Born
17 August 1978 (47)
Place of Birth
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Also known as
Karena Lam, Kar Yan Lam
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 stard...
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.
Worth the Wait
2025
Beyond the Sin
2025
Daughter's Daughter
2024
Tales of Taipei
2024
Customs Frontline
2024
Tales from the Occult: Body and Soul
2023
Red Line
2023
Man on the Edge
2022
American Girl
2021
Bad Acting
2020
Legally Declared Dead
2019
The White Storm 2: Drug Lords
2019
Integrity
2019
The Liquidator
2017
Heaven in the Dark
2016
Keeper of Darkness
2015
Zinnia Flower
2015
Dragon Blade
2015
Lover's Discourse
2010
Don Quixote
2010
Let the Wind Carry Me
2009
Fit Lover
2008
Claustrophobia
2008
Candy Rain
2008
Happy Funeral
2008
Anna & Anna
2007
Kidnap
2007
Silk
2006
Home Sweet Home
2005
Mob Sister
2005
It Had To Be You
2005
Six Strong Guys
2004
Super Model
2004
Koma
2004
Moon Wall
2004
The Floating Landscape
2003
Heroic Duo
2003
Truth or Dare : 6th Floor Rear Flat
2003
Tiramisu
2002
Inner Senses
2002