Mani Fok, Who's Joey Yung And Nicholas Tse's Manager, Quit Smoking After 20 Years For The Sake Of Her Daughter's Health

She's been the manager to huge stars such as Joey Yung, Twins' Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung, and Nicholas Tse — and she's even had a way to deal with a rebellious Nicholas when he was younger. It's no wonder that Emperor Entertainment Group’s Mani Fok is regarded as one of the most influential managers in the business. 

The 49-year-old former model, who's now the Chief Operating Officer of the company, also spearheaded the expansion of Emperor Entertainment’s business in China when she moved there 11 years ago — amid personal turmoil, too

Mani and her daughter, Honey

Recalling the early days when she'd just moved to China, Mani shared: "My table was so clean, it had nothing except for a pen. I felt so emotional suddenly, I wondered if I have the capabilities to build [a business] with just a pen. Back then I was quite lost, but I was still very confident."

Mani, who was already an acclaimed manager back in Hongkong, even had to do the job of a log keeper who takes care of things like ordering lunch and clearing rubbish.

She did all this while raising her daughter, Honey, as a single mum. Honey was born in 2011, around the time Mani had moved to China. Mani previously revealed that she had the baby out of wedlock and was bringing her up single-handedly as she had already broken up with Honey’s father.

Raising a child as a single mum around the time she moved to Beijing to grow the business was not easy, and there were sacrifices that Mani had to make.

Mani, who was constantly shuttling between China and Hongkong for work, recalled that there was once Honey, unable to adapt to Beijing’s cold weather, was down with a fever and even went into a convulsive coma. 

The manager, who confessed that she felt very helpless at that time, said: "At that moment I lost my usual rational self, all I could do was to hold on to the doctor's arm, saying 'Please save my baby!'."

"When I saw Honey lying on the emergency room bed yet I couldn't do anything to help her, I just kept crying. That kind of helplessness, I've never experienced it before," added Mani, who even went to the Lama Temple in Beijing to pray for her daughter back then. 

For Mani, her child is the centre of her universe. She even decided to quit smoking, a habit she’s had for 20 years, for the sake of her child.

"When I return home from work and see Honey who's sound asleep, no matter how tiring work was, I will feel that it's worth it. Honey made my life complete, seeing her [grow up] is what makes me happy."

Moving to China meant everything had to start from scratch

Photos: hk01