Sammi Cheng Sau-Man was born in Hong Kong on August 19th, 1972. She got her start as a singer with Capitol Records, but it wasn't until she signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1996 that her music career really took off. Now she is widely considered one of the Asian Queens of Pop, and has numerous hit albums and concerts to her credit.

Her first film appearance was in 1992's Best of the Best, in which she appeared opposite Jacky Cheung. She was nominated for Best New Artist at that year's Hong Kong Film Awards. In 1996, her acting career got another boost with the release of the hit film Feel 100%, a Generation X romantic comedy which was based on a popular comic book.

In 2000, Cheng collaborated with director Johnnie To and popular actor/singer Andy Lau on Needing You..., a romantic comedy which went to to become the highest-grossing Hong Kong film of the year. In 2001, she was nominated for Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards for three separate performances, a feat which has only been accomplished by two other Hong Kong actors (Chow Yun-Fat and Anthony Wong). She was given a Best Actress award by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society for her work in Wu Yen (2001).

For many years, Cheng has been rumored to be in an "underground" relationship with fellow actor/singer (and former Capitol Records label-mate) Andy Hui. Her most recent film was the hit Lunar New Year comedy Love for All Seasons, which co-starred Louis Koo and was directed by Johnnie To. She also had a minor role in the 2002 blockbuster Infernal Affairs. Currently, Sammi Cheng is consideed the most bankable female star in Hong Kong. Since 2000, her films have routinely grossed 20 milliion HK dollars on average, a feat unmatched by every female—and nearly every male—star in the territory. (Kozo 2003)