Man uncovers his late grandmother's very glamorous life while looking at her old photo albums - which show her singing for huge crowds and partying with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor (41 Pics)

A California man had to wait until after his grandmother died this February to get a chance to look through her old photo albums — and he was amazed to discover how truly glamorous her life was.

Johnny Quan's grandma Leung Ping (梁萍, also called Teresa Leung) died earlier this year at age 93, and it after her funeral that he was able to look back on her life as a model and prominent 'shidaiqu' pop singer under EMI/Pathé in Shanghai.

She 'grew up in and witnessed hardships during the Chinese Civil War, Sino-Japanese War/WW2, and Communist Revolution. [During] the latter, shidaiqu was banned, deemed "Yellow Music" (in Chinese, "yellow." 黄, is a pun for "pornographic"),' . 'She fled to and continued singing in Hong Kong, then Singapore, before mostly retiring in San Francisco.' 

'She was very private of these photos — I'd never seen them before she passed,' he added. 'My aunt reflected how she once asked her if she could look at them, and she smirked, "You can look at them when I go."

Now, he's sharing the snaps of his grandma's life through the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, showing her modeling, singing before large crowds, and posing for pictures with stars like Elizabeth Taylor. 

#1 

Photo Model, Around 50s

#2 

In Her Wedding Gown

3 

With Elizabeth Taylor, Mike Todd, And Run Run Shaw

w/ Run Run Shaw (Shaw Bros.), Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Mike Todd (who'd pass away only 4 months later in a plane accident). Singapore, November 1957. She was asked by Shaw to be a representative of the Singaporean entertainment industry to greet Taylor.

#4 

With Her Mom, My Great-Grandma

#5 

A Proud Mama With My Mom!

#6 

All Styled-Up

7 

Beautiful Black Dress

8 

Obligatory Selfie, Nye 2013. We Miss You!

9 

With Marian Anderson

w/ Marian Anderson, one of the most important African-American singers who helped break many racial barriers. 1957.

0 

In A Cool Background

1 

A Candid Photo

She Still Looks Beautiful

Posing With A Bike

Looks Like A Shot From A Movie

Heyday

A Watercolor Painting Of My Grandma In '89, Which Hanged In The Hallway Of Her House

I'm Guessing This Was A Broadcasted Live Performance On Radio Malaya

Malaya is a former name of Malaysia, that Singapore was part of until 1965... well, basically. The 50s and 60s were a crazy time between the UK, Malaysia, and Singapore).

With My Aunt

In Malaya, In Kedazaan-Dusun Tribe Clothing

Beer Ad

Advertisement for German beer, Beck's. Was told that "Kunchi" is Malaysian for "key".

Another Newspaper Clipping, Competing For Miss Hong Kong

A 1967 Release, I Believe

40s-50s

With Yao Lee (I Believe That Is)

I speculate that may be Yao Lee by my grandma. Yao Lee was an important singer of shidaiqu, one of the "Seven Great Singing Stars" of Shanghai, and helped my grandma's singing career. The two of them would sing together over the radio. You may have heard her music recently in the film, "Crazy Rich Asians."

On A Bicycle

Another Obligatory Selfie

Concert

Still Performing In The 70s!

Concert

Showing Off A Vinyl Cabinet

Broadcasting Ad

Broadcasting ad, sponsored by a multivitamins company and some good ol' Danish beer.

Looks Like A Show

Another Take From The Celebrity Party

In Her Youth

With Carrie Koo Mei

I am not sure who that is to picture-left, but at the right is 顧媚 (Gu Mei / Carrie Koo Mei), another prominent shidaiqu singer, who also starred in a few Shaw Bros. films, before retiring to Vancouver to become a painter.

Not Sure If She's At Recording Studio Or On Radio

Singing Or Talking To An Auditorium

Another Newspaper Clipping

Playing With The Band

Writing... A Letter, Or A Song?