Charmaine Sheh Sze-man (; born 28 May 1975) is a Hong Kong actress and beauty pageant titleholder who placed second runner-up at Miss Hong Kong pageant 1997 and represented her country at Miss International 1997. Sheh signed a contract with TVB in 1998. She is best known for her roles in Return of the Cuckoo (2000), War and Beauty (2004), Maidens' Vow (2006), Forensic Heroes II (2008), Beyond the Realm of Conscience (2009), Can't Buy Me Love (2010), When Heaven Burns (2011), Line Walker (2014), Story of Yanxi Palace (2018) and The Queen of News (2023).
Career Sheh graduated in 1994 from the International Hotel Management Institute Switzerland in Lucerne, Switzerland, with a diploma in hotel management. In October 1997, she signed with Hong Kong television network TVB after emerging as second runner-up in the 1997 Miss Hong Kong Pageant. The early stage of her career was often characterised by her coy, squeaky voice and criticisms of her acting skills. However, Sheh overcame these shortcomings and made her breakthrough in Return of the Cuckoo in 2000, co-starring with Nancy Sit, Julian Cheung and Steven Ma.
In 2006, Sheh became the first TVB actress to win two major awards at the same TVB Anniversary Awards ceremony, clinching the Best Actress Award and My Favourite Female TV Character for her performance in Maidens' Vow.
Sheh also became the first to win the Best Actress award four times, in 2006, 2014, 2023, and 2025.
Sheh also won the Top Four Actresses Award with Ruby Lin, Zhao Wei and Liu Yifei. Sheh was the first Hong Kong television actress to be shortlisted for the semi-finals of the Best Actress category at the 35th International Emmy Awards in 2007.TVB stars get Emmy Awards nods In 2011 she was awarded Best Actress at the Asian Television Awards for her performance in Can't Buy Me Love.
After 14 years, Sheh left TVB to develop her acting career in China and returned in 2014 for a two-year contract with TVBC, a joint venture between TVB and China Media Capital (CMC) and Shanghai Media Group (SMG).
Sheh returned to the small screen in 2014, playing the undercover cop Ting Siu Ka (丁小嘉) in Line Walker, earning critical acclaim. Her on-screen partnership with Raymond Lam was also favoured by viewers. She received eleven awards with her role in Line Walker, including Best Actress and Favourite TV Character at TVB 48th Anniversary Awards, TVB Star Awards Malaysia 2014 and Singapore StarHub TVB Awards 2014, which broke the record of receiving the most awards with a single role in TVB.
In 2018, Sheh was highly praise for her profound portrayal of Hoifa-Nara Shushen (嫻妃) in the Chinese period drama Story of Yanxi Palace. For this role, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 24th Huading Awards and garnered international fame.
She gained some controversy in 2019 when she was seen liking a post on Instagram related to the support of the 2019 Hong Kong protests. This garnered extreme backlash from Chinese citizens calling for her to be banned from the Chinese entertainment industry but she was quick to retract the like and publicly stated that she did not know the context of the photo thinking it was just a nice photograph taken by a known photographer and was extremely shocked when she found out. The statement in turn angered some Hong Kong citizens.
In 2020, Sheh starred in Winter Begonia as the wife of Cheng Fengtai. She portrayed Xiao Hunian in the 2020 drama series The Legend of Xiao Chuo.
In 2023, Sheh portrayed the ambitious and scheming anchorwoman Man Wai-sum (文慧心) in The Queen of News, again earning critical acclaim. She won the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress, Malaysia’s Favourite Actress and Greater Bay Area’s Favourite Actress.
Filmography
Television series YearTitleRole Notes/ 1998 Time Off Mak Yun-Yee 1999 Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain Miu Yeuk-lan Detective Investigation Files IV Man Yuen-lan 2000 Crimson Sabre Ah-kau / Princess Cheung-ping The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre Chow Chi-yeuk Return of the Cuckoo Chuk Kwan-ho TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Television CharacterTVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite On-Screen Partners (Dramas) 2001 Country Spirit Lai Sun-fung TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Television CharacterNominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 5)Seven Sisters Wong Yuk-jam 2002 A Herbalist Affair Ruby Ng Sin-yu Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best ActressNominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Television CharacterLove is Beautiful The White Flame Charlie Yuk Choi-ling Witness to a Prosecution II Yuen Yuk-chu 2003 Perish in the Name of Love Princess Cheung-ping TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Television CharacterNominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 5)Point of No Return Ho Seung-hei Life Begins at Forty Kelly Kwan Tze-kei Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best ActressCarry Me Fly and Walk Off Qin Fang The Voyage of Emperor Qian Long to Jiangnan Empress / Zixia 2004 Love Stories in Regalia Bay Guest star Fantasy Trend Charmaine Sheh Guest starAngels of Mission Yiu Lai-fa Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress War and Beauty Tung-ka Yee-sun TVB Anniversary Award for Best DramaTVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Television CharacterNominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 5) Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite On-Screen Partners (Dramas) 2005 Yummy Yummy – Food For Life Mandy Chow Man-hei Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 10) Always Ready Carrie Hong Yau-nam Strike at Heart Siu Keng 2006 Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion Chun Mung-yiu The Dance of Passion Ka Chun-fen Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 20)Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character (Top 20)Maidens' Vow Ngai Yu-fung / Wong Tze-kwan /Jenny Bak Wai-jan / Dai Sze-ka TVB Anniversary Award for Best ActressTVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character Glittering Days Chu Yuk-lan (Fan Lan) Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 5)Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character (Top 5) 2007 The Drive of Life Wing Sau-fung Word Twisters' Adventures Lap-lan Ching-ching Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character (Top 5) 2008 Forensic Heroes II Bell Ma Kwok-ying Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 10) When Easterly Showers Fall on the Sunny West Yip Heung-ching 2009 You're Hired Lam Miu-miu Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character (Top 5) Beyond the Realm of Conscience Lau Sam-ho South Korea Seoul International Drama Awards: The Most Beloved Asian Stars and Hong Kong Best StarNominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 5)Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character (Top 5)Nominated – Ming Pao Anniversary Awards for Outstanding Actress in Television 2010 Can't Buy Me Love Princess Chiu-yeung TVB Anniversary Award for Best DramaPower Academy Award for Outstanding Actress in TelevisionAsian Television Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleTVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female CharacterMalaysia Astro MY AOD Favourite Award for Best ActressMalaysia Astro MY AOD Favourite Awards: Top 10 Favourite TV CharactersMing Pao Anniversary Awards for Outstanding Actress in TelevisionMing Pao Anniversary Awards for My Most Supportive PerformanceSingapore StarHub TVB Awards: Best TV ActressSingapore StarHub TVB Award: Favourite On Screen CoupleSouth Korea Seoul International Drama Awards: The Most Beloved Asian Stars and Hong Kong Best StarNominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 5) Justice, My Foot Wanzhong Wuyi 2011 My Sister of Eternal Flower Fa Lai-Chu Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 15) Female Constables Liu Mingyue 2011–2012 When Heaven Burns Hazel Yip Chi-Yan TVB Anniversary Award for Best DramaNominated – TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress (Top 5)Nominated – TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character (Top 10)Nominated – My AOD Favourite Award for Best Actress (Top 5)Nominated – My AOD Favourite Award for Top 15 Character 2012 Let It Be Love Chloe Tung Oi-ying Nominated – My AOD Favourite Award for Best Screen Couple Marry into the Purple Shen Yingxiu The Legend of Kublai Khan Empress Chabi 2014 A Time of Love Crystal Line Walker Ding Siu-Ka Singapore StarHub TVB Awards for Best ActressSingapore Starhub TVB Awards for My Top 6 Favourite Female TV CharacterTVB Star Awards Malaysia for My Favourite ActressTVB Star Awards Malaysia for My Top 15 Favourite TV CharacterNominated – TVB Star Awards Malaysia for Most Favourite On-Screen Couple with Raymond Lam (Top 3)TVB Anniversary Award for Best ActressTVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female CharacterTVB Anniversary Award for Best Drama15th Huading China Award 2015 for Best TV Series ActressWeibo's Star 2014 for Weibo's Powerful TV DramaWeibo's Star 2014 for Weibo's Powerful TV Female CharacterWeibo's Star 2014 for Weibo's Powerful On-Screen Couple (with Raymond Lam)2016 A Time of Love II Crystal 2017Bet HurSi Siu-DungNominated – TVB Star Awards Malaysia for My Top 15 Favourite TV Character2018 My Ages ApartLeng LuiGuest Star Story of Yanxi Palace Hoifa-Nara Shushen Nominated_Best Supporting Actress 24th Huading Awards Domestic TV Series Ceremony, China: Breakthrough Actress of the Year 2020 Winter BegoniaFan Xiang'erChinese American Film festival, Golden Angel TV Award Best Leading ActressThe Legend of Xiao Chuo Xiao Hunian 2023 The Queen of NewsMan Wai-sum TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress TVB Anniversary Awards for Malaysia's Most Favorite Actress TVB Anniversary Awards for Greater Bay Area's Most Favorite Actress2024 The Heir to the ThroneCharlotte Yau Hou-yee2025 The Queen of News 2Man Wai-sum
Film YearTitleRole Notes2000 Perfect Match Ah Yun 2001 Blue Moon Yip Ah-yuen 2002 Love is Butterfly Sprite 2003 The Final Shot Kiwi 2007 The Lady Iron Chef Siu Ah-si 2010 72 Tenants of Prosperity Aunt Three Guest star2011 Love is the Only Answer Ah Bo 2015 Triumph in the Skies Cassie Poon Return of the Cuckoo Chuk Kwan-ho 2016 Line Walker Ding Siu Ka 2017 Always Be With You Ah Si 2018 Agent Mr ChanYu XiangThe LeakerCarly YuenGolden JobZoeGuest appearance2019SiberiaAn Lan2022Death NoticeHon Siu-hungGuest appearance
Variety shows Year Title Role Awards Notes2022Memories Beyond Horizon Host
Music video appearances YearSong titleArtist Notes2010 "我們很好 We Are Fine" Raymond Lam 2014 "We Are the Only One" Various TVB Artists 2016 "無人知道雙子座 The Gemini No One Knows" Joey Yung 2018 "我們萬歲 Long Live Us" Eason Chan
Discography Soundtrack appearances Original title English title Television / film With帝女芳魂 "The Fragrance of the Princess' Soul" Theme song for Perish in the Name of Love Steven Ma星星的加冕 "Crowning of Stars" Theme song for HK Children's version of Jewel in the Palace 與朋友共 "With Friends" Theme song for Yummy Yummy – Food for Life Raymond Lam, Kevin Cheng, Tavia Yeung黃沙中的戀人 "Lovers of the Golden Sands" Ending song for The Dance of Passion 出走的公主 "Runaway Princess" Theme song for Runaway Princess (Thai series) 卡門 "Carmen" Song for Glittering Days 往事只能回味 "The Past Can Only be Reminisced" Song for Glittering Days 搖搖的祝勉 "Silent Wishes" Song for Glittering Days Wong Cho Lam像霧又像花 "Like Mist, Like Flower" Song for Glittering Days 我的心裏没有他 "My Heart Doesn't Have Him" Song for Glittering Days 淚的小雨 "Teary Raindrop" Song for Glittering Days Joel Chan蝶變 "Butterfly Changes" Theme song for Maidens' Vow 禁戀 "Forbidden Love" Ending song for Maidens' Vow 等你 "Waiting for You" Ending song for Forensic Heroes II 陪你哭也只得我 "I Am the Only One to Cry with You" Ending song for When Easterly Showers Fall on the Sunny West Joe Ma風車 (Red) "Pinwheel" Ending song for Beyond the Realm of Conscience
Awards