Isabella Leong's bio

Isabella Leong Lok-Sze is a Hong Kong-based actress and former singer.

Career

Her father was a descendant of a prominent Macanese family of Portuguese-English heritage, and her mother is Chinese. At age 12, Leong dropped out of school and signed a contract to Emperor Entertainment Group as a teenage model.

She later began singing and released her debut album, Isabella when she was 16 years old. Isabella did not achieve the success hoped for and Leong subsequently debuted with acting. From 2005 to 2007, she made a string of films including The Eye 10, Bug Me Not!, Isabella, Diary, and Spider Lilies.

Leong won her first American film role in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which was released in 2008.

EEG contract dispute

Emperor Entertainment Group filed a lawsuit in the High Court on 3 April 2008 to seek damages from Leong for breaking a 10-year contract which Leong's mother signed for her when she was only 12 years old. Leong filed a writ against the company on 27 April. In November 2008 the legal battle between Leong and EEG ended in an out-of-court settlement, with the star "free to pursue her career".

Personal life

In 2008, Leong met Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, son of billionaire Li Ka-shing when she was 19 and he was 41. The couple met on a movie set. The following year, Leong gave birth to their first son. For this, Leong was allowed to use Li's family mansions in San Francisco. They also provided her with an entourage of care-givers, including five bodyguards, four full-time nannies and a personal attendant. Channel News Asia noted some speculation about a large pre-nuptial agreement. A 100-day-old banquet was held for her son from July 9–11, 2009, for three consecutive days, with some of the city's celebrities like Stanley Ho and his second wife Lam Wan Ying, and Tsang Yam Pui and his wife having been spotted in attendance.

In June 2010, Leong gave birth to Li's twin sons in San Francisco.

In March 2011, Isabella announced that she and Richard Li have ended their relationship, explaining that "life with children bored [her]" and she "missed [her] old life". They both declared that the split is amicable and that they will both take care of their children. close