Story | Connie Li
Art director & Photography | Simon Boucher-Harris
Stylist | Leslie Yip Boucher-Harris
Production Assistant | Haley Ho
HMUA | Mystique
All clothing and accessories by Louis Vuitton
If online search rankings had been a “thing” some 20 years ago, Fiona Yuen would have been at the top of the chart.
She was the talk of the showbiz world in Hong Kong back then for the successful travel and food shows she hosted, her appearances in over 25 TV series or for her private life. After more than a decade since stepping out of the spotlight she is now a key opinion leader on social media, sharing
tips on fitness, beauty, travel, good food and family life.
Yuen was born and grew up in Cologne, Germany after her parents migrated there from Hong Kong. In 1996, at the age of 20, she entered the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, finishing third and winning the title of “Miss International Goodwill”. That was her ticket to the world of television commercials, which progressed to apprearing in a myriad of dramas with her memorable role as Daji’s younger sister Su Ningxiang in Gods of Honour.
In 2009, Yuen married Vancouver businessman Anthony Kong and moved to Vancouver the following year and, for the most part, disappeared from the public eye. It has only been in the past two years that she has embraced social media, regularly posting blogs, photos and videos on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Xiaohongshu giving regular insights her life and passions.
Today, at the age of 47, she remains slim and elegant with a youthful complexion and is as beautiful as ever. Is her life as smooth as she makes it out to be? How does she defy time?
“The showbiz life in Hong Kong was vibrant and exciting,” Yuen says. “Switching from that life in the fast lane to a simple family life in relatively quiet Vancouver was hard. I was depressed after leaving the work I liked, and feeling I was no longer relevant.”
She says it took her two to three years to adapt, as she regularly shuttled between Hong Kong and Vancouver to find a balance. She got through it with the help of her husband and his family.
“My husband is not the romantic type, but very reliable and pragmatic,” she says. “That’s my definition of the best husband. He doesn’t do sweet talking, but he takes care of me, and supports and encourages me with action.
“We both grew up in a family with six to seven siblings. His family is really nice to me and I’ve become very close to my mother-in-law. I actually didn’t cook much when I was hosting food shows in Hong Kong despite my public persona as a ‘foodie’ however after moving to Vancouver, my mother-in-law helped me with the chores and taught me how to cook wonderful Chiu Chow dishes.”
When her daughter Alycia was born in August 2003, she settled into the parental role and says, “Alycia’s birth made me realise my responsibilities. My parents have seven children, and it wasn’t easy for them to work and look after us too. They had little time to spend with us. I was determined to be a good mother and give my daughter as much love as possible, and the best care and company.”
“I wished for more of my parents’ love when I was little, and realized the importance of parental love. I want my daughter to grow up immersed in love, so that when she gets to the age of finding a boyfriend, she will not easily dive into a fragile relationship, simply because there wasn’t enough love in childhood.”
She and her daughter are so close that they shared a bed up until two years ago. “When she got older, we became best friends and talked about everything. I always encourage her to tell us whatever makes her unhappy, even in just a word. I want her to be a happy and sunny person.”
Yuen insists she is just a regular housewife, but that doesn’t mean she only cares about her daughter and three square meals. In fact, she is sure of herself, is confident in what she is doing and what she wants to do—like when she chose to move to Hong Kong, get married in Vancouver and leave showbiz to become a social media influencer.
When Alycia reached school age, Yuen divided her time between school and home. When Alycia was at home, she was the centre of Yuen’s universe and whilst Alycia was at school, Yuen found new time to explore her interests.
As a self-proclaimed fitness buff Fiona loves to dance, exercise, play ball and go hiking. Yoga is also a daily must and she gives back by teaching community dance classes. People in the classes are older, and it isn’t easy to learn the rumba and cha-cha so she demonstrates every move personally and seeing her mature students flourish and socialize gives her a great sense of achievement.
When she first moved to Vancouver, exercising was also her way to expand her social circle. She found a circle of good friends to exercise with, have high tea, party and talk about travel and good food.
As her daughter has got older, Yuen has had more time for herself and acknowledging that social media is highly popular with lots of influencers emerging, she also started sharing on Instagram.
“To me, social media is very convenient and easy to learn,” she says. “Netizens are curious, and I have a lot of stuff to share. This channel is a natural fit.”
The nuts and bolts of life as a social media influencer are less of a challenge as Yuen’s father has always been an early adopter of new tech products.
“When I was young, he would buy novel products, such as recorders and video recorders for us to record songs and dances. So I have been receptive to tech products from a young age. While working
at the television station, I picked up a lot of skills in filming, editing and production. I know about home-made movies and professional productions. This experience has been very helpful for me.”
In the past two years, Yuen single-handedly made all the content she’s shared on social media. She shares mostly about fitness, beauty, skincare, food and travel. For example, she is a big advocate of stretching.
“As people age, bones age too, causing pain in the back, hands and legs. Stretching is a great exercise to clear the meridians and promote metabolism. It is great for toning and enhances the body’s flexibility and skin condition. Stretching is a mild form of exercise and suits mature people.”
For skincare, she advocates a light diet, and she loves fish, vegetables and fruit. She recommends soup, which she makes with different ingredients for all her daily meals. She says soup is light, delicious and nutritious, and her whole family loves it.
She doesn’t think soup ingredients need to be sophisticated. Even a simple tomato and egg soup is a healthy choice, loaded with vitamin C, Lycopene, good protein and lecithin.
Yuen says everything she shares on social media is the way she lives naturally, and she won’t set up or prepare just for a production. Even so, she is still troubled by not having enough time to do everything. She has to look after the home life, as well as her daughter’s school work and education.
With the limited time she has available, she has to pick topics, record the footage, edit and mix in sound, and interact with followers. She feels she never has enough time, and feels she has lots she wants to share that she can’t get done, however, she enjoys being busy.
Having a clean living and youthful image on social media, her friends and old colleagues encourage her to make a comeback with producers promising to pave the way for her return—if she’s willing. Under such irresistible temptation, Yuen is still hesitant. “My daughter is still my number one priority. All my plans start with her. She still needs me around at the moment. If I make a comeback, 60 per cent of the pressure I’ll feel will be from myself and only 40 per cent from external pressure. I don’t want a mediocre performance. I want to be 100 per cent involved and committed. So let’s just take it one step at a time and see if I reach the level I want.”
Yuen was self-assured and soft-spoken when talking about her life these past few years. Unmistakably contented and embracing the journey of motherhood she seems centered and focused which surely springs from having clear standards and goals when she was mapping her life journey both for life in front of, and away from, the camera.
Wearing the 2023 Autumn/Winter collection from Louis Vuitton, Yuen looks bold and soft, breezy, determined yet gentle. Time has only added to her grace and charm, which makes us look forward to her return to the spotlight all the more.
