Anita Mui Yim-fong (Chinese: 梅艷芳; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours.

[1] Mui once held a sold-out concert in Hammersmith, London, England, where she was dubbed the "Madonna of the East" (東方麥當娜), which brought her to further international fame.

[6] She was famed for her outrageous costumes and high-powered performances in tandem with contralto vocals, which are rare in female artists.

Her fan base reached far beyond Hong Kong into many parts of Asia, including Taiwan, mainland China, Singapore, Korea, Japan[8][9] and Malaysia.

In the Hong Kong entertainment industry, where stars often rise and fall quickly, Mui consistently remained in the spotlight for 21 years (1982–2003).

[3][11] Both Mui and her elder sister Ann performed in practically any nightclub that offered them a chance to make a living.

There, Mui got a big break by emerging champion with the song "The Windy Season" (風的季節), originally sung by Paula Tsui, beating over 3,000 contestants.

[14] As a reward for winning the New Talent contest at the time, Mui's first album was released with the local record company Capital Artists.

However, her subsequent albums, Red (赤色梅艷芳) (1983) and Leaping in the Spotlight (飛躍舞台) (1984) fared much better, as she developed her personal style and image, with guidance and support from fashion designer Eddie Lau.

[28] Her popularity was also gaining prominence outside of Hong Kong, as she was invited to sing at the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Seoul together with Janet Jackson as well as also performing her own solo with one of her hit songs of that year, "Blazing Red Lips (烈燄紅唇)".

[32] On February 12, 1994, Mui was invited to hold a concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena which is located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.

[33] In 1995, Mui performed the song "Bad Girl" (a Cantonese cover of Sheena Easton's "Strut") in Guangzhou, China, where it was banned,[6][34] as it was considered pornographic in nature.

[34] In 1990, during her birthday celebration with her fan club, Mui announced that she would put an end to receiving music awards to give a chance to newcomers.

[35] Mui mentored several Hong Kong newcomer singers who have since become successful, most notably Andy Hui, Denise Ho, Edmond Leung, the band Grasshopper, and Patrick Tam.

[38] In the same year, she starred alongside Chow Yun-fat in Tsui Hark's A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon, which features her iconic ballad "Song of the Sunset".

In the same year, she starred in The Heroic Trio with Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung, and it proved to be one of her most popular action films.

In 1994 and 1995, she found some international recognition by starring opposite Jackie Chan in The Legend of Drunken Master and Rumble in the Bronx.

In 2001, she starred in yet another Johnnie To comedy Wu Yen alongside Sammi Cheng and Cecilia Cheung as the lewd yet charming Emperor Qi.

[39] Mui was originally cast in Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers (2004), but she stepped away only two weeks before her death.

Rumours relentlessly plagued Mui, who was accused of having tattoos on her arms and plastic surgery, being addicted to drugs, suicidal behavior and being linked to the death of a triad leader in the 1980s and 1990s.

"[3][11] Her establishment of a nursing home in San Francisco, prompted the mayor of the city in 1992 to name 18 April as "Anita Mui Day".

[5] In 1990, Mui began dating Benjamin Lam Kwok-bun, who was a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team.

In 2007, a television series was produced in China titled Anita Mui Fei (梅艷芳菲) to tell the story of her life.

[49] On 23 September 2004, the Anita Mui True Heart Digital Multimedia Studio was opened at the University of Hong Kong.

[58] Her work and stage costumes were displayed in an exhibition titled "Timeless Diva: Anita Mui" in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum lasting around eight months from 24th December 2023 to 2nd September 2024, commemorating the 20th anniversary of her passing.

She applied for and obtained a hardship grant to pay for medical expenditure of $50,000 in December; her application for funds from the estate to challenge the will was denied.

[64] In January 2013, the court ruled that the monthly tenancy of HK$120,000 to Tam, suspended since the previous July, would continue to be frozen due to mounting debts of the estate.

[66] In May 2013, the court ordered the estate to pay Tam HK$20,000 a month for her living costs, as well as $240,000 to settle her overdue rent.