PETALING JAYA: Penang-born Lim Pik-Sen, who shot to stardom for her role in British sitcom Mind Your Language, has passed away on Monday (June 9).
The 80-year-old British actress was born in 1944 to businessman Lim Cheng-Teik and pursued her early education in the state before leaving for the United Kingdom to study acting when she was just 17.
Her given birth name was Lim Phaik-Seng, but she changed it to "Pik-Sen" since her British friends would mispronounce "Phaik" as "fake".
Well-known for her acting in Mind Your Language from 1977 to 1986, she played Chinese student Chung Su-Lee in the sitcom and spoke broken English in a Chinese accent for the role although she was fluent in the language.
Portraying herself as a staunch follower of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong in the sitcom, she was known to hilariously whip out a "little red book" and dictate verses on communism.
Apart from the sitcom, she also acted in over 30 other movies, dramas and TV series between 1964 and 2023, such as Dr Who, General Hospital and The Professionals.
Among the shows Lim had acted in in recent years were TV and drama series such as Vampire Academy, The Nevers and This Way Up.
She also played the "killer cleaner" in the 2011 movie Johnny English Reborn alongside actors Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson and Dominic West.
