This is the 80th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.Surviving Hong Kong’s ruthless entertainment industry is a rare feat; doing so while wholly redefining your public image is nearly unprecedented. Yet, Charlene “Ah Sa” Choi Cheuk-yin has managed to do both.Debuting in 2001 as one half of the Cantopop duo Twins alongside Gillian Chung Yan-tung, Choi became a household name overnight. But her journey from teenage pop idol to respected actress was marked by intense public scrutiny.A whirlwind rise to Cantopop royaltyBorn in November 1982 in Vancouver, Canada, Choi moved to Hong Kong as a young child and studied at prestigious local schools. As a Form Three student, she started modelling, which caught the attention of Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), her label to this day.At age 17, Choi made her acting debut in the RTHK television drama Youth@Y2K (2000). In 2001, she starred in the anthology romance Heroes in Love then played a cancer patient in Funeral March, which earned her a best new performer nomination at the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards.