Nicholas Tse

Early life

Tse was born at St. Teresa's Hospital in Ma Tau Wai, Kowloon on 29 August 1980 to Hong Kong actor Patrick Tse (謝賢) and actress Deborah Lee (狄波拉). His younger sister is Jennifer Tse. Tse moved to Vancouver, Canada at eight. He attended St. George's School, Vancouver, where he was friends with Tablo. They were expelled together for fighting with a racist bully. Tse moved back with his family to Hong Kong, where he attended Hong Kong International School for one year before dropping out in grade 10 due to excessive media attention. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to finish his middle school, but was expelled after one year for his academic underperformance. He then moved to Vancouver before returning to Hong Kong. In 1996, at 16, he studied at Tokyo Music Institute. In 2021, Tse announced that he had applied to renounce his Canadian citizenship amid reports that ethnic Chinese celebrities holding foreign passports might face blacklisting by the Chinese government; however, it remains unclear whether his application was approved.

Career

Music

In 1997, partly to help clear the debts incurred by his father, Tse signed a record deal with the Fitto label, which would become Emperor Entertainment Group, and released his first album, My Attitude, to runaway success. He won the Most Popular New Artist Award at the 1997 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation. In 2000 and 2001, Tse released two popular albums, "VIVA" and "Jade Butterfly" (玉蝴蝶). In 2002, Tse received the World's Best Chinese Artist award at the 2002 World Music Award for the latter. In April 2025, Tse became the first Chinese singer to hold concerts at Kai Tak Stadium.Attributed to multiple sources:

Acting

Tse's most notable films include Young and Dangerous: The Prequel (1998), Gen-X Cops (1999), New Police Story (2004) and Invisible Target (2007). Tse's performance in Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) earned him an Asian Film Award at the 4th Asian Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor, and in 2011, Tse received a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards for The Stool Pigeon (2010).

Tse's notable TV dramas include Aiming High (1998), The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra (2002), and The Proud Twins (2004). Tse also lent his voice to the Hong Kong versions of animation films A Bug's Life (1998) and Lotus Lantern (1999).

Tse learned martial arts for the screen from Jackie Chan and Chung Chi Li for films such as Gen-X-Cops and Invisible Target. He also worked with Donnie Yen in the martial arts film Dragon Tiger Gate. Tse is a Wing Chun practitioner, trained by fellow actor and friend Philip Ng.

Cooking

Tse became a TV chef in 2014, when he launched his food travelogue show Chef Nic. In 2015, he opened a cookie bakery in Hong Kong. In 2016, he launched his own lifestyle and food brand Chef Nic (鋒味). On 28 October 2016, Tse was honoured as the first "Friend of Michelin" for his positive contribution to the gastronomic scene through his work. On 30 November 2017, Tse prepared the dessert course for A Night Among the Stars, a seven course gala dinner with Michelin-star chefs Alain Ducasse, Kwong Wai-keung, Tam Kwok-fung, Fabrice Vulin, Hidemichi Seki, and Noah Sandoval. In 2025, Tse joined the Tencent cooking show The Divine Dish as a judge, which drew controversy over alleged plagiarism of the Netflix show Culinary Class Wars.

Personal life

Tse’s earliest acknowledged relationship was with an Italian classmate, whom he met at the age of 15. The relationship ended the same year when Tse went to the United States to study. Heartbroken, he purchased his first second-hand guitar and began writing songs. In 1996, at the age of 16, Tse dated Irene, the daughter of a Canadian businessman; the relationship ended the next year. However, as Tse began taking singing lessons from music teacher Tai See-chung since 14, and later dated Tai's daughter, Wancy Tai, she claimed that she was Tse's first girlfriend.

In 1997, Tse began a relationship with singer Bondy Chiu, which lasted approximately three and a half years. At the end of 1999, Tse entered a relationship with singer Candy Lo, which lasted a few months. Tse had an on-and-off relationship with singer Faye Wong from 2000 to 2003, which ended when Cecilia Cheung became involved. In September 2006, Tse announced that he had married Cecilia Cheung in Pamalican, Philippines. They have two sons: Lucas (), born on 2 August 2007, and Quintus (), born on 12 May 2010. The couple divorced in 2011. In 2014, Tse rekindled his relationship with Faye Wong.

Controversies

Car crash cover-up

In the early morning of 23 March 2002, Tse crashed his Ferrari 360 Modena in Hong Kong Central. Initially, it was claimed that Tse's driver was responsible for the crash, but further investigation by the ICAC revealed that the story was fabricated, involving three other men and a police officer. Officer Lau Chi-Wai was sentenced to six months in prison. Tse spent two weeks in prison and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service for obstruction of justice.

Assault on paparazzi

Tse had his share of brush-ups with "paparazzi" in his early years. A photographer of Sudden Weekly magazine accused Tse of hitting him outside a restaurant in Taiwan, bruising his nose and elbow. Although Tse denied the assault charge, there was a settlement in July 2002.

Reckless driving

In 2002, Tse was fined HK$7,000 and had his driving license suspended for a year after he pleaded guilty to two separate charges of speeding. In 2003, Tse crashed his Toyota Camry into Wan Chai train station. He was banned from driving for six months and fined HK$4,000 for reckless driving.

Discography

Main article: Nicholas Tse discography

;Cantonese albums

• My Attitude (1997)
• Horizons (1998)
• Believe (1999)
• Zero Distance (2000)
• Viva (2000)
• Senses (2001)
• • Jade Butterfly* (2001)
• Me (2002)
• Reborn (2003)
• One Inch Closer (2005)

;Mandarin albums

• Grateful for Your Love '99 (1999)
• Understand (2000)
• The Prophecy (2001)
• Listen Up (2004)
• Release (2005)
• Last (2009)
• Chef Nic (2015)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Notes

References

1. 廖福生. (2021-08-28). "41歲謝霆鋒愛過張柏芝轟轟烈烈 復合大11歲王菲7年不癢".
2. 張國基. (2021-09-05). "謝霆鋒央視訪回應「限籍令」：已經在申請退掉加拿大國籍". 香港01.
3. (2018-12-06). "這些名人也是加拿大人". 加拿大新聞速遞.
4. (2021-09-05). "大陸「限籍令」！謝霆鋒急退加拿大籍親喊：我是中國人".
5. link. (4 March 2011 ." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008.)
6. "香港電影金像獎".
7. (2016-01-25). "Actor Nicholas Tse teams up with Digital Domain to create content, special effects studio".
8. (2001). "大众电视". 大众电视杂志社.
9. (2012-12-08). "Nicholas TSE « Kung Fu Cinema".
10. (2009-10-01). "Epik High成员Tablo自曝谢霆锋是初中好友 {{!}} 韩联社".
11. "韩国新星Tablo重提好友谢霆锋往日"恶"事(图)_影音娱乐_新浪网".
12. (1999-04-18). "Teen star Tse joins family constellation".
13. (2021-09-06). "Actor Nicholas Tse to renounce Canadian citizenship". The Straits Times.
14. TVB. "TVB 無綫電視".
15. Lo, Andrea. (2018-02-28). "How a top actor went from action movies to baking cookies".
16. "Nicholas Tse Buys S$5.3Mil Apartment As Birthday Gift For His Sister".
17. "Michelin Unveils Its First 'Friend of Michelin'".
18. "Six chefs, 14 stars and Nicholas Tse to shine at Macau's 'Michelin Guide' dinner". South China Morning Post.
19. "Macau celebrates festive season with five-star experiences". South China Morning Post.
20. "疑抄袭《黑白大厨》 《一饭封神》被打脸“没买版权”".
21. 网易. (2014-08-02). "房祖名曝谢霆锋为初恋女友学意大利语".
22. "揭开谢霆锋的青涩初恋 曾与亿万富翁之女擦肩而过(图)_娱乐_凤凰网".
23. "戴辛尉谈与谢霆锋的初恋：他少年老成有风度".
24. "謝霆鋒稱非浪子 僅認3段情". 中國時報.
25. "昔日英皇一姐赵学而爆被遗弃和谢霆锋分手真相-搜狐娱乐".
26. (2016-01-01). "卢巧音谈与谢霆锋昔日恋情：性格不合".
27. "Millennial Fair – Faye Wong".
28. "Cecilia Cheung Entertainment News | Stareastasia".
29. Tay, Vanessa Valerie. (14 June 2011). "Nicholas Tse divorces Cecilia Cheung". AsiaOne.
30. Sina.China. "[http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/h/2002-04-13/79528.html Sina.China] {{Webarchive. link. (20 May 2005 ." ''Nicholas Tse incident.'' Retrieved on 23 April 2008.)
31. Kate Drake, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930142336/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501030317-430922,00.html 10 questions for Nicholas Tse], Time Asia
32. (2021-10-12). "When Canto-pop star Nicholas Tse was arrested over Ferrari crash".
33. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2163351.stm "HK star settles assault charge"] , [[BBC News]], 31 July 2002
34. "Nicholas Tse banned for 6 months for careless driving".
35. (9 April 2015). "《惊天破》开放媒体探班 谢霆锋"禁问"王菲冷场". [[People's Daily]].
36. Julie Makinen. (29 June 2015). "Mel Gibson, other Hollywood directors look to China market". [[Los Angeles Times]].
37. (23 December 2021). "Nicholas Tse won the best actor award at the 13th Macau International Film Festival".
38. (June 18, 2024). "漫改武侠！袁和平《镖人》官宣 吴京谢霆锋再合作". [[Sohu]].
39. Goodcare, Kate. (10 February 2012). "America's Next Top Model reveals British theme, new cast, guest judges".
40. (14 July 2014). "Actor Nicholas Tse's Cooking Show Airs in China". CRI English.
41. "Nicholas Tse at hkmdb.com".
42. "Nicholas Tse at chinesemov.com".