Karena Lam Kar-Yan

Acting

Karena Lam Kar-Yan

Born 1978-08-17 · Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Karena was working at her Vancouver family restaurant when she was discovered by a talent scout from Taiwan in 1993, at age fifteen. The scout persuaded her to fly to Taiwan that Christmas, alone, for a singing audition in the hope of securing a professional contract. The audition was a success and she released two albums, her debut album in 1995 and her second album later in 1999. However both were met with modest success. Her film debut in 2002 changed all this and propelled her to real stardom. Karena starred in three successful Hong Kong films in the same year, winning the awards of Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer for her role in July Rhapsody directed by Ann Hui (at the 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards) and for Inner Senses by Lo Chi Leung (at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards), gaining her recognition as a talented young actress and marking the start of her film career. In recent months she has been taking on much more challenging roles, as witnessed in the 2005 horror film Home Sweet Home, where she plays an insane and horribly deformed "phantom" monster who kidnaps a boy from his genetic mother to claim as its own, and was nominated for major awards again.

Acting credits

Dragon Blade poster
6.4

Huo An, the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions, was framed by evil forces and becomes enslaved. On the other hand, a Roman general escapes to China after rescuing the Prince. The heroic duo meet in the Western Desert and a thrilling story unfolds.

Dragon Blade

2015

Fit Lover poster
3.7

This film centers on Nie Bing, a high-profile TV hostess, who is obsessed with trying to find her "ideal man" before her 30th birthday. Nie Bing is given a magic car by a mischievous angel, and a different handsome man -one of the 12 featured A-list actors from China, Taiwan and Japan- appears each time she drives it. Lam's character soon collects a dozen admirers, portrayed by A-list actors from China, Taiwan, and Japan, each with a different profession, personality, and ideas of what constitutes romance

Fit Lover

2008

Silk poster
6.2

A scientist uses his invention - the "Menger Sponge" - to capture the energy of a dead child's spirit in an old building. In trying to determine why the energy of the ghost does not dissipate, the team discovers the identity and the dramatic story of the boy.

Silk

2006

The White Storm 2: Drug Lords poster
6.5

A financial tycoon, once a triad member, tries to eradicate the drug market while an old accomplice aims to be Hong Kong's first drug lord.

The White Storm 2: Drug Lords

2019

Customs Frontline poster
5.7

Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department officers Chow Ching Lai and Cheung Wan Nam share a close mentor-student relationship. On a case involving seized smuggled arms, Chow is sent to take part in a joint operation with Interpol to capture a reclusive arms dealer. However, Cheung makes a drastic decision that further complicates the case.

Customs Frontline

2024

Man on the Edge poster
4.9

As Hong Kong teeters on the brink of change, an undercover cop risks everything to expose corruption and take down a powerful triad gang before the 1997 handover.

Man on the Edge

2022

Super Model poster
6.9

Super model Mandom (Ronald Cheng) is very famous in the field. One day, he is threatened by someone, asking him not to attend a model competition. Mandom calls for police and Madam Cheung (Karena Lam) is sent to bodyguard him 24 hours a day. However they have hostile feeling to each other. At the same time, Mandom also faces a challenger Fantasy (Sammy). How can Mandom fight against Fantasy in the model competition?

Super Model

2004

Inner Senses poster
5.8

This is the story of Yan, a young woman haunted by fleeting images of what she believes to be dead people. Told that it is all in her mind by her psychologist Jim, Yan still cannot find any other explanations for her visions. Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when Jim begins seeing the same things she does and the two begin to unravel a mystery that leads to a forgotten past

Inner Senses

2002

Keeper of Darkness poster
5.8

Street-smart exorcist Fatt has an unique method of dealing with vengeful spirits: He negotiates with them and persuades them to let go of their grudges. After recordings of his exorcisms go viral, Fatt attracts the attentions of a murderous spirit who’s targeting mediums, as well as a troublesome reporter who takes great interest in Fatt and his close relationship with a female spirit.

Keeper of Darkness

2015

Home Sweet Home poster
5.9

May moves into a new apartment with her husband Ray and son Chi-lo, only to find out that the building is erected over a squatter area, where some of the residents died in a riot when they refused to move out. The family decides to stay nevertheless, but soon, Chi-lo mysteriously disappears without a trace.

Home Sweet Home

2005

Beyond the Sin poster
5.3

Allen Lok, a Macau Judicial Police inspector, is devastated when his daughter is found murdered. Suspect Manny Yau is arrested and convicted, but when another girl is killed months later, Lok begins to doubt that the real killer is behind bars. Determined to uncover the truth, he reopens the case, uncovering dark secrets and suspicions.

Beyond the Sin

2025

Koma poster
5.4

A horrid crime was committed at a wedding reception and bridesmaid Chi Ching was the lone eyewitness. At the police station, she recognised the suspect, Suen Ling, in a line up. She also discovered the affair between this stranger and her lover. All of a sudden the emotional turmoil surrounding her chronic illness resurfaced and quickly grew beyond control.

Koma

2004

Integrity poster
5.7

The chief investigator of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is banking on a key witness, the corporate accountant Jack, to testify in court against a high-level customs officer and a tobacco trading company CEO accused of bribery and smuggling. When neither Jack nor the CEO show up on the day of the hearing, King is given seven days to save the prosecution’s case.

Integrity

2019

Worth the Wait poster
4.8

A group of strangers' lives fatefully intertwine as they navigate budding love, confront profound loss, and encounter old flames.

Worth the Wait

2025

Heroic Duo poster
5.3

Tough cop Ken Li (Cheng) is at the top of his game, but he's going to need some help to solve a grisly crime that the offender, a respected police officer, doesn't even remember committing. He seeks out Jack Lai (Lai), a former psychologist now in disgrace and behind bars, who has an uncanny ability to bend people to his will. Making an uneasy truce, this unconventional pair set out on a mission to find the man responsible, a master of hypnotism who will stop at nothing to get his revenge!

Heroic Duo

2003

Daughter's Daughter poster
7.9

Jin is in her 60s. Her husband gone, her concern is for daughter Zuer, in New York trying out IVF with her partner Michelle. When Jin receives news that Zuer and Michelle have died in an accident, she heads for NY. There, she has another shock: she has inherited Zuer’s embryo and it’s for her to decide its fate. Meanwhile, going to NY also forces Jin to face Emma, the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was 17.

Daughter's Daughter

2024

The Liquidator poster
5.6

A criminal psychologist and a forensic expert works together to track down a serial killer who targets people who have been acquitted of notable crimes and uses their guilt as his modus operandi.

The Liquidator

2017

American Girl poster
6.8

When her mother gets sick, 13-year-old Fen moves back to Taiwan, where she struggles to fit in amid the 2003 SARS epidemic.

American Girl

2021

July Rhapsody poster
6.5

Outwardly, Lam takes pride in his job teaching Chinese literature at an elite school and in his caring wife and two sons. But deep down, the forty-year-old wrestles with unfulfilled desires stoked by jealousy over his friends’ professional successes and the advances of a flirtatious student. The sudden return of his former mentor finally upsets this delicate balance, forcing Lam to unearth the long-hidden truth about who he is and gain a new perspective on how to live the rest of his life.

July Rhapsody

2002

Tales of Taipei poster
5.0

A heartfelt piece that tells the stories of Taipei streets, people and communities. From ten directors across the globe, creating ten unique stories of Taipei, through various backgrounds, delivering the same heartfelt message.

Tales of Taipei

2024

Heaven in the Dark poster
5.9

Michelle and Marco Tol, a former pastor, meet at a party. They discuss what happened five years ago, when a scandal involving the pair erupted and disgraced Tol.

Heaven in the Dark

2016

Happy Funeral poster
4.5

A bunch of teens launch a quirky new business: Happy Funeral. It’s their out‑of‑the‑box scheme to make fast money. Everything changes when their landlady is diagnosed with cancer and runs out of time. Only then do they grasp the real essence of life and death, and learn how to host joyful funerals with genuine reverence.

Happy Funeral

2008

Mob Sister poster
5.1

In the macho triad world where heroes are molded from blood, brawn and brains, what place is there for a defenseless girl? The only exception to the rule is if you earn your respect as 'Ah Sou' - the big boss' wife. Ah Sou tells the extraordinary story of an innocent girl who becomes appointed successor to Hong Kong's ruling triad. This role becomes a double-edged sword for our young heroine, who is sucked into a maelstrom of vicious gang wars, hair-raising assassination attempts and ruthless power struggles and betrayals. Through numerous violent episodes and unexpected reversals, she discovers her own inner strength and re-writes the laws of the triad kingdom.

Mob Sister

2005

Truth or Dare : 6th Floor Rear Flat poster
6.4

Six Hong Kong roommates vow to each accomplish something daring or wonderful within one year.

Truth or Dare : 6th Floor Rear Flat

2003