Born in 1947 in Nanjing, China, Lily Ho was discovered by director Yuan Chiu-feng when he cast her in his film Songfest in 1963. Later she joined Shaw Brothers and became a very popular movie star.

At the beginning of her career she was often cast as either the sexy character or the rebellious girl in films such as her Shaw Brothers' debut Till The End Of Time and her breakthrough performance in The Knight Of Knights, where she daringly appeared in the film half naked, making it one of the most memorable scenes in Chinese movie history.

She was equally adept at performing martial arts roles in films like Angel With The Iron Fists and Chang Cheh's The Water Margin, as well as tender roles in dramas such as My Dream Boat and King Drummer. After My Dream Boat she was able to rub off the typecast of sexy rebellious parts in her past films such as The Angel Strikes Again and the comedy Of Wives And Mistresses. She further expanded her range playing a male role in The 14 Amazons, for which she won an Asian Film Festival Outstanding Lead Female Performance Award in 1973.

It was her sultry, lesbian, love slave character to the seductive actress Betty Pei Ti in Intimate Confessions Of A Chinese Courtesan that won her international critical acclaim. In 1974, while her movie career was at its peak, Ho suddenly retired, and married the son of a shipping tycoon and focused her attention on family life.

Filmography
(Film available in Celestial’s Shaw Brothers Film Library with year of production/ theatrical release)

Songfest (1963)
Song Of Orchid Island (1965)
Till The End Of Time (1966)
The Knight Of Knights (1966)
Auntie Lan (1966)
Princess Iron Fan (1966)
Angel With The Iron Fists (1966)
Hong Kong Nocturne (1967)
009Inter-Pol (1967)
That Tender Age (1967)
My Dream Boat (1967)
King Drummer (1967)
The Silver Fox (1968)
The Angel Strikes Again (1968)
The Brain-Stealers (1968)
The Millionaire Chase (1968)
The Singing Thief (1969)
Tropical Interlude (1969)
The Golden Knight (1969)
The Orchid (1969)
A Time For Love (1970)
The Jade Faced Assassin (1970)
We Love Millionaires (1971)
Lady With A Sword (1971)
Of Wives And Mistresses (1971)
The Lady Professional (1971)
The Venus' Tear Diamond (1971)
The Water Margin (1972)
The Casino (1972)
Trilogy Of Swordsmanship (1972)
The 14 Amazons (1972)
Flower In The Rain (1972)
Intimate Confessions Of A Chinese Courtesan (1972)
The Warlord (1972)
Facets Of Love (1973)
River Of Fury (1973)
Sex, Love And Hate (1974)
Five Tough Guys (1974)