At 174cm, Gigi Leung was the tallest female star to grace the red carpet at a recent film industry gala in Beijing. Having been in showbiz more than a decade, the Hong Kong actress and singer is used to being a standout - though not always in a positive way.

Dubbed "The Tall Belle" early in her career, Leung (pictured left at a recent function in Beijing) set out to prove her success was due to artistic merit, not just her stunning physique.

She has weathered public scorn, and became embroiled in scandal over her relationship with Eken Cheng, which ended after seven years. Now, Leung has emerged courageous and with new maturity, comparing herself to a butterfly fresh from metamorphosis.

With a new movie out this month, and her first solo concert in China planned for August, Leung is ready to face the world.

A veteran of 15 feature films and 13 music albums, Leung's image today is fresh and young, with a bob hairstyle complementing her delicate features.

Leung began modeling while still in university, and caught the eye of film producers casting for projects. "I believe it was my height that won me the chance to acting in a movie," she joked.

Leung made her movie debut in Doctor Mack (1995), her performance and sweet look garnering wide reviews, and opportunities to star in Full Throttle and Sixty Million Dollar Man the same year. Starring with big names like Tony Leung, Andy Lau and Stephen Chow in her first three movies helped boost her popularity, and Leung became one of Hong Kong's fastest rising stars.

"But I was afraid to hear people label me with 'beauty vase'," she said. "All I could do then was welcome these challenges and doubts, both from the public and from myself."

She tried every means to prove herself, and surprised fans by releasing her first album Love Myself in 1996, showing she could sing, too.

Her efforts paid off with an entertainment career skyrocketing until 1999, when she met ex-boyfriend Ekin Cheng. Leung was cast as the other woman after Cheng broke up with his long-term girlfriend, and her popularity hit an all-time low.

"Those years were like a roller coaster," she says. "I just kept on working hard with acting and singing."

The pair's break-up after seven years was another setback for Leung, who again came up against negative public reactions.

"Too many versions of the break-up have been spread around, and I have to repeat it has nothing to do with marriage pressure. I have always put my career first and never thought of getting married," she said.

Leung believes that love needs time to be nurtured, but they were too often apart, both working hard on their respective careers at that time.

"Although the heart was there, the will wasn't." She calls those seven years, "a blessing in disguise". "If you don't walk through one fate, another one will not come," she said.

Now, Leung has the courage to talk about the love story of her past and to focus on her career. She said she is no longer the girl she was ten years ago.

"I grew up. The ten-year transition is like a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly through metamorphosis, beautiful while painful," she said.

In her latest film, Wonder Woman, which premiered at Beijing's Great Hall of the People this month, she plays a capable, mature wife and mother.

The film pays tribute to the indomitable spirit of Hong Kong women, telling the story of an office worker's ups and downs in her family and career life after Hong Kong's return to China in 1997. Adapted from a novel by famous writer Anita Leung, it is another film that celebrates the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return.

Leung's triumph continues, with a Shanghai concert on August 25. She will present highlights of her decade-long career at what will be her first solo concert on the Chinese mainland.

(China Daily 07/11/2007 page18)