Karen Mok


Karen Joy Morris, better known as Karen Mok, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is considered one of the leading East Asian pop singers and actresses with a career spanning three decades. Mok is the first female Hong Kong singer to win the Golden Melody Award, and to date has won it three times.
Mok has released 18 solo studio albums, starred in over 40 movies, and has over 15 million followers on leading Chinese social media site Weibo. The Lhasa concert during The Ultimate Karen Mok Show set the Guinness World Record for the Highest Altitude Mass-Attended Music Concert. In 2024, Mok was the first female singer to do a solo concert in Beijing National Stadium, the Bird's Nest.
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Early life

Karen Mok was born on 2 June 1970 as Karen Joy Morris in Hong Kong. She is of mixed ancestry: her mother is half Chinese, quarter German and quarter Persian, while her father is half Welsh and half Chinese. Her grandfather was Alfred Morris, the first principal of King's College, Hong Kong. She speaks English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, German and French.
Mok attended Diocesan Girls' School from primary to secondary grade in Hong Kong. When she was a F.4 student, she received the 1st Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards. In 1987, she won a scholarship for the United World College of the Adriatic in Duino from which she graduated in 1989 with the International Baccalaureate. She subsequently studied Italian Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Music career

1993–2004: Career beginnings and musical breakthrough

While studying in London, Mok auditioned for the West End Musical Miss Saigon. At the same time, she recorded music demo tapes together with fellow students which landed her first recording contract with Star Records. She decided to put her theatre aspirations on hold, headed back to Hong Kong and released in 1993 her first Cantonese album Karen. She achieved her musical breakthrough with the launch of her first Mandarin album To Be in 1997. In 2000, she gave her debut solo concert, The Very Karen Mok Show, in Taipei in front of 20,000 spectators.

2005–2014: International efforts

In 2005, she started her international concert tours with the Extremely Karen Mok Show. She also assumed the role of creative director and producer in her concert tours.
In 2013, she launched her English album Somewhere I belong, an East-meets-West reinterpretation of jazz classics. The album is recorded in China with East Asian musicians and adding the guzheng on several tracks. She showcased this album at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London, on 30 May 2013. Mok said about the title of the album: “It’s about what I do, when I feel comfortable, that’s when I’m doing what I love most, that’s singing, that’s when I’m performing on stage, and just singing my heart out, sharing my emotions,” she said. “So that’s where I belong.” The Age of Moknificence Tour celebrated her 20th anniversary in show business.

2015–2020: Tours and world records

The Regardez Tour started in Taipei and led Mok to 27 cities in Asia, North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. As part of this tour, she was the first Chinese pop artist to give solo concerts in Madrid and Milan.
The Ultimate Karen Mok Show started on 23 June 2018 with the concert in the Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai 23 June 2018 in front of more than 20,000 spectators and totaled 48 concerts in 40 cities in Asia, Europe and Australia. The tour was largely conducted in outdoor stadiums, with the maximum attendance of 40,000 in the Beijing Workers' Stadium, Beijing, on 22 September 2019. On 12 October 2019, she performed in Lhasa at an altitude of 3650m, setting the Guinness World Record for the Highest Altitude Mass-Attended Music Concert and being the first solo stadium concert in Tibet. Her concerts in the Taipei Arena on 7 and 8 December 2019 had the special feature that she performed entirely different song lists on each night. The European leg of the tour brought her in London to the Palladium and in Paris to the Folies Bergère, making her the first Chinese pop singer to perform in this venue.

2021–present: Continued success

With the Ultimate tour, Mok celebrated her 25th anniversary in show business. Interrupted by the events around the global Covid pandemic, the tour finished with three concerts in Hong Kong in June 2021. Her 2021 single "Empty World" had over 3bn streams on Chinese music platforms and became an anthem during the Covid pandemic in mainland China.
In 2024 and 2025, Mok ran a series of large-scale stadium concerts titled "The Big Big Show", commencing in Beijing on 15 June 2024 in front of an audience of 60,000, followed by concerts in Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Wuhan in the later part of 2024. In 2025, the series continued with concerts in Suzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xian. In the course of this concert series "The Big Big Show", she was the first female singer to perform a solo concert in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium.

Notable collaborations

Mok has collaborated on stage and in the studio with numerous leading global artists. Amongst others, she performed together with The Black Eyed Peas, Andrea Bocelli, Far East Movement, Lang Lang, John Legend, Sergio Mendes, Mika, Keanu Reeves and Pharrell Williams.

Acting career

Films

Mok gave her film debut in 1993 with a cameo role in the movie The Tigers – The Legend of Canton. Her first starring role was in 1995 together with Stephen Chow in A Chinese Odyssey. In the same year, she acted in Wong Kar Wai’s movie Fallen Angels, for which she received the award for Best Supporting Actress at the Hong Kong Film Award and the Golden Bauhinia Awards. In total, she starred in more than 40 movies.
Outside Greater China, she acted in the 2004 Hollywood production Around the World in 80 Days with Jackie Chan and in the Thai horror movie The Coffin. She also played the female lead role in Keanu Reeves’ directorial debut Man of Tai Chi.

Theatre and TV

Throughout her career, Mok has frequently branched into adjacent areas of performances. In 2005/2006, she played the female lead Mimi in the 10th Anniversary Asian Tour of the Broadway musical Rent. In 2001, she supplied the voice of Princess Kida for the Cantonese dub of Walt Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire. In 2020, Mok sang the theme song of the Hong Kong TVB drama Flying Tiger II. The theme song, "呼吸有害, Breathing Is Hazardous", topped all radio, TV and digital platforms in Hong Kong, a first in Cantopop.
In 2016 and 2017, she starred in the two reality TV productions Up Idol, of Hunan Television and The Next, season 1 and season 2, of Dragon Television. On 20 May 2021, Mok won the 星耀年度金曲 award with Breathing is Hazardous at Weibo Starlight Awards 2020''.''

Public image

Special events

She was a torch bearer for the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing and performed at the opening and closing ceremonies. In 2016, she was awarded the title of Cultural Ambassador of the Italian city of Bergamo, being the first Chinese to be awarded this title.
In 2023, Karen Mok celebrated the 30th anniversary of her career in show business with dedicated exhibitions in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei and Chengdu, titled "Reign of Moknificence", featuring materials from her careers across music, film and charity.

Brands

In October 2008, she launched her own line of perfume. Starting in 2015, she collaborated with the Italian brand Rucoline, also developing her own designs. In the following year, she initiated a crossover collection with Replay, leading up to a launch event and pop-up store at Harvey Nichols in London in 2018. Mok has been the face of leading global brands such as Cadillac, Canon, Cartier, Chow Tai Fook, Clear, Kappa, Lux, Mandarin Oriental, Schwarzkopf, Schweppes and Solvil et Titus.

Activism and charity

Mok is a strong advocate for animals and has been involved in numerous campaigns for this purpose. Amongst others, she has joined efforts with Animals Asia to help Asiatic black bears which are exploited for the extraction of bile, and has been on an expedition with Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to demonstrate against the culling of baby seals. She has also been involved with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
In 2007, Mok was involved with MTV EXIT, a campaign against human trafficking in Asia, presenting Traffic: An MTV EXIT Special, a documentary on trafficking. In 2013 she championed in the campaign Roll Back Malaria. Mok currently serves as an ambassador for UNICEF, SPCA, Animals Asia Foundation and Care for Children. In 2017, Mok created the Morris Charity Initiative, providing support in animal welfare, education and the environment. As a first initiative, the charity raised money for a scholarship at the United World College Changshu. Since then the charity has provided numerous donations to charities across the target areas.

Personal life

Mok married her boyfriend, German-born Johannes Natterer, at a church near Florence, Italy, on 1 October 2011. Mok has three adult step-children and spends her time between London and her international engagements. In 2017, they celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary with an elaborate party at Kensington Palace.

Filmography

YearEnglish titleChinese titleRole
1993The Tigers – The Legend of Canton廣東五虎之鐵拳無敵孫中山Feminist
1994Family Affair清官難審
1995Fallen Angels墮落天使Blondie
1995Out of the Dark回魂夜Kwan
1995Heaven Can't Wait救世神棍Joan
1995A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box西遊記之月光寶盒Pak Jing-jing
1995A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella西遊記之仙履奇緣Pak Jing-jing
1996The God of Cookery食神Twin Dagger Turkey
1996Viva Erotica色情男女May
1996Black Mask黑俠Tracy Lee
1996Best of the Best飛虎II之傲氣比天高Karen Kook
1996Kitchen我愛廚房Jenny
1996Four Faces of Eve四面夏娃Mistress of Chan Giu's husband
1996Young and Dangerous 3古惑仔III之隻手遮天Lam Shuk-fan
1996Sexy and Dangerous古惑女Van Chai / Chan Lai-wan
1996Those Were the Days4個32A和一個香蕉少年Patricia
1996wkw/tk/1996@7'55"hk.net
1997Task Force熱血最強Shirley Lau
1997Lawyer Lawyer算死草Wu Man
1997First Love: The Litter on the Breeze初纏戀後之二人世界
1997Young and Dangerous 497古惑仔之戰無不勝Wasabi / Lam Shuk-fan
1999King of Comedy喜劇之王Sister Cuckoo
1999Tempting Heart心動Chen Li
2000Dragon Heat龍火
2000The Teacher Without Chalk流氓師表Sister Teresa
2000Roaring Wheels車神傳說Suki Fung
2000Bruce Law Stunts特技猛龍
2001Goodbye, Mr. Cool九龍冰室Helen Poon / Macau Hung
2001Shaolin Soccer少林足球Dragon Twin
2001La Brassiere絕世好braShirley
2002Haunted OfficeOffice有鬼Pat
2002The Irresistible Piggies豬扒大聯盟So Mei
2002So Close夕陽天使Kong Yat-hung
2002Red Snow極地營救
2003The Twins Effect千機變Ivy
2003Love Under the Sun愛在陽光下
2004Enter the Phoenix大佬愛美麗Julie Lui
2004Around the World in 80 Days環遊世界80天General Fang
2005DragonBlade: The Legend of Lang龍刀奇緣Ying Ying
2005Wait 'til You're Older童夢奇緣Tsui Man
2006The Heavenly Kings四大天王
2006Magic & Me千變魔手
2007Mr. Cinema老港正傳Luk Min
2008Lost Indulgence秘岸Su Dan
2008The Coffin棺材Zoe
2010Go Lala Go!杜拉拉升職記Rose
2010The Road Less Traveled一路有你Susan
2011The Law of Attraction萬有引力Mei
2011East Meets West東成西就2011Chung Siu-ming / Sammi
2013Man of Tai Chi太極俠Sun Jing Shi
2013Better and Better越來越好·村晚
2014The Great Hypnotist催眠大師Ren Xiaoyan
2016A Chinese Odyssey Part Three大話西遊 – 叁Pak Jing-jing
2024Cesium Fallout焚城Cecilia

Discography

Karen Karen Mok in Totality To Be I Say You Can This is Karen Mok Karen Mok on the Twelfth Floor Golden Flower X Without You Live is… Karen Mok Hui Wei Precious Somewhere I Belong Departures Half Time The Voyage
  • ''Karen Mok & The Masters''

Concert tours

Awards and nominations

[Huading Awards]

[China Central Television] – [MTV] [Music] [Awards]