Former actress He Yongfang regrets starving herself to look pretty

All she wanted to do was look pretty, oh so pretty.

So, former actress He Yongfang decided to starve herself for seven days straight and wrecked her body, an act which she regrets immensely.

Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao at a press conference on Monday (Oct 14) for Singapore Tong Chai Medical Institution's annual charity dinner, the 50-year-old revealed: "When I was filming (the 1996 drama) Tofu Street, I had baby fat. As I wanted to look good on camera, I only drank water for seven days and seven nights. When I was hungry, I would have some biscuits."

Despite only weighing 40kg back then, Yongfang said she felt that her face was a little round. Ultimately, her extreme methods of dieting hurt her.

He Yong Fang felt that she had baby fat and resorted to extreme dieting measures to lose weight. PHOTO: Handout

"My legs went weak, my heart was beating very fast, I was lethargic and I lost sleep," she admitted.

Now, she's in a better place but she still keeps an eye on her figure.

As she was dressed in a qipao at the press conference, she told the Chinese daily: "You need a certain figure to wear the qipao so I have to start losing weight. Since I left the entertainment industry, I'm not as strict on my diet at times but now I have to control myself."

In addition to Tofu Street, Yongfang was also a host and a familiar face from the 1998 drama The Return of the Condor Heroes. She eventually left the show business because she wasn't able to keep up with the physical stress from the job.

She said: "Back then, I was hosting City Beat in the morning, filming The Return of the Condor Heroes at night, and I was exhausted. I couldn't memorise my lines, my mood was very bad and I started to hate myself for not doing a good job. It was a low point in my life."

"I told myself that being healthy was more important than being a celebrity," she added.

After her departure, Yongfang opened an art gallery and has been managing it for 18 years. Recently, she's started to take on some hosting and performing jobs because she has "more time".

She was also approached to act in long-form dramas before but turned down the offer. She said: "I felt that the filming duration was too long and it scared me. The art gallery was also doing well and I was satisfied with my life at that time."

And as she still loves acting, it might not be too long before she makes her return as she's just waiting for a good script.

"My goal now is to wait for a suitable script and I'll come back to act," she said.

bryanlim@asiaone.com