By Dionne Yuen

Her smile and optimistic personality have impressed audiences. She is Nancy Sit Kar-yin, who goes by the stage name Auntie Ho.

She is a veteran actress, having started at age 8 and reaching the apex of her career when she was in her 20s. Her second peak came when she took up the role of Auntie Ho.

Although Nancy was very popular in her 20s, that time was also when she experienced many ups and downs in life — encouragements and setbacks that enriched her life.

She was trained as a singer in Japan when she was 20. However, after a year no album had been released.

“I was quite disappointed. I was very popular in Hong Kong, but they treated me like an inexperienced artist,” said she.

Her father then refused to let her work in Japan because he thought it was wasting her time.

“More importantly, he was afraid that I would fall in love with the agents there,” she continued. “My Dad had once fought with the Japanese in a war, so he did not like them at all.”

After that, Nancy started to perform in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, an incident taught her to be more cautious in life.

“In Malaysia, the agency did not pay for my shows though my father posted a notice in newspapers stating that we would not put on shows unless they paid us.”

Nancy then flew back to Hong Kong after three days.

Said Nancy: “The agency invited us again to perform in Borneo, promising to pay all back to us.”

Her father said he would bank the cheque on the day they took the flight.

If the cheque was dishonoured, they would drop the flight.

Consequently, it was dishonoured and she dropped the flight. “My father was smart to recognise the trick; otherwise, we would have put on our show for nothing,” she said.

The organiser later sued them because the show was fully booked and this resulted in chaos.

Her father employed a lawyer for her because she was not yet 21. They won in the end.

“In fact, half of my success in my career lies in the guidance of my parents.”

Her parents deeply inspired her and guided her in the right way.

“They took care of me so well that nothing could scare me at that time,” said she, sighing. “My mother acted as my fashion designer and my father as my agent.”

People may admire the young Nancy for her riches and fame, but sometimes she also had unbearable stress.

Said she: “I was one of the top 10 artists when I was 16. But I could not get any awards. I was so depressed that I cried.

“Yet my father encouraged me and told me not to cry.”

His father taught her that no one would always be at the apex of their career, urging her to grasp every chance when popular whilst accepting the reality when unpopular.

“His words really touched me,” said she.

Pressure comes not only from inside, but also from outside, especially when a famous person is in the public arena.

She said, “Especially when I was young, the public would even criticise your fashion sense.

“When I was 17, I performed in Singapore and Malaysia. But the organiser told me to go back to Hong Kong for more practice. He said I even didn’t know how to hold the microphone.”

She was so upset that her mother comforted and encouraged her to put in more effort.

She then strived to improve her singing with a live band and had live shows.

“Unexpectedly, people loved my live shows so much that the annual sales of my albums reached about 400,000,” said she.

She not only pushes herself to be an all-round actress, but also excels at lauguages and other arts.

Her father employed tutors to teach her Putonghua, Japanese, and English, as well as Kung Fu, dancing and ballet. These foundations have become the backbone for her career.

Said she, “I improved a lot in singing and dancing when I partnered up with Michael Lai Siu Tin in hosting a television programme in 1976.

“However, Michael despised me at first as he was well-talented in music and I was not very good at singing.” Nancy then put more effort into singing.

“He later admired me and the programme was successfully broadcast for about four years. This gave me great satisfaction.”

She realized fame at 28. But she was lonely and empty inside.

One day, she worked overnight. She was so tired that she fell asleep unintentionally.

“When I woke up, my head and hair were all wet and there were numerous mosquito bites on my legs. I felt very annoyed.”

Said she: “I screamed and asked myself, ‘Why do I need to work so hard? For what?’” She realised that she needed a change.

Nancy then did something innovative. She quit showbiz and started her own business.

“Having been to Malaysia for shows, I recognised people there like to have a cup of coffee and watch videos in coffee shops. I believed video retailing would have great potential.”

At that time, no one bought her idea because people kept pirating videos.

“I had paid $200,000 and $300,000 to Television Broadcasts Limited and Rediffusion (Hong Kong) Ltd., respectively, for rights for making videos.

“People said I was stupid because everyone could pirate videos,” said she.

“I was so scared and disappointed,” said she a bit agitatedly, “so I brought the case to the court.”

She won the lawsuit.

Another lawsuit was brought into court to fight for the priority to renew the contract. Again, she won.

“This gave me great satisfaction and proved that I did have insights into my business,” she said cheerfully.

“If you persevere, you will eventually achieve success, through failures.”

She likes learning and wants to be a versatile person.

“On the first date with my husband, I was confident to tell him that I could perform a Spanish dance and traditional drama.

“Being a host of a TV programme and an actress, I told him I could sing pop songs and Japanese songs.

“Then he asked me, ‘Can you cook?’ I was so surprised because I did not know how to cook indeed,” she said, laughing.

She therefore learned cooking and got diplomas in cuisine.

“I knew how to make different kinds of delicacies and got many awards in competitions. You can make it if you put effort in it,” added she with confidence.

She said that her 20s was the most glorious period in her life, because she was young and pretty the time.

But she admitted that the opportunities available to women in society are limited. But she still worked hard to develop to her fullest capacity.

“No matter if you are having bad or good luck, you should always widen your scope and overcome difficulties,” she said.

She lamented that teenagers nowadays give up their lives too easily and recklessly.

She said, “Maybe their lives are too smooth so that they cannot face any failures. They are easily defeated by setbacks. But good luck may be waiting for them if they conquer those difficulties.

To her, even when people nag her, it becomes her motivation to improve.

“The most important point is that you should be sincere to everyone. If you do so, no matter if you are experiencing ups or downs in life, people around you will stand by you,” she said.