Françoise Yip

Early life and education

Yip was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was raised in Toronto, Ontario. Her father is a Canadian of Chinese descent and her mother is French Canadian. At an early age, Yip began studying both piano and dance, excelling on the piano. Although she won many awards, competitions, and kudos, she passed up an opportunity to study music full-time to pursue a degree in Political Science. It was during her years at university that, at the urging of a friend, Yip began modeling. Despite early success, her career as a model didn't last long, as she moved into acting.

Career

Her best-known roles are the redeemable bad girls in Jackie Chan's Rumble in the Bronx and Jet Li's Black Mask. The critical and financial success of Rumble in the Bronx (and its subsequent number-one box-office bow in the United States) made Yip an instant success and garnered her two Hong Kong Film Award nominations. She continued to do movies and star in TV, but her roles were less known or temporary. The characters she plays often get killed or serve as a background character.

Yip appeared in the television series Andromeda as two different characters. Her first character was arrested, and her final character was murdered. She did two movies with Jet Li, the first as a lead romantic interest in Black Mask and the second in Romeo Must Die, but this time she played a Chinese gangster motorcycle assassin killed by Jet Li and Aaliyah. An unfortunate aspect of her career is that none of the TV shows she starred in lasted beyond a full season, and if she did have a starring role in a movie it was a straight-to-video or TV film. She appeared in the film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, and guest-starred in the Canadian TV show Blood Ties.