Former actress Michelle Sima Yan dies of cancer, aged 51
Beauty pageant led to film and TV career for Sima before she bowed out to raise family
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 13 January, 2015, 11:33pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 13 January, 2015, 11:33pm
Michelle Sima Yan 1964-2015
Michelle Sima Yan was first diagnosed with cancer in 2012
Former actress and beauty queen, Michelle Sima Yan, died at the weekend following a prolonged fight with stomach cancer. She was 51.
"After a courageous battle against cancer, our true beloved Michelle Sima Yan has passed away peacefully in her sleep on Saturday," Sima's family said yesterday in a media statement
"Thank you for always caring and at this extremely sad time, please accept the privacy of her family to grieve and bid her a last farewell."
Sima launched her showbiz career in the 1980s, when she entered the Miss Hong Kong pageant. Often billed as Sze Ma-yin, she became an actress in film and television, usually in supporting or sex symbol roles. Her personality earned her many friends in the entertainment world.
Sima married businessman Togi Gouw in 1996 and retired from acting. They had two sons, including Gouw Ian Iskandar, who succeeded his mother in the showbiz world.
As a nine-year-old in 2006, Ian became Hong Kong's brightest young star, appearing opposite Aaron Kwok Fu-shing in After This, Our Exile. Ian won best new performer and best supporting actor with his role as the son of a troubled father at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
"Although I was an actress, I seldom watched my films," Sima said in an interview with the Post in 2007. "I didn't give Ian any training as I didn't intend to bring him up as an actor."
Sima was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2012, but beat the disease at the time following extensive surgery.
To celebrate the occasion and their 17th wedding anniversary, her husband staged a ceremony with Sima in a Dutch castle.
But Sima's conditions deteriorated last year, and she was discharged from the hospital in mid-December to spend the holidays with her family.
Fans set up a Facebook page to commemorate the actress, posting web links to videos of Sima's past appearances.
Details of the funeral have yet to be confirmed.
Staff Reporter
