Karena Lam Kar-Yan
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Karena was working at her Vancouver family restaurant when she was discovered by a talent scout from Taiwan in 1993, at age fifteen. The scout persuaded her to fly to Taiwan that Christmas, alone, for a singing audition in the hope of securing a professional contract. The audition was a success and she released two albums, her debut album in 1995 and her second album later in 1999. However both were met with modest success. Her film debut in 2002 changed all this and propelled her to real stardom. Karena starred in three successful Hong Kong films in the same year, winning the awards of Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer for her role in July Rhapsody directed by Ann Hui (at the 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards) and for Inner Senses by Lo Chi Leung (at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards), gaining her recognition as a talented young actress and marking the start of her film career. In recent months she has been taking on much more challenging roles, as witnessed in the 2005 horror film Home Sweet Home, where she plays an insane and horribly deformed "phantom" monster who kidnaps a boy from his genetic mother to claim as its own, and was nominated for major awards again.
Known for
Credits
Dragon Blade (2015)
Actor
The White Storm 2: Drug Lords (2019)
as Chow Man-fung
Silk (2006)
as Wei
Customs Frontline (2024)
as Athena Siu
Man on the Edge (2022)
as Mrs Lam
Worth the Wait (2025)
as Teresa
Inner Senses (2002)
as Cheung Yan
Integrity (2019)
as Kong Suet Yee
Keeper of Darkness (2015)
as Fatt's Mother
Super Model (2004)
as Inspector Karena Zhang
Red Line (2023)
as Wang Le's wife
The Liquidator (2017)
as Wei Wei
American Girl (2021)
as Lily Wang
July Rhapsody (2002)
as Woo Choy-lam
Home Sweet Home (2005)
as Yim Hung
Beyond the Sin (2025)
as Bo Kwan
Fit Lover (2008)
as Nie Bing
1971 (—)
Actor
Heroic Duo (2003)
as Brenda
Tales of Taipei (2024)
as Yu (segment "Breeder")
Daughter's Daughter (2024)
as Emma
Happy Funeral (2008)
as Karena
Tales from the Occult: Body and Soul (2023)
Actor
Let the Wind Carry Me (2009)
as Self
It Had To Be You (2005)
as Jill
Mob Sister (2005)
as Nova
Legally Declared Dead (2019)
as Shum Chi Ling
Tiramisu (2002)
as Jane Chan
Truth or Dare : 6th Floor Rear Flat (2003)
as Karena
Koma (2004)
as Suen Ling
Don Quixote (2010)
as Sang Cuihua
Zinnia Flower (2015)
as Ming
Lover's Discourse (2010)
as Nancy
Claustrophobia (2008)
as Pearl
Heaven in the Dark (2016)
as Michelle
Six Strong Guys (2004)
as 丁丁
Candy Rain (2008)
as Ricky
Anna & Anna (2007)
as Anna / Siyu
Kidnap (2007)
as Lam Hiu Yeung
Bad Acting (2020)
Actor
The Floating Landscape (2003)
as Maan
Moon Wall (2004)
Actor