Teresa Fu Wing is a former member of Cookies, and its later incarnation, Mini Cookies, and is now starting out on a solo Cantopop career. She talks to June Ng about her confidence issues.

I'm from a poor family. We lived in a hut. My parents never got along.

My dad left many years ago. He was seeing someone else. My parents have had issues with each other for a long, long time.

But they only divorced a couple years ago. My mom had refused to sign the divorce agreement - she thought that was a way to keep the family intact, even if it was in name only.

I wish they had divorced. I know my mom wanted us to grow up in a so-called “complete family,“ but it was too painful to see their relationship drug out like that.

Needless to say, I'm really cautious about romantic relationships now. However, I have regained some faith after dating a few nice guys. 

But I still think that even the best guy in the world could go bad. Men are subject to change. 

Casual dating is unhealthy and pathetic. But many guys seem to prefer that.

I don’t know Edison Chen. I only spoke to him twice during a movie we were shooting. I just said “hi” and “bye.”

My career is more important than any relationship. I’ve been in show business for six years, but I had barely gotten anywhere until last year.

My darkest age was when Mini Cookies broke up.

The three other members had specialties like singing and acting, but I was assigned to shoot commercials. The reason was clear – I couldn’t act or sing.

When you lack confidence, you just end up screwing up everything.

I had no confidence in myself at all. I started to get sick frequently. I had a fever almost every week.

I was on an IV drip. At my lowest point, I realized that I was the only one who could save myself. No one else could.

I convalesced for a long time and then published two books of my sketches and writing. The second one was a bestseller!

Suddenly, people became interested in me again. I guess my new image helped, too.

Why is it bad if people use their beauty to help further their career? The pretty ones have to work hard to get what they want, too.

Hong Kongers are so superficial. They always judge a book by its cover.

I used to study hard, but in Form 4 I suddenly thought, “Why do I have to push myself so hard in these subjects I’m not interested in?” After that, I lost all my motivation to study.

I dropped out in Form 6 and entered show business. It wasn’t for the money, even though my family was so poor.

I’m not money-hungry, and I won’t quit show business to marry a rich guy.

I love the feeling of singing on stage. But I’d only give myself two out of five stars for my technique. So even if my company wanted me to host a solo concert, I'd have to decline.

There is no harm in waiting for the right timing. Wait until you’re ready and do it at your best.