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Gymnast swaps beam for showbiz
By Min Lee |
May 9, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LIU Xuan energetically walked on stage as the celebrity entertainment for a Mother's Day event at a Hong Kong mall. The 2000 Olympics balance beam champion had traded her gymnast's outfit for a green blazer, blue jeans and white high heels.
Liu, who originally hails from Changsha in Hunan Province, made small talk with the host, decorated cakes with two families and watched teenagers carve patterns into different fruits. Fans held up large placards with her name and mobbed her for autographs and photographs afterward.
Meet the new Liu Xuan, Hong Kong actress-singer.
A decade after taking gold in Sydney, the 30-year-old former gymnast has launched a second career in this financial center, which is also a hub for the Chinese-language entertainment industry.
After retiring in 2001, Liu has dabbled as an actress, host, gymnastics judge and commentator. She graduated from Peking University with a degree in journalism in 2005. But she has focused on an entertainment career since signing in 2009 with leading Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, the former training ground for the likes of Stephen Chow, Wong Kar-wai and Chow Yun-fat.
This has been Liu's coming-out year - she released her debut pop album, "Beautiful Faces," with a Hong Kong label in February and starred in a 30-episode TVB kung fu drama released in March.
She said her gymnastics training came in handy for her role as the feisty wife of a kung fu master in the TVB drama "Grace under Fire."
Liu said she wants to show that elite athletes can successfully reinvent themselves after their days of competition end. She serves as an example for Chinese mainland athletes who trade their childhoods for rigorous sports programs that can leave them with little other career skills.
"We have seen in the mainland many past champions are not leading good lives," Liu said. "What we can do is show that after athletes retire, they don't just coach or become businessmen or political leaders. There are so many professions. I hope they can blend into society."
Liu has received praise for her career change, but has no intention of resting on her laurels. "I need to work even harder," she said.
Liu, who originally hails from Changsha in Hunan Province, made small talk with the host, decorated cakes with two families and watched teenagers carve patterns into different fruits. Fans held up large placards with her name and mobbed her for autographs and photographs afterward.
Meet the new Liu Xuan, Hong Kong actress-singer.
A decade after taking gold in Sydney, the 30-year-old former gymnast has launched a second career in this financial center, which is also a hub for the Chinese-language entertainment industry.
After retiring in 2001, Liu has dabbled as an actress, host, gymnastics judge and commentator. She graduated from Peking University with a degree in journalism in 2005. But she has focused on an entertainment career since signing in 2009 with leading Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, the former training ground for the likes of Stephen Chow, Wong Kar-wai and Chow Yun-fat.
This has been Liu's coming-out year - she released her debut pop album, "Beautiful Faces," with a Hong Kong label in February and starred in a 30-episode TVB kung fu drama released in March.
She said her gymnastics training came in handy for her role as the feisty wife of a kung fu master in the TVB drama "Grace under Fire."
Liu said she wants to show that elite athletes can successfully reinvent themselves after their days of competition end. She serves as an example for Chinese mainland athletes who trade their childhoods for rigorous sports programs that can leave them with little other career skills.
"We have seen in the mainland many past champions are not leading good lives," Liu said. "What we can do is show that after athletes retire, they don't just coach or become businessmen or political leaders. There are so many professions. I hope they can blend into society."
Liu has received praise for her career change, but has no intention of resting on her laurels. "I need to work even harder," she said.
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