'She will always be in my heart': Fei Xiang announces death of mother, 94

Fei Xiang's mother has died at the age of 94, the Chinese-American singer-actor announced on his Weibo account today (May 20).

"My dear mother Bi Lina has passed away peacefully from this world," the 63-year-old, who is also known as Kris Phillips, wrote. "I am by her side now."

Fei Xiang returned to Shanghai, where his mother lived, from France, where he recently attended the 10th France-China Film Festival which commenced on May 13.

His Weibo updates subsequently showed him in Cannes, where the 77th Cannes Film Festival is currently taking place.

"At this time, although my heart is broken, I still feel infinitely proud of and grateful for her life," his Weibo post continued.

"She will always be in my heart and the memories and remembrances of countless people."

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Fei Xiang was born in Taiwan to an American father Wade Phillips and his Chinese mother, who later divorced. His older sister Anya was a prominent figure in the New York punk and nightlife scene before her death of brain cancer at 26.

After spending his youth in Taipei, Fei Xiang attended Stanford University, where he originally pursued a degree in dentistry before switching to theatre. He returned to Taiwan to pursue a music and acting career, before returning to the US for a music theatre career in Broadway.

Fei Xiang's latest movie role is the villainous Emperor Yin Shou of the Shang dynasty in the Creation of the Gods trilogy, and he revealed in an interview for the series Jun Pin Tan last December that he had regrets his mother could not watch his showbiz comeback.

While they would chat about the role in the past, her cognitive capabilities had deteriorated in the five years that the movies took to film.

"Now that filming is over, she can't watch it and even if she does, she won't understand that I'm acting in it," he said.

He added: "Sometimes I have some regrets in my heart. I want the mother I have known all my life [to return] because she is no longer here, but my request is selfish because she is very happy now."

He added that she could still recognise him and called him "son" happily when she saw him.

"She just can't think coherently but she is very happy every day," he revealed.

Fei Xiang likened it to his mother living "in her own cloud" where she didn't have any worries.

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drimac@asiaone.com

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