TVB Fadans
The designation TVB "fadan" (花旦) is used to describe the most prominent and highest-earning actresses at the Hong Kong television network, TVB. Originating in the 1970s, the first group of fadans featured Louise Lee, Liza Wang, Gigi Wong, and Angie Chiu.
1970s to 1980s
During this era, the foremost TVB actresses were:
- Louise Lee
- Liza Wang
- Gigi Wong
- Angie Chiu
1980s to 1990s
The leading fadans of this timeframe included:
- Maggie Cheung
- Dodo Cheng
- Margie Tsang
- Carina Lau
- Yammie Nam
- Kitty Lai
Additional significant fadans were:
Early 1990s
Among the prominent fadans in the early 1990s were:
Mid-1990s to Mid-2000s
This period saw leading actresses such as:
Other notable fadans included:
- Gigi Lai
- Charmaine Sheh
- Sonija Kwok
- Mariane Chan
- Christine Ng
- Louisa So
- Melissa Ng
- Yoyo Mung
- Joyce Tang
- Leila Tong
Mid-2000s to Mid-2010s
Top fadans during these years comprised:
Additional recognized fadans were:
Next-Gen Fadans
In 2013, Hong Kong media highlighted Rebecca Zhu and Kelly Fu as representatives of the emerging generation of TVB fadans. Since that time, competition for this distinction has grown increasingly fierce.
Mandy Wong
Within the next-generation fadans, Mandy Wong is notable for her extensive acting background. After participating in the Miss Hong Kong 2007 pageant, she began building her career with supporting roles in the 2010 drama Suspects in Love.
Wong earned the TVB Anniversary Award for Most Improved Female Artiste along with the Favorite Promising Actress accolade at the 2012 My AOD Favourites Awards, credited to her performances in L'Escargot, The Hippocratic Crush, Tiger Cubs, and Divas in Distress. Following this, she received numerous nominations across events including the TVB Anniversary Awards, TVB Star Awards Malaysia, and StarHub TVB Awards.
Her portrayal in The Hippocratic Crush II brought her the Most Improved Female Artiste award at StarHub TVB Awards and Favourite TVB Drama Character recognition at TVB Star Awards Malaysia. In 2015, Wong’s debut as a female lead in The Fixer resulted in a Best Actress nomination and another Favourite TVB Drama Character honor.
The year 2016 saw her performance in Law dis-Order garner multiple nominations and wins, including My Favourite TVB Female Character at StarHub TVB Awards and My Favourite TVB Drama Character at TVB Star Awards Malaysia.
In 2017, Wong headlined Nothing Special Force [zh], winning My Favourite TVB Female Character, and starred in The Exorcist's Meter, which earned her a Most Popular Female Character nomination at the TVB Anniversary Awards.
Her acclaimed role in the 2018 legal comedy Threesome secured Favourite TVB Actress awards in both Singapore and Malaysia during TVB’s 51st Anniversary Gala. Additionally, she was nominated for Best Actress and Most Popular Female Character at the TVB Anniversary Awards.
On 1 December 2023, Wong publicly announced her departure from TVB after dedicating sixteen years to the network.
Ali Lee
Ali Lee first attracted attention in 2014 through her antagonistic character in Overachievers. The following year, she took on roles in Raising the Bar, My "Spiritual" Ex-Lover, and Under the Veil, which led to nominations for both the TVB Anniversary Award for Most Improved Female Artiste and the Favourite TVB Most Improved Female Artiste. Additionally, her performance in My "Spiritual" Ex-Lover earned her an initial nomination for the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2016, Lee featured in productions such as Fashion War, Brother's Keeper II, and Law dis-Order, securing Most Improved Female Artiste accolades at the StarHub TVB Awards as well as the TVB Anniversary Awards.
Her work in Legal Mavericks brought her the My Favourite TVB Actress honor in 2017. That same year, her role in My Ages Apart resulted in her first nominations for both the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress and the TVB Anniversary Award for Most Popular Female Character, where she ranked within the top five for each category.
In 2018, Lee achieved critical praise and won the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress for her portrayal in the family drama Who Wants A Baby? [zh].
Priscilla Wong
Since joining TVB in 2013, Priscilla Wong has steadily advanced her career. Her debut leading role came with Karma Rider, which earned her a nomination for the TVB Anniversary Award for Most Improved Female Artiste. The following year, she won this award thanks to her performance in Swipe Tap Love, also receiving her first nomination for TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress.
Wong’s popularity surged in 2015 with Madam Cutie on Duty [zh], where she shared the Best On-Screen Partnership award with Edwin Siu at the TVB Anniversary Awards. In 2016, she ranked among the top five contenders for Best Actress with her role in Two Steps from Heaven. Her 2017 appearance in Line Walker: The Prelude earned her the My Favourite TVB Drama Characters accolade.
Sisley Choi
After finishing as first runner-up at Miss Hong Kong 2013, Sisley Choi made her acting debut in 2014’s drama Overachievers. She landed her inaugural female lead role in 2015’s Young Charioteers, which brought nominations for Most Improved Female Artiste at the TVB Star Awards Malaysia and Best Actress at the TVB Anniversary Awards.
Choi received another Best Actress nomination in 2016 for Speed of Life and won the TVB Star Awards Malaysia Favourite TVB Drama Character award with Presumed Accidents. In 2017, she was honored with the Most Popular Female Character award for Legal Mavericks. She later secured the Best Actress award at the TVB Anniversary Awards for its sequel, Legal Mavericks 2020.
Kelly Fu
Recognized by Hong Kong media as an emerging leading fadan actress, Kelly Fu gained prominence through the successful 2013 sequel Triumph in the Skies II. Her first nomination for Best Supporting Actress came in 2015 with Captain of Destiny.
Fu took on her initial female lead role in 2017’s May Fortune Smile On You. She also earned Supporting Actress nominations at both the StarHub TVB Awards and TVB Anniversary Awards for performances in Burning Hands and Married But Available, respectively. In 2018, Fu played a secondary female lead in Stuntman, receiving nominations for Favorite TVB Actress in Malaysia and Singapore during the network’s 51st Anniversary Gala.
Grace Chan
Grace Chan rose to fame after securing the titles of Miss Hong Kong 2013 and Miss Chinese International 2014. She made her acting debut in the 2014 television series Overachievers, which led to nominations for both Most Improved Female Artiste and Best Supporting Actress.
In 2015, Chan starred in the dramas Raising the Bar and Captain of Destiny. That year, she earned the Most Improved Female Artiste award and received her inaugural nomination for Best Actress for her role in Raising the Bar. At the StarHub TVB Awards, she was nominated for Favourite TVB Actress, Favourite Female TV Characters, and Favourite Onscreen Couple (alongside Louis Cheung) for Raising the Bar, while winning Best New Artiste for her performance in Captain of Destiny. Additionally, at the TVB Star Awards Malaysia, Chan garnered nominations for Favourite TVB Actress, Favourite Onscreen Couple (with Louis Cheung), and Favourite Most Improved Female Artiste.
In 2016, she secured the Favourite TVB Drama Characters award at the TVB Star Awards Malaysia for her role in Blue Veins. Since 2018, Chan has stepped back from filming television dramas but continues to engage in occasional hosting duties and public engagements.
Eliza Sam
Eliza Sam gained recognition after winning Miss Chinese International in 2010. Her acting career began in 2012 with appearances in dramas such as Ghetto Justice II, Divas in Distress, and The Confidant, earning her a nomination for TVB Anniversary Award for Most Improved Female Artiste. She later won this accolade in 2013, thanks to her performances in Inbound Troubles, Triumph in the Skies II, Sniper Standoff, and The Hippocratic Crush II.
Sam was awarded My Favourite TVB Female TV Character at the StarHub TVB Awards in 2015 for her role in Under the Veil. The following year, she received My Favourite TVB Drama Character at the TVB Star Awards Malaysia for My Dangerous Mafia Retirement Plan. After her contract with TVB concluded in 2018, she gradually withdrew from the entertainment sector.
Tracy Chu
Tracy Chu entered show business through the Miss Hong Kong Pageant in 2012, where she placed as second runner-up. Her first acting role was in the medical drama The Hippocratic Crush II. In 2014, she took on a supporting role in Tomorrow Is Another Day, which earned her nominations at the StarHub TVB Awards for My Favourite Supporting Actress and Most Improved Female Artiste, as well as a nomination for Favourite Promising Female Artiste at the TVB Star Awards Malaysia.
In 2015, Chu appeared in both Smooth Talker and The Fixer, receiving Most Improved Female Artiste nominations across the TVB Anniversary Awards, TVB Star Awards Malaysia, and StarHub TVB Awards. She also garnered Best Supporting Actress nominations for her work in The Fixer at both the TVB Anniversary Awards and TVB Star Awards Malaysia.
Chu’s first lead role came in 2016 with Over Run Over, which was met with positive critical reception. At the StarHub TVB Awards, she won My Favourite Female TV Characters and was nominated for My Favourite TVB Actress. During the same year’s TVB Star Awards Malaysia, she won Favourite On-Screen Couple (alongside Vincent Wong) and received nods for Favourite TVB Actress and Favourite TVB Drama Characters. The TVB Anniversary Awards recognized her with Most Popular On-Screen Partnership together with Wong; additionally, she ranked within the top five for Best Actress and Most Popular Female Character categories.
In 2017, Chu played a supporting role in Legal Mavericks, earning nominations at the StarHub TVB Awards for Favourite Supporting Actress and Favourite Female TV Characters. Subsequently, she transitioned away from entertainment to focus on a legal career, qualifying as a barrister by 2020.
Grace Wong
Grace Wong first came into the spotlight during the Miss Hong Kong 2007 competition, where she finished among the top fifteen and subsequently signed a contract with TVB. That year, she received several accolades, including 1st runner-up, Miss Photogenic, and Miss International Goodwill. In 2013, Wong earned her inaugural TVB Anniversary Award nomination for Most Improved Female Artiste, recognizing her supporting roles in series such as Friendly Fire, Awfully Lawful, and The Hippocratic Crush II.
Her major career breakthrough occurred in 2016 with the martial arts drama A Fist Within Four Walls. At the TVB Anniversary Awards, she secured the Most Popular Female Character award and was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Additionally, at the TVB Star Awards Malaysia, Wong won Favourite TVB Drama Characters and Favourite On-Screen Couple alongside Benjamin Yuen, while also receiving a nomination for Favourite Supporting Performance. The StarHub TVB Awards honored her with awards for My Favourite Female TV Characters and My Favourite On-Screen Couple.
In 2017, Wong achieved her first Best Actress nomination at the TVB Anniversary Awards for her role in A General, a Scholar and a Eunuch. Her tenure with TVB concluded in 2021 when she opted not to renew her contract.