Ekin Cheng Yee- Kin - Biography

Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin was born October 4th 1967 in Hong Kong. His parents named him Yee-Kin. Kin means healthy in Chinese and his family's wish was that he would always be healthy. Yee-Kin is healthy and very fit, although he does wear contact lenses. Ekin is the middle child, he has an older brother and a younger sister. His father had to work very hard to support his family and Ekin still really admires him for the sacrifices he made.

Ekin likes to spend his leisure time at home. He enjoys reading and watching movies, especially Tom Hanks and the comedy of Mr Bean. Ekin is also passionate about being in the outdoors, especially on the ocean. He enjoys scuba diving and rock climbing, and exploring the outlying islands near his home in his yacht.

Ekin started in commercials while he was still in high school. After graduating he participated in a singing contest, although he didn't win, he did attract notice, and soon after enrolled in TVB's Martial Arts School. He didn't enjoy martial arts and so switched to the Acting School. A good move. Ekin was soon cast in a number of TVB shows and serials.

Ekin made his first movie "Girls Without Tomorrow" in 1992. He made several romantic comedies before being cast as Chan Ho-Nam in the highly successful Young and Dangerous movies, which propelled Ekin to super-stardom.

Ekin has experienced a lot of pressure from the Hong Kong press. They have torn apart every facet of his life. He has only been the subject of one major news story, however, when he left Maggie Sui for Gigi Leung Wing-Kei. Ekin told reporters that he was an ordinary guy who had fallen out of love with one person and in love with an another. Since breaking up with Gigi Leung at the beginning of 2006, Ekin has recently begun a relationship with TVB actress Yoyo Mung. As always Ekin's personal life draws much media attention. He is often pursued and even secretly filmed by a weekly magazines, the resulting rumors and gossip generated by these invasions af privacy have caused him to sometimes be extremely angry and resentful of the press.

During the last year Ekin has been involved in a number of charitable activities. He is the spokesman for the Ocean Environment for the World Wildlife Fund. He also attends activities for the Make a Wish Foundation, Neighborhood Care, and local orphanages. He has also been featured in several prominent magazines through out the year.

In October 2002, Ekin bid farewell to his beloved singing teacher, Roman Tam. He said that he was very proud to have been his student. he supports the Hepatitis and Blood Cancer Foundations in honor of his teacher.

Ekin continues to make movies and music. His recent movie My Wife is 18 was very successful and Ekin is very much in demand. The Twins Effect also starring Edison Chan and both of the Twins, Charlene and Gillian, with a cameo appearance by Jackie Chan, was released summer of 2003. Also an art film set in Qing Dao on Mainland China Floating Landscapes with Liu Yue and Karina Lam was among the foreign films shown at both the Venice and Berlin Film Festivals. This movie is also scheduled for release in 2003. Ekin recently finished working on two other movies, the first with Vicky Zhao as his co-star. The title for this movie is Dream Girlfriend. He has also completed filming Heroic Duo with Leon Lai and Karina Lam. Both of the these movies were released in the Fall of 2003. He recently finished a movie with Miriam Yeung and Denise Ho as his costars. the movie called Anna in KungFu Land was released for Xmas 2003. Ekin has also finished work on a comedy again working with The Twins. The title of the movie is Protege de la Rose Noire. His next project was a movie about men under pressure 6 Heroic Men. In 2005 Ekin finished another movie with Charlene called Leave Me Alone. His most recent movies include It Had To Be You with Karena Lam and also a second collaboration with Aaron Kwok in Divergence which is based on a Beijing Opera. This movie also stars Daniel Wu.

In 2006 Ekin has been working on a number of new projects. He will play Ultraman Elite for a syndicated TV show, he also has the leading role in a new Peng Brother's movie The Forest of Death. Ekin's record company BMA has branched out into the film industry. Ekin has a cameo role in their first movie My Name is Fame, but in the second he will have a more substantial role. Stephen Fung and Alex Fong will also star in this movie. This movie Heavenly Mission was released in 2007. Ekin s latest film with Shawn Yue Rule Number 1 directed by Kelvin Tong, won Best Actor Awards for both Cheng and Yue. Ekin recently finished work on The Storm Warriors a sequel to the blockbuster The Stormriders directed by Peng Brothers and Claustrophobia directed by screen writer Ivy Ho. He is currently working in Japan on The Legend of Kamui.

In February of 2003 Ekin also gave a mini-concert for his fans. He often takes time out of his busy schedule to meet with his fans, recently attending fan gatherings in both Singapore and Korea. He also has plans to make another album, and work on a TV drama for TVB. The drama Always Ready has finished shooting and is expected to be aired in the Fall of 2005. His most recent television work has been a portrayal of Hua Yuan Jia the national Chinese hero for a mainland production. His co-star from Young and Dangerous days Jordan Chan also stared in this production.

Ekin has been asked to endorse a number of products the most notable being Shiseido JS cosmetics, Tag Heuer Watches and Canon digital cameras. In 2004 Ekin added Seiko Watches to his line of endorsements. He also regularly models for YCMD's line of casual clothing.

After a difficult period for his singing career while under contract to EEG, in April 2004 he returned to BMG his former record company with whom he released the majority of his albums. With the release of his new album, Discover, in July 2004, Ekin is enjoying top record sales. He has been sought after by many magazines, radio stations and television for interviews. He has also held autograph sessions for fans. Fans who purchased the album received tickets for a mini concert to be held at the end of the month. Ekin's manager Lam Shan Shan is now an executive with the BMA record company. Ekin has also signed with this company. In September Ekin performed at a concert in Shanghai sponsored by Yepp.

2006 also saw the publication of Ekin's first book, Looking Into Ekin's Eyes. The book has been so sucessful that it is currently in it's third edition.