Louisa Mak

Louisa Mak
麥明詩
Mak in March 2024
Born	Mak Ming-sze (1991-12-11) 11 December 1991 Australia
Education	Newnham College, Cambridge (MA)
Occupations	Actress Host Lawyer Entrepreneur
Years active	2015–present
Spouse	Keith Shing ​ ​ (m. 2024)​

Louisa Mak Ming-sze (; born 11 December 1991) is a multifaceted Hong Kong professional known for her work as an actress, television presenter, lawyer, and businesswoman. Following her graduation from the University of Cambridge with a law degree, Mak transitioned into the entertainment industry by securing the title at the Miss Hong Kong Pageant in 2015. She appeared in Patrick Kong's romantic movie L for Love L for Lies too (2016), as well as TVB series such as Line Walker: The Prelude and My Ages Apart (2017). Her performance in the legal drama OMG, Your Honour (2018) garnered her a nomination for the TVB Anniversary Award for Most Improved Female Artiste. Between 2017 and 2019, she co-hosted the TVB talk show Young And Restless.

In 2019, Mak stepped away from show business to join McKinsey & Company as an associate after passing the New York bar exam. She left McKinsey in 2022 to co-establish Project Melo, an initiative dedicated to empowering young people. In 2023, she was named director of .

Early life and education

Born on 11 December 1991 in Australia, Mak Ming-sze grew up in a middle-income household. Her father taught chemistry and served as vice principal at Sheng Kung Hui Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School, while her mother worked as an occupational therapist. She has an older brother, Vincent, who practices plastic surgery. The family moved to Hong Kong in 1994. Raised in Ma On Shan, Mak attended Diocesan Girls' Junior School where she excelled academically. She trained in ballet, piano, and vocal music, achieving Grade 8 from ABRSM in both piano and singing. Additionally, she was actively involved in the school choir.

In 2003, Mak represented Hong Kong at a space camp program held in Alabama, USA, where she also welcomed astronaut Yang Liwei. Upon completing primary education, she continued her studies at Diocesan Girls' School. During a family visit to King's College, Cambridge in 2007, she developed aspirations to study there. Although history interested her, she opted to focus on science subjects to maximize academic performance. She attained straight A grades across ten subjects in the 2009 Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination.

To prepare for British higher education standards, Mak relocated to Crowthorne, Berkshire for sixth form studies at Wellington College. After completing her A-Levels in 2011, she pursued law at Newnham College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, she competed as a rower and founded the Hong Kong and China Affairs Society where she served as president.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with upper second class honours in law in 2014; this was later converted to a Master of Arts by seniority in 2018. In February 2015, Mak successfully passed the New York Bar Examination, and was formally called to the bar in November 2018.

2015–2016: Triumph at Miss Hong Kong

Mak participated in the Miss Hong Kong 2015 competition organized by TVB, aiming to showcase her distinctive qualities. Her flawless results in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination attracted media spotlight, earning her the nickname "10A Miss Hong Kong". After advancing through the preliminary rounds in July, she secured a position among the final twelve contestants. At the finals on 30 August, Mak delivered a speech that challenged conventional Chinese ideals of femininity, gaining over half of the audience votes and ultimately winning both the crown and the Miss Photogenic title. In 2016, she represented Hong Kong at the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2016 but did not advance into the top five.

2016–2017: Initial steps in entertainment

Following her Miss Hong Kong victory, Mak negotiated terms with TVB and signed a five-year artist agreement featuring a modest guaranteed monthly salary of HK$1,600 (approximately USD$205) without any fixed acting commitments. In 2016, she made her hosting debut on TVB Pearl’s English-language lifestyle program Dolce Vita and served as a guest correspondent during the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. She also presented the travel series A Starry Home Coming, which chronicled her visits back to Wellington College and the University of Cambridge, her former schools. The program sparked controversy after a Cambridge student publication reported that Mak and her crew were removed from the Cambridge Spring Ball for lacking press credentials; Mak later refuted these claims, confirming that prior permission had been obtained.

Director Patrick Kong cast Mak in her first acting role in his romantic film L for Love L for Lies too (2016), where she portrayed Si Ting, a significant supporting character. In June 2017, she debuted on television as Dorothy To in TVB’s gambling-themed mystery thriller Bet Hur, playing a character unaware of her family’s hidden secrets. Additionally, she provided the Cantonese voice for Jailbreak, the protagonist in the animated film The Emoji Movie.

Mak’s career gained momentum as co-host of the talk show Young And Restless, alongside Crystal Fung and Luk Ho Ming. The program attracted strong ratings and earned Mak and Fung a nomination for Most Popular TV Partnership at the TVB Anniversary Awards. In September 2017, she took on the role of Cherry Yeung, an undercover operative in the espionage thriller series Line Walker: The Prelude. Later that year, she appeared as Sung Kai Kai in the comedy drama My Ages Apart, involved in a romantic triangle with characters played by Anjaylia Chan and Dickson Yu.

2018–2022: Rise and gradual withdrawal

In 2018, Mak landed a leading role as Helen Ha, a novice solicitor confronting challenges within the legal profession, in the legal drama series OMG, Your Honour. The screenwriter described this character as "custom-made" for Mak, reflecting aspects of her real-life personality and experiences; Mak was also consulted on legal details during filming. Her portrayal earned her a nomination for Most Improved Female Artiste at that year’s TVB Anniversary Awards. After production concluded, she entered discussions with TVB about co-writing a legal drama script. She also made a brief appearance as an MK girl in Patrick Kong’s film A Beautiful Moment.

In early 2019, Mak hosted two travel shows: I Go to School By Bike, which documented her charity cycling journey from Hong Kong to Cambodia during which she sustained an injury, and Holland Fun. Later that year, she renegotiated her contract with TVB from a packaged deal to a special contract requiring participation in only one production annually, signaling a shift in her career focus. Her last role under TVB was Megan Yim, a blind assassin’s daughter, in the 2020 action thriller series Death By Zero.

Throughout the early 2020s, Mak gradually stepped back from show business and officially ended her contract with TVB in 2022. She cited diverging career aspirations from those of the company and confirmed she would not return as an artist.

In 2022, Mak starred as Emma So—the sole female lead—in the business-themed mystery thriller web series Chasing the Times. Introduced to producer Jonathan Chik via a mutual acquaintance, Chik identified similarities between Mak and one of his characters and immediately offered her the part. Mak accepted promptly and took twenty days off work to complete filming.

Business career

In 2019, Mak embarked on her business journey by joining McKinsey & Company as a junior associate. Early in 2020, she was based in Taiwan, concentrating on business advisory services. Subsequently, she moved back to Hong Kong and advanced to the position of engagement manager before departing from the firm in 2022. That same year, she co-established Project Melo, an organization dedicated to empowering young people.

By 2023, Mak assumed a directorial position at , a publicly traded education enterprise, with an annual remuneration of HK$1.36 million. During this period, she also featured in the video documentary series EA Exam, which explored Hong Kong's educational landscape and was produced by the YouTube channel Trial & Error. Clips from this series were later incorporated into the 2024 documentary film Once Upon a Time in HKDSE.

Personal life

Mak was in a relationship with disbarred barrister Jo Lam for three years until their separation in 2016. Rumors about her dating television presenter and former pilot Keith Shing surfaced in 2022, which she confirmed at a professional gathering in October 2023. Defying conventional gender norms, Mak proposed to Shing, and they became engaged in January 2024. The couple registered their marriage in Australia the following month and celebrated their wedding with a poon choi banquet at Shing Uk Tsuen, Yuen Long, in March. Their son was born in March 2025.

A committed Christian, Mak is an outspoken advocate for feminism and frequently voices her opinions on socio-political matters. She took part in and supported the 2014 Hong Kong protests and has openly criticized incidents perceived as threats to academic freedom and the rule of law, such as the contentious appointment of the University of Hong Kong's pro-vice-chancellor and the Beating of Ken Tsang case. Politically, she backed Edward Leung during the 2016 legislative election and John Tsang in the 2017 Chief Executive race, expressing a desire to pursue a political career herself.

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	L for Love L for Lies too	Si Ting (詩婷)
2017	The Emoji Movie	Jailbreak	Cantonese voice dub
2018	A Beautiful Moment	May
2019	The White Storm 2: Drug Lords	Police officer
2024	Once Upon a Time in HKDSE	Herself

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	Bet Hur	Dorothy To (屠若蘭)	Lead role
	Line Walker: The Prelude	Cherry Yeung (楊詠)	Lead role
	My Ages Apart	Sung Kai Kai (宋佳佳)	Lead role
2018	OMG, Your Honour	Helen Ha (夏心寧)	Lead role
2020	Death By Zero	Megan Yim (閻素之)	Lead role
2022	Chasing the Times	Emma So (蘇瑛)	Lead role

Television Programmes

Year	Title	Remarks
2016	Dolce Vita
	A Starry Home Coming
2017–2019	Young And Restless
2019	Liza's Online	Served as guest host
	I Go to School By Bike
	Holland Fun

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Outcome	Remarks
2018	2018 TVB Anniversary Awards	Most Improved Female Artiste	OMG, Your Honour	Template:Nom
		Most Popular TV Partnership	Young And Restless	Template:Nom	Collaborated with Crystal Fung