Theresa's back from the brink and raring to go

Theresa Lee Yee-hung, 38, has the same sweet smile as the day she was second runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong Pageant in 1994. Now the mother of a 3?-year-old boy, Lee says showbiz drove her to the brink of divorce and suicide.

'I had no idea how it all happened, it was probably at one of the most lucrative times in my life. I had a beautiful house, a ski resort, a Porsche parked in the drive. I had just finished working on one of my highest paying jobs. I could see the washbasin from my bed but I physically couldn't get up and go and brush my teeth. I would lie there and cry for hours,' she recalls.

'I just felt I didn't want to be in this world any more. I thought I had done all I had to do here and people didn't need me any more. It was like a sickness. I wanted to commit suicide. It was very scary.'

It was Lee's husband, Corey Solomonson, who pulled her back from the brink of mental breakdown. 'He never left my side even when I was telling him: 'I want a divorce, I want you to get out of my life.' And at that point, you can either choose to get better or not.'

Through support from her husband, counselling sessions, a healthy diet and medication, Lee has recovered. 'I think I am blessed. I know some people have gone through it for years or decades and still haven't found how to heal themselves. It can be real torture. My bad times were over in a matter of months. And now I have survived it, I want to talk about it to let people know there is a way out.'

Looking back, Lee realised it was because she put too high an expectation on herself. 'I was worried all the time that I wasn't good enough, or I wasn't progressing at the pace I wanted. Why am I not Tom Cruise, not Chow Yun-fat, not Michelle Yeoh? But that's not really what it's all about.'

The need to have the skinniest body in the business made Lee - a former triathlete - bulimic. 'I never used to be a body-conscious person. In fact, I was skinny growing up but Hong Kong and this business made me very self-conscious. I was always picking at myself.' Now Lee has learned to accept her flaws and the notion that 'there is always a better, younger and prettier person out there'.

Surprisingly, her life-coach is her young son, Tate. 'There was a time when I had to keep up with my training, I was very hard on myself. But I don't train like that any more. I play with my son. It used to be about getting into a pool and doing laps, swimming faster, but no, it's supposed to be fun. Now it's about cycling for fun, skiing for fun and not always having to chase after a goal.'

And Lee is in her best shape ever. 'It's funny, when you are relaxed, not taking life so seriously or turning it into an obsession, things are better, whereas if you constantly worry, then life is no good.'

Compared to his mother, Tate has the makings of an all-round athlete. 'Physically, he's an overachiever. He rolled over when he was three, four months old, he crawled at six months, he walked when he was 10 months and he started swimming on his own at just over 18 months,' she says. 'He can talk up at storm in both Chinese and English and he rides his bike like a crazy man now ... He is very athletic. I think he gets it from his father,' the proud mother says. 'But he gets his quick temper from me.'

Born in Hong Kong, Lee moved to Canada with her parents when she was six. She returned to Hong Kong in 1994 to compete in Miss Hong Kong and has been acting ever since. Her stunning performance in Jacob Cheung Chi-leung's Intimates (1997) gained her several nominations for best supporting actress . After giving birth in September 2004, she moved back to Canada. She lived with her family in Sun Peaks, a popular skiing destination in British Columbia. Now Lee is ready to act again and is keen on becoming a writer too. 'I plan on conquering the world,' she jokes. Lee is now in discussion about a number of potential projects.

'After what I've been through, I realise how much I want this. But I will keep reminding myself it's all about happiness. When you are happy with what you do and have a passion for it, you will find the strength to overcome any difficulty.'

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