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Fans Defend '90s Actress Theresa Lee, 50, Against Age Shaming Comments After Recent Pics Surface

Some people need to stop acting as if looking one’s age is a huge sin.

Some people need to stop acting as if looking one’s age is a huge sin.

Some people need to stop acting as if looking one’s age is a huge sin.

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Remember Hongkong-born Canadian actress Theresa Lee aka Li Qi Hong? The former Miss HongKong finalist is probably best known for her role as Guo Xiang in the 1995 TV adaptation of The Return of the Condor Heroes opposite Louis Koo and Carman Lee. In fact, she has been touted as “the most beautiful Guo Xiang”. She also received two Best Supporting Actress nominations for two different movies at the 1997 and 1998 Hongkong Film Awards, proving that she’s not just a pretty face.

Unfortunately, life in the spotlight and the constant pressure to be perfect made her sink into depression, and she took a break from showbiz at the peak of her career. Unlike other ‘90s beauties like Joey Wong, Gigi Lai, and Yvonne Yung, Theresa doesn’t seem to have an active public social media account (her last Weibo post is from eight years ago), so updates on her whereabouts are quite scarce. Her last showbiz project was the 2019 variety show Miss Goodviu.

1 of 6 Theresa as Guo Xiang in The Condor Heroes 95

Earlier this week, some recent photos of Theresa started circulating online. It’s not clear when or where they were taken, but that didn’t matter to the media and netizens, who only saw fit to mercilessly nitpick on her appearance.

Similar to what happened to poor Tony Leung, reports zeroed in on ‘flaws’ like her “sallow complexion” and the “obvious crow’s feet” on the corners of her eyes, and made snide remarks about how she looks very different from her “pure” appearance in the past.

Um, is it just us, or is it totally unfair and uncalled for to compare a 50-year-old to her twentysomething fresh-out-of-a-beauty-pageant self?

2 of 6 She still looks fine to us

Then there were the age-shaming comments from netizens, who wrote things like “How has she become so old?”, “I couldn’t recognise her at first”, and “Guo Xiang has aged, but Yang Guo [Louis’s character in The Condor Heroes 95] is still very young”.

Fortunately, not everyone on the internet is such a meanie. A number of fans also jumped to Theresa’s defense, saying, “What’s so bad about a little authenticity? For a 50-year-old, she looks very good”, “This is not bad for a 50-year-old”, and “It’s just a few extra wrinkles, but she basically hasn’t changed”.

3 of 6 She still has the same sweet smile
4 of 6 Theresa (right) with her fellow Miss Hongkong 1994 contestants

After tying the knot with her Canadian husband Corey Solomonson and giving birth to their son Tate in 2004, Theresa moved back to Canada with her family. In 2009, she came clean about suffering from depression and having suicidal thoughts from time to time for nine months several years before.

Fortunately, her husband stayed by her side throughout the entire ordeal and she managed to recover. Theresa went on to take a nursing course in 2013 and is now a certified psychiatric nurse. While looking forever young is nice and all, we believe wanting to help others who are going through what you survived is even cooler.

5 of 6 A photo of Theresa’s husband and son from 2012
6 of 6 Theresa promoting Miss Goodviu last year (Photo: Ming Pao)

Photos: Theresa Lee/Weibo, Sina Entertainment, Ming Pao

If you or someone you know is struggling mentally, here are some numbers to call:

National Care Hotline: 6202-6868

Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health's Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222

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