Bernice Jan Liu Bik-yee (born January 6, 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, and commercial model based in Hong Kong.[1] She has previously held the title Miss Chinese Vancouver 2000 as well as Miss Chinese International 2001, the latter position bringing her fame in Hong Kong. Liu left Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) in 2011 and returned to Canada to continue her education. As of 2016, she has continued her acting for new broadcaster ViuTV.
Liu was best known for her role as Princess Sam-tin in the long-running TVB sitcom, Virtues of Harmony, which was also her first role after joining TVB in 2001. Liu's singing breakthrough came to an attention in 2005 after she lent her voice for the theme song of the 2005 TVB serial drama, Into Thin Air, which she also stars in. The theme song, "Truth," was Liu's first theme song and was one of the primary promotional songs for the TVB compilation album, Lady in Red (2006), which sold past 10,000 copies in the first day of release.[2] Liu was also listed by critics as one of the few TVB artists to look forward to in a future singing career.[3]
Liu attended the University of British Columbia for three years as a pre-med student[6] in the Faculty of Science before transferring to UBC Sauder School of Business to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce.[7] While in university, she worked at a Chinese language television station in Vancouver to learn conversational Cantonese. The television executives encouraged her to participate in beauty pageants, which led her to win both Miss Chinese Vancouver 2000 and Miss Chinese International 2001. Her victories caught the attention of talent scouts at TVB, who offered her an acting contract in March 2001. Liu accepted the offer and put her studies on hold to pursue an entertainment career. She originally struggled with reading the scripts as they were written in Chinese and received help from her family. She later re-enrolled at UBC Sauder in May 2018 and graduated spring 2020.[7]
In 2002, after a successful reception of Virtues of Harmony, TVB decided to produce a modern spin-off for the sitcom, which she played a different character.[8]
In early 2011, after filming Show Me the Happy and Home Troopers with TVB, Liu left the station. She later starred in several Chinese dramas between 2011 and 2016 and continues to star in dramas for ViuTV.[9][10]
Liu is a Christian.[1] She was previously linked to actors Hawick Lau and Moses Chan, and was involved romantically with Hong Kong billionaire Calvin Lo.[11]
Filmography
This article is missing information about film & TV credits. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (October 2021)
