22 Facts About Agnes Chan

Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan is a Hong-Kong-born Japanese singer, television personality, university professor, essayist and novelist.

Since 1998, Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and supports the Japan Committee for UNICEF.

In Japan she is professionally known as Agnes Chan, Agnes being her Christian name.

Agnes Chan became her family's fourth daughter when she was born at Tsan Yuk Hospital in Sai Ying Pun.

Agnes Chan's father is a native of Hong Kong Island.

Agnes Chan has six siblings: three brothers and three sisters.

Agnes Chan began singing and playing guitar in her junior high years in Hong Kong, as volunteer work for fundraising events.

Agnes Chan had a chance to record a cover of Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" with her older sister, actress Irene Chan, and it became a hit song in Hong Kong.

Agnes Chan became famous throughout southeast Asia through several of Chang Cheh's movies, including Young People and The Generation Gap.

Agnes Chan graduated from The American School in Japan in 1973.

Agnes Chan enrolled in Tokyo's Sophia University and studied for two years, after which she decided to take a break from the entertainment business and study social child psychology at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Agnes Chan won a prize for her peace thesis for International Youth Year 1984.

Agnes Chan's 1984 visit to Ethiopia during a drastic drought and food shortage was covered for the Nippon Television Network's annual "24-Hour TV" charity special.

In 1986, Agnes Chan married her former manager, Tsutomu Kaneko, and gave birth to her eldest son in Canada.

In 1989 Agnes Chan began studying with Stanford University's department of education.

Agnes Chan returned to Japan as a lecturer, essayist, and university professor.

In 1998, Agnes Chan was appointed the first ambassador of the Japan Committee for UNICEF, established as an independent local non-governmental organisation in Japan, under agreement with UNICEF.

Agnes Chan's education had a profound impact on her singing career: by 2000 her recordings had taken a darker, moodier tone.

In 2002, Agnes Chan began her work as a novelist with Perfect Couple and Bullet Ring.

Agnes Chan released her first self-cover single, "Splendor in the Grass 2005," in 2005, and Asahi beverage used the song in an herbal-tea commercial.

Agnes Chan is planning to release three new Japanese singles and make an album during 2007; she plans to perform 35th-anniversary concerts in 100 Japanese cities and Beijing, China in 2007 and 2008.

In October 2007 it was reported that Agnes Chan had undergone breast-cancer surgery in a Tokyo hospital, and is expected to make a full recovery.