Amy Yip

Yip began her career in television in the mid-1980s before her breakthrough in the 1987 film Erotic Ghost Story. She went on to star in hits like Sex and Zen and Robotrix; Sex and Zen remains the highest-grossing Category III movie in Hong Kong history. Yip retired from acting in 1992. She later expressed regret that few of her films offered memorable roles, singling out Queen of the Underworld (1991), where she portrayed Sister Har, a woman who rose from poverty to become a celebrated nightlife queen.

In a 2006 interview, Yip disclosed that she had been in a steady relationship for over 15 years and had no plans to marry or have children. She was running food and beverage businesses in Hong Kong and Macau, and she flatly rejected any comeback, saying she was content with her carefree lifestyle and no longer needing to bare her breasts for a living. Her influence persists: one nickname, "Boba," contributed to the name of tapioca pearls in bubble tea, and a Singapore baozi chain sells a large steamed bun called the Amy Yip Big Pau. She once even appeared in a pop-culture reference in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where Xander wishes to be with "Amy Yip at the waterslide park."