YUEN QIU "Landlady"

In Kung Fu Hustle, Yuen Qiu made a remarkable return to the screen after 28 years at the specific request of Stephen Chow.

Like her Kung Fu Hustle co-star Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu was one of the famous "Seven Little Fortunes" (the childhood Peking Opera performing troupe which also included Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung). She started her martial arts training in the Peking Opera school at the age of 10.

After seven years of training, Yuen Qiu began her movie career as a stunt person and became one of the very few well-known stuntwomen in the Hong Kong movie industry at that time. Her first feature film role was in the 1973 movie Not Scared to Die, starring Jackie Chan. Later, she had a brief appearance in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. In 1975, Yuen Qiu married and retired from the film business. Kung Fu Hustle is the first film she has made since then.

It's been a comeback that required quite a bit of dedication - for the role, she put on 30 pounds in 2 months.