One of the most influential cultural icons in the Chinese world, Cheung was known for his debonair demeanor, flamboyant screen characters, and avant-garde, androgynous stage presence.

He won the Best Actor at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Days of Being Wild (1990), and became world-renowned for his performances in Farewell My Concubine (1993) and Happy Together (1997).

On 1 April 2003, Cheung, suffering from clinical depression, committed suicide by jumping off the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Hong Kong.

His father, Cheung Wut-hoi, was a well-known tailor who specialised in suits, whose customers included Western celebrities such as film director Alfred Hitchcock and actors Marlon Brando and Cary Grant.

[10] Cheung told many interviewers that he had an unhappy childhood,[11] feeling emotionally estranged from his father and siblings, and frequently witnessing arguments and fights in the household.

"[13] Upon returning to Hong Kong Cheung went back to high school as a mature student and formed a band, in which he was the lead singer with his classmates.

[19] While Cheung had already been a well-known actor with likeable personae in TVB productions, his role as a disillusioned teenager in Nomad foresaw his future reputation as an icon of rebel.

[23] The song's upbeat dance production introduced a new musical trend to Cantopop, in addition to the traditional sentimental ballads that had dominated the scene.

[21] As Cheung's fame expanded, the media began to pit him against fellow singer-actor Alan Tam, as the two were the most successful male Cantopop singers at the moment.

For Your Heart Only (為你鍾情, 1985) yielded the hit single "Wild Wind" (不羈的風), which was among the 10 gold-certified songs honoured at both TVB's Jade Solid Gold and RTHK Top 10 awards.

The album was the best-selling Cantopop release of the year, earning seven times platinum certification from the IFPI Hong Kong and sold over 350,000 copies.

[21] The next two albums, Virgin Snow and Hot Summer, both were released in 1988 and sold well, receiving gold and platinum certifications from the IFPI Hong Kong.

[21][24] A turning point in his burgeoning acting career came when he was cast in John Woo‘s action film A Better Tomorrow (1986), in which he played a youthful and impulsive police officer torn between justice and his criminal brother.

[28] He then starred opposite his real life friend Anita Mui in Rouge (1988),[12][29] which consolidated the pair's reputation as the top Hong Kong entertainers.

[30] Yiu-wai Chu, author of the book Hong Kong Cantopop: A Concise History (2017), noted that Cheung and Mui formed an "unprecedented" chemistry showcasing "mystic power of charisma", not only in films but also on stage performances together.

[31] He also held several shows catering to the Chinese community in North America, visiting Atlantic City, Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver.

[33] Prior to his retirement, Cheung released three further albums under Cinepoly—Leslie '89, Salute, Final Encounter—all of which received platinum certifications from the IFPI Hong Kong.

[34][35] His "farewell concert tour", in support of the album Final Encounter, ran for 33 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

He gained international acclaim for his role as a cross-dressing Peking opera actor in Farewell My Concubine (1993), which became the first Chinese film to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

[40][41] Since his 1996 album Red, Cheung started a full-on collaboration with composer C. Y. Kong and lyricist Lin Xi, embracing a daring, self-reflective, and sexually ambiguous style of expression.

[46][43] In 2011, CCTV-15 commented that the Passion Tour represented the highest standard of Chinese concerts in performance, art concept, costume props and audience response, and had never been surpassed.

Cheung donated HK$1 million (US$128,000) in 1996 and launched five sets of RED cards to help raise funds for the Children's Cancer Foundation.

[49] He was also a patron of the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation (ECSAF) (護苗基金), founded by veteran actress Josephine Siao (蕭芳芳).

In 1999, at a party to raise relief funds in the aftermath of the Taiwan earthquake, Cheung participated in a fried rice tasting event.

Although Cheung and Mo eventually broke up after the proposal and briefly lost contact, they remained close friends after they had reunited for the 1992 film All's Well, Ends Well.

Cheung and Ngai Sze-pui (倪詩蓓), a Hong Kong model and actress whom he met on the set of ATV series Agency 24, were in a relationship for two years from 1981 to 1983.

During his concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum in 1997, Cheung sang the love song “The Moon Represents My Heart” (月亮代表我的心) and dedicated it to his mother and Tong.

[43] Despite the epidemic of SARS and the WHO's warning on travelling to Hong Kong, tens of thousands attended Cheung's memorial service on 7 April 2003, including celebrities and fans from mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, the United States, and Canada.

Taiwanese writer Li Ao said in a 2003 TV program that Cheung died by suicide due to AIDS, but the accuracy of this statement has been questioned.

"[83] In 2023, concerns about overexploitation were raised again when two memorial concerts, organized by Chan and Universal Music, Cheung's agent and label respectively, took place on the same day of April 1 in Hong Kong, featuring separate groups of celebrities covering his songs.