This is my friend, Mui Yuen Chiu. She is now 90 years old and was a big Cantonese opera star in China and Hong Kong many years ago. This picture of her was taken in New York City in September, 2003, when she came out of retirement to perform in a charity concert.

She has a very outgoing personality and is what people call "a character." Her husband Bew Mun Bok started his own movie career in Hong Kong in the 1940's. He is also still widely recognized in NYC Chinatown.

A few months ago, there was a P.S. 23 reunion in NYC Chinatown that attracted alumni from all over North America. There was a man from Toronto who came with his family. While he was in New York, he searched for people that he had known as a little boy in Toronto in the 1950's who had performed with his mother, who was also a well-known Chinese opera star. Mui Yuen Chiu was one of the surviving handful of performers in their 80's and 90's that he was able to locate. They met over dim sum ... it must have been a wonderful reunion for them.

Please click on "next" to see what Mui Yuen Chiu looks like as a civilian!