Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia was born in Taipei and scouted by a film producer in 1972 after she finished high school and was preparing for university. She made her movie debut in 1973, starring in Outside the Window (窗外). Subsequently, she joined Chiung Yao's company and gained recognition for her roles in romantic films based on the novels by Chiung. Lin won the Best Actress award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival for her role as a girl scout in Eight Hundred Heroes (八百壮士) (1976). In 1990, she won a Best Actress trophy at the 27th Golden Horse Awards for her depiction of a Chinese female writer who fell in love with a Japanese collaborator in Red Dust (滚滚红尘) (1990). At the height of her popularity, Lin was one of the most sought-after actresses in the Chinese film industry. She starred in more than 100 movies and was credited for boosting Taiwan's film production in the 1970s before earning even greater popularity in Hong Kong in the 1990s, becoming a legend of her time.