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All smiles: Sammi Cheng, who battled depression for three years, is now rejuvenated and have a positive outlook in life.

The amiable Sammi Cheng speaks about how her battle with depression changed her life and career.

IT seems almost unfair to call Sammi Cheng a “veteran Hong Kong singer and actress”. Even at the age of 40, she has not lost any of her trademark vibrancy and carefree, amiable attitude.

Heck, she doesn’t even look 40. When we met her recently at the OSIM uAngel launch at One Utama, she looked as radiant and energetic as ever, despite a hectic day of meeting fans and conducting interviews.

She may still seem as young and pretty as she did two decades ago when she made her debut as a fresh-faced singer in Hong Kong, but in terms of her career, she has certainly come a long way.

Cheng made her debut at a singing competition at the tender age of 16, where she was spotted by label scouts, and then went on to become the most decorated singer in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry.

She also turned out to be a pretty good actress as well, starring in hits such as My Left Eye Sees Ghosts, Summer Holiday, and Johnny To’s Needing You, in which she was nominated for the best actress award at the 2001 Hong Kong Film Awards. She was even nominated for the best actress award at the 2005 Venice International Film Festival for her role in Everlasting Regret, alongside international actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabelle Huppert and Monica Bellucci.

Unfortunately, the pressures of superstardom eventually got to her in 2005. Suffering from severe depression, she decided to take a sabbatical and get away from the pressures of the showbiz industry. The hiatus lasted about 1,000 days, and in that period, Cheng managed to pull herself out of the rut through a combination of religion (she became a reborn Christian) and family support.

“When I was in depression, even my own family didn’t know what was happening with me, because I never told them anything. But they were always there beside me, and that helped me a lot,” she recalled.

Cheng reckons that she emerged from those three “lost years” a better and more positive person. “I think we all need to make a conscious choice to be more positive, even though it is really hard to be like that all the time. Those three years helped me learn how to pull myself up,” she said, adding that everyone needs someone to confide in and talk to. “We all need someone to trust, to talk to and share your experiences and problems with. It doesn’t matter if it is your sister, boyfriend or husband... we all need someone to talk to.”

Despite having more than 20 years of experience under her belt, Cheng believes there are still plenty of new experiences she has yet to go through. For instance, she claims to have a set of new ideas and themes for her future concerts (though she won’t be holding one in Malaysia anytime soon, unfortunately), and she would also like to take part in a theatre production one day.

Although Cheng denies that there is a difference between the way she approaches her work pre- and post-depression, she admitted that she has since learned to be a lot more relaxed about it.

“My fire and passion for my work has not changed, but I now have a different point of view in terms of my goals and results,” she said. “In the past, I would try my very best to achieve everything in order to get the best result. But now, I am more at peace with myself.

“I used to think and fret constantly, and would always try to accomplish everything on my own. These days, my mind is always completely blank! After all the work each day, I would just leave it behind and get on with my life,” she said, adding that even her fans have asked her not to push herself too much. “Some fans have come up to me and asked me not to work so hard! They’d say, ‘Don’t give your 100%, 98% is enough!’” she said with a laugh.

“But that’s the way I am ... although the work can get tough sometimes, I still get a great sense of accomplishment and happiness knowing that I gave it my all. That part of me has not changed at all – no matter what I do, I will always give it everything I have.”