Grace expressed: "Hong Kong thinks being a virgin is a big deal because they don't have respect for this matter. If there was respect, then you would think its correct, what's so odd about it?" Grace's Chinese isn't considered really good, but she can still K.O some mistaken ideas in just a few words. She is born in HK, grew up in New York and inside she's very traditional. Some things does not necessarily have an equal sign in between them, just like she may appear sexy, but that does not mean she's easy.
"I could be whining to others, but I just do that to girls; Any guy who wants to touch me, I will tell him to back off." It might seem like an illusion to find a 27 year old virgin in the entertainment circle, but this dream is too strong to break.
Grew up in New York, dress sexily and speaks like a Western girl, does that necessarily mean she's really open? That may not be the case.
"At age 11, a classmate came crying to me, her 'first time' was taken by someone the previous night, but because she was too drunk, she didn't know who the person was. She just felt pain in the lower half of her body. At age 12, another classmate told me they wanted to drop out of school because she was pregnant. I've seen too many of these cases since youth, my female friends breaks up with their boyfriends after sex, they feel a lot of regret and wants to find another guy to satisfy certain needs. I don't want to be like them."
Can't Say 'I Love You', Then Can't Be Sexually Active
"It's true, I enjoy dancing and partying, but I protect my body well, my 'gate' is very strong. Where did I learn this from? Definitely not at school because schools give out condoms. It is definitely not at home either because my family is very conservative, basically they won't talk to me about sex. I remember when I was six or seven years old, there was already a voice telling me, 'Grace, if you cannot say I love you to a man, then don't get sexually active with him.' If you cannot die for the man, then you won't say I love you to him. So, whenever I'm in a relationship, I'm looking for a husband. If I feel you can't be my husband, then I won't talk to you."
That voice is God. Whether you believe it or not, Grace believes it. Grace's first relationship was at age 17, her first love is a Korean student. They dated two months and broke up.
"He was a devout Christian, very pure and it was because he was too good, every time I went to his house and saw his parents, I felt really pressured. I felt like I didn't match him. He should find a girlfriend who is sweeter, smaller and more behaved. That's why I broke up with him."
Grace's second boyfriend was Caucasian, he was a talented dancer and Grace really liked him, but their relationship only lasted for two months.
"After two months of dating, I felt he wanted to sex. I asked myself, can I die for him? I wasn't at that stage yet. I told him I don't want to get sexually active as of yet, and to my surprise, he got upset! Then fine, I wasn't wrong about my persistence."
"I Was Not Suppose to Be Born"
Now how can Grace's story just stop at romantic relationships? The frank, straightforward and strong character she has today accumulated from her experiences.
Grace is the youngest of two, she has one older brother and older sister. Her father is extremely biased towards boys, he always wanted to have more boys. When Grace was still in her mother's womb, the ultrasound couldn't determine whether she was carrying a boy or a girl, this was how Grace survived. Grace immigrated to New York at age 4, she lived with her paternal grandparents and cousins. The whole family were valued boys more than girls.
"My family thought girls are just used to wash dishes, do laundry and do chores. Luckily I lived in New York, of course I didn't care about them. When I was 5, I went to school alone; at age 9, I went on the subway on my own to take dance lessons. I wanted to work hard and didn't want my family to look down on me."
Grace's mother and older brother loved her the most, but she only saw her father twice a year. When Grace went back to HK to participate in Miss HK, she was named first runner-up.
"I enjoy dancing and singing on stage, Miss HK came closest to my interest and it was pretty fun, so I went for it. Basically I didn't know what TVB was."
Before completing her Miss HK term, she was already appointed to participate in Strictly Come Dancing 2 and won the competition. At last, she accomplished something.
"In the makeup room, I encountered Ah Jeh (Liza Wang). She called me Dance Queen. Mr Chan (Stephen Chan) also grabbed me and said, 'You won some light for TVB, good girl!' At the time, I really felt like I was floating."
Among the four romantic story lines in TVB series Awfully Lawful, Honey (Grace) and "Big Uncle" (Pal Sinn) is the most enjoyable to watch. Grace said: "Pal gor had so many 80s gags to tell us, but I didn't understand any of it. That's the only way I could hold in my laughter!"
How to Behave Behind-the-Scenes
Grace's "audience fate" is getting better and better; more opportunities are coming at her. Even if she still cannot get away from looking sexy.
"I understand TV series want the picture to look pretty and request that I wear tight clothing or act sexy, I'm OK with that. So far, it is all required by my roles. I have never felt my colleagues at TVB are trying to take advantage me because I'm Grace Wong and I'm easy going. Every time there is a new role, the producer will have a meeting with me. They all respect me. An artist's behavior behind-the-scenes can really influence his/her prospects on-screen. If I started off whining to the producer and being too attached in hope to get promotions, I think nobody would respect me."
Goal is to be a Role Model
Who said a woman with a nice figure doesn't have a brain? Although Grace is still a second-line actress, her career path is very positive.
She smiled: "My goal is to be a role model, not an idol. I know where I am, although I'm just a second-line actress, I won't underestimate myself. Actually I quite enjoy being a guest star. Guest stars usually make a breakthrough."
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