Pamela Pak Wan-kam
Pamela Pak Wan-kam‘s name has appeared in tabloids for most of her life. From offering blunt relationship advice on her late-night radio show in the 1980s to posing semi-nude in magazines in her 50s and being the girlfriend of legislator Paul Tse, 15 years her junior, she is never without controversy. She talks to June Ng about love, marriage and eugenics.
I came to Hong Kong from China when I was 3 months old. My dad died and my mom couldn’t support me. So my wet nurse took me to live with my mom’s sister.
My uncle was dissolute and would often bring girlfriends home. But my aunt was always calm, and would even make friends with the girls. It’s hard to believe, but those girls would always be touched by my aunt and leave.
Grown-ups, both men and women, can be so unfaithful to their partners. As a kid I would wonder, how come Mr. Lee and Mrs. Chan were cuddling in bed?
I eloped with a boy when I was in Form 5, and in doing so I missed my Hong Kong Certificate of Education Exam (HKCEE). Social workers labeled me a problem case. But actually, I’d always studied well.
I became a flight attendant and hosted radio programs when I wasn’t flying. But after three years I decided to go back to school. Eventually I studied TV broadcasting at the graduate school of San Francisco State University.
I didn’t get into TV when I came back to Hong Kong. The TV industry here is all about mingling with influential people. I’m much too independent for that.