cheng Siyuan, a native of Binyang county, Guangxi province. War had marked Lin Dai's childhood with upheavals and relocation. In 1948 when she was still a junior student at the Huiwen Girls' College in Nanjing, Lin Dai had to move to Hong Kong with her family for political reasons. Then she continued her studies at the New Asia College. # This was the portrait that opened the door to Lin Dai's stardom.        In 1951, Lin Dai took some photos at Zong Weigeng's Salon Studio. One of the pictures was enlarged and put in the window, which attracted the attention of Yuan Yang'an, the manager of Great Wall Film Production Limited. He invited Lin Dai to join the company and gave her the stage name "Lin Dai" adopted from her English name "Linda".        In Great Wall Lin Dai was never given any chance to act in front of the camera. In 1952, as recommended by Yan Jun she joined Yung Hwa Films Company and made her first movie Singing Under the Moon (1953), adopted from Shen Congwen's novel The Border Town. This first attempt was an overwhelming blockbuster and made Lin Dai the idol of countless fans overnight. After 1953 when Yung Hwa plunged into financial crisis, Lin Dai became a freelance actress and played in productions of many companies, including the powerful duo MP&GI and Shaw Brothers. One of the MP&GI works, Scarlet Doll (1958), even became the box office champion in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

# A screenshot of Singing Under the Moon, Lin Dai's first appearance on the silver screen.

Lin Dai was first crowned the Movie Queen at the fourth Asian Film Festival for her outstanding performance in Golden Lotus (1957), an MP&GI production. She became the Best Actress again the next year for her role in Diau Charn, this time a Shaw Brothers production.        Despite her tight schedule, Lin Dai spent several months attending drama and linguistics classes at Columbia University, New York, where she met and fell in love with Long Shengxun, a son of former governor of Yunnan province Long Yun. On 12 February 1961, they got married at the Rosary Church, Tsim Sha Tsui.

# A snapshot during her studies at the Columbia University, New York.

# The newly-weds received blessings from friends and relatives.

After marriage Lin Dai signed a contract with Shaw Brothers and her career continued to prosper. She won the Best Actress for the third and fourth time at the Asian Film Festival in 1961 and 1962 for her performance in Les Belles (1961) and Love without End (1961). The four Best Actress coronations were not only Lin Dai's personal glory but also unprecedented achievements in the history of Chinese cinema. Her fame further spread across the borders and ascended to international circles. In 1962 another work of Lin Dai, Madame White Snake, broke all the box office records for local and foreign productions screened in Hong Kong.

# Lin Dai's unprecedented ascensions to the throne of Movie Queen.

In December 1961, Lin Dai became the godmother of Fung Bobo, the "Talented Child Star", or Hong Kong's Shirley Temple. On 6 April 1963, Lin Dai gave birth to a son in New York called Long Zonghan.

# Lin Dai and her goddaughter Fung Bo Bo.

# Lin Dai with her husband and their beloved son.

On 17 July 1964, due to "family trivials" Lin Dai committed suicide at home with an overdose of sleeping pills and gas emission. She died just five months before her 30th birthday. Her tragic death left Chinese communities around the world shocked with grief. Thousands of fans flocked to her funeral. She was buried at the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley. # Poster of the photo exhibition in memory of Hong Kong's Movie Queen.

# Lin Dai's graveyard was always flooded with flowers.        One month after Lin Dai's death, Shaw Brothers and International Photo Supply Company jointly organised a two-day photo exhibition at City Hall in memory of the Movie Queen. In response to requests of her passionate fans, the exhibition was later extended for a week in September at President Hotel, Kowloon.        In 1966, Asian Film Festival gave a special award to Blue and Black, the unfinished work of Lin Dai, to commemorate her achievements.        On 15 November 1995, Hong Kong Post Office issued the first set of Hong Kong Movie Stars stamps, featuring Lin Dai, kung fu guru Bruce Lee, Cantonese opera superstars Ren Jianhui and Liang Xingbo, and Lin Dai was the only one from Mandarin cinema. Despite her tragic death more than three decades ago, Lin Dai is unquestionably still the unforgettable Movie Queen of Hong Kong.

# The first Hong Kong stamp featuring the Movie Queen.

Foreword ｜ Biography ｜ Filmography ｜ Photo Gallery ｜ 溫柔鄉 ｜ 追 ｜ Linda & Friends