Zhou Xuan

Zhou Xuan. [Photo: People.com.cn]

Zhou Xuan (1918-1957) was at first a popular singer. After coming in second in a singing competition in Shanghai, she was given the nickname "Golden Voice."

Zhou then started acting in 1935 and achieved stardom in 1937 as one of the leads in the blockbuster film "Street Angel." She sang many famous tunes in her own movies, among which "Shanghai Nights," an interlude song in the film "Missing You," which enjoyed enduring popularity all over China.

However, Zhou led a complicated and unhappy personal life marked by her failed marriages, illegitimate children, and suicide attempts. She also spent most of her life looking for her parents from whom she was separated at the age of 6, but her efforts were ultimately fruitless. She died in a Shanghai mental asylum following a nervous breakdown.