Avid fans of the martial arts movie genre will recognize the steely
beauty of Angela Mao Ying from the picture above. But not many
have a clue of just how prominent of an actress she was in her
heyday in 1970's Hong Kong.
The most widely known movie role she played was that of Su
Lin, the sister to Bruce Lee's character in the 1973 instant classic,
'Enter The Dragon'. The role displays Mao Ying at her sharpest,
single-handedly taking on a gang of villains intent on raping
her. The scene ends however, when faced with defeat she takes
her own life rather than be taken advantage of. In some respects,
this shows the fiery personality of Mao Ying and a strong sense
of female self-empowerment that she expressed in some of her
roles. She was a star with the Golden Harvest studios, and this
placed her alongside notable legends Jackie Chan and Sammo
Hung Kam-Bo. In 1982, Mao Ying retired to devote her time to
her husband and family. 
Unfortunately, a good deal of Angela Mao Ying films aren't
widely available which in light of some of the roles she was
given may have been best. Mao Ying possessed a magnetic
cinematic personality; her soft but striking features were the
framework for her adept martial arts skills, learned in the
Peking Opera. Some of her scenes are truly remarkable; in
The Tournament(1974), she even demolishes male opponents
in a Muay Thai arena!!! Even though her time in the spotlight
was short, Angela Mao Ying helped paved the way for future
female martial artists worldwide and demonstrated her own
memorable combination of beauty and strength.
Fight scene from Hapkido(1972)
Fight scene from The Association(1975)