Her father, a member of the Hong Kong Volunteers, was captured by the Japanese when defending Hong Kong in 1941 during World War II and was imprisoned by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Sham Shui Po Barracks for two years.
Francis was reportedly popular and well-liked by the other prisoners.
1945
Still, because of his height, he was sent to work in coal mines in Sendai, Japan, until Japan's surrender. After the liberation of Hong Kong in 1945, he returned to Hong Kong, married Michelle's mother, and entered a business career.
1962
Reis also has an older sister, born in August 1962, known as "Yuet Chi" (Joanna Francisca Reis or Li Jiaming; 李嘉明).
She is Catholic.
1970
Michelle Monique Reis (born Michele Monique Reis, 20 June 1970) is a Hong Kong former actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder of Macanese descent.
Reis was born in Macau, then a Portuguese colony, on 20 June 1970 as Michele Monique Reis.
She did not acquire her Chinese name, Lee Ka Yan or Li Jiaxin (李嘉欣), until after elementary school.
She is of mixed ancestry; her father, Francis Reis, was a Hong Kong-born ethnically Portuguese Macanese, and her mother, Wu Guofang (Chinese: 吴国芳), is Chinese and was raised in Shanghai before moving to British Hong Kong after World War II.
1973
In 1973, a modeling scout discovered Reis, and she was subsequently shot in a one-time baby advertisement.
Reis recalls her childhood as an unhappy one.
She recalls her childhood being devoid of toys or new clothes and dominated by "her mother's tears and parents' endless bickering".
Her father became more absent, resulting in Reis being raised primarily by her mother.
Francis Reis was unsuccessful in his career, "achieving nothing", resulting in the family living in poverty.
Wu Guofang, Reis' mother, worked two jobs a day to provide for the family.
The family lived in a tin roof house, which they built themselves and was typical of Hong Kong's impoverished, and then lived in the highly dense and impoverished Chungking Mansions.
Conditions at the tin roof house were very poor, with summers being extremely hot and rain easily dripping through cracks in their roof.
1980
In 1980, at the age of 10, Reis’ father ran away from the family household because of an affair he was having, reportedly an affair abroad.
By the end of his lifetime, he would come to have had three marriages and four children.
Reis has also stated that in childhood, she did not pay attention to her appearance, and that in elementary school she wore large myopic glasses.
1982
In 1982, when she was 12, Reis filmed a second advertisement.
At 14, she began part-time studies as a student, which her mother emphasised, completing these studies by modelling part-time.
During her studies, modelling scouts offered her casting and commercial film opportunities, but Reis declined as she wanted to be a flight attendant.
Reis attended Maryknoll Convent School and matriculated from St. Paul's Secondary School throughout her studies.
At Maryknoll Convent School, she received excellent grades, with 2A (English, Bible) results and ranking 7B in the five-year secondary education graduation exam.
As Reis and her sister grew older, the family's financial situation gradually improved, yet they remained impoverished.
1987
In 1987, Reis' parents officially divorced.
Many years after Reis' father abandoned the family and as Reis began to become well-known in Hong Kong, he tried to contact Reis by phone, asking for money.
Despite her worries about his deteriorating health, she had no intention of reconnecting.
Years later, Reis recalled the phone call, which she found hurtful.
1988
In 1988 she won the Miss Chinese International Pageant and Miss Hong Kong beauty pageants.
She participated in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination shortly after she won the 1988 Miss Hong Kong Pageant.
In 1988, after encouragement from others, Reis auditioned for the 1988 Miss Hong Kong Pageant.
1990
Afterwards, she became a prominent actress in 1990s Hong Kong, often appearing in introspective and independent fare rather than mainstream releases.
1995
Outside of the Chinese-speaking world, she is most famous for her role as the Hitman's Assistant in Fallen Angels (1995), which brought her critical acclaim internationally, as well as status as a cult film character and saw her nominated for “Best Actress" at the 1996 Golden Bauhinia Awards.
Reis' father died at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong on 22 August 1995 after fighting a blood disorder for eight months.
She attended his funeral.
Reis had excellent results when she attended Maryknoll Convent School, receiving a 2A (English, Bible) result and ranking 7B in her five-year secondary education graduation exam.
2000
Reis often played dynamic characters, with a significant number of her roles centering around characters deemed more "difficult" to portray in Hong Kong cinema, such as prostitutes, femme fatales, and professional killers. Known for her youthful beauty and often deemed "one of the most beautiful women in Asia", Reis has continued to remain in the public eye long after her film career subsided in the early 2000s.
