Samantha Ko

Early life

Ko was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Her ancestral home is Chaozhou, Guangdong Province. Ko immigrated to Hong Kong when she was thirteen.^[2] When she was a child, she took her grandmother's surname when she lived in mainland China. Later, she came to Hong Kong and lived with her parents and two younger brothers in a rooftop unit in a building in Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon.^[3] At the age of 18, she changed her name from "Shen Jiangli" to "Ko Hoi-ling".^[4] She graduated from Nanjing Shuangqiaomen Central Primary School (now Nanjing Qinhuai Experimental Primary School) (1999).^[5] After immigrating to Hong Kong, she attended SKH St. Mary's Church Mok Hing Yiu College [zh]^[6] (2005, Secondary 5).^[7] She also obtained 22 points in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination,^[8]

Entering the industry and performing arts development

Ko was a model under "Elite Model Management Hong Kong",^[9] later she was encouraged by her parents to participate in the "2008 Miss Hong Kong Pageant", where she successfully entered the finals and won the "Tourism Ambassador Award". She was later accepted by TVB as a contract artist and also attended events as a Miss Hong Kong representative.^[10][11][12]

In 2023, Ko continued to endorse the beauty center, marking her 12th year as the brand spokesperson. In November of the same year, Ko played the role of news anchor "Kathy Hui Sze-ching" in the TVB anniversary drama The Queen of News, and her acting skills were recognized by netizens. She also won the "Best Supporting Actress" at the TVB Awards Presentation 2023 for this drama.^[13][14]

Event

In February 2024, Lionel Messi went to Hong Kong to attend the Inter Miami vs. Hong Kong Team match, but did not play in person. When Ko was interviewed, she said that she could understand and forgive Messi's absence due to injury, which attracted criticism from netizens. She later apologized for her previous statement on the social platform and said that she would continue to pay attention to the incident and hoped that the incident could be reasonably explained.^[15]

Television dramas

Variety Shows

• 2024 Memories Beyond Horizon: Season 2 (Youku/TVB)^[20]
• 2024 Because We Are Friends: Season 2 (因為是朋友呀2, Douyin/Emperor Motion Pictures)^[21]

Films

• 72 Tenants of Prosperity (2010)
• Perfect Wedding (2010)
• Beauty on Duty! (2010)
• I Love Hong Kong (2011)
• Delete My Love (2014)
• From Vegas to Macau II (2015)
• Never Too Late (2017)
• The Sexy Guys (2019)

^{[22] [23]}