Isabella Leong

Luísa Isabella Nolasco da Silva was born on 23 June 1988, in Macao to Luís Alberto Marques Nolasco da Silva (b. Sé, 8 August 1951; d. São Lourenço, 20 January 1989) and a croupier. She has a sister who is seven years older.

Leong's father was a descendant of one of the most prominent and long-established Macanese families, Nolasco da Silva family. Her father was a Eurasian born to Frederico Joao Moreira de Sousa Teles de Menezes, a Portuguese father and Terry Marques Nolasco, a Chinese woman living in Portugal. Frederico Joao is the sixth generation of the family and former President of the Macau Football Association. Leong's father has two elder brothers, Henrique and Frederico and one younger brother, Jose Manuel.

Leong's father suffered from a secret drug addiction and died from an overdose when she was only 6 months old. Leong had never received recognition from her paternal family, so she took her mother's surname. Leong's mother worked as a croupier in Casino Lisboa and Leong was responsible for contributing to the family's finances.

In 1993, she moved from Macau to Hong Kong and enrolled in Po Leung Kuk Camões Tan Siu Lin Primary School, after which she went to several schools in Hong Kong and Macao. She attended Macau Sam Yuk Middle School in 1999 but dropped out. To help provide for her family, Leong abandoned school at age 12 to become a model for Emperor Entertainment Group.

She later began singing and released her debut album, Isabella, when she was 16 years old. Isabella did not achieve the success hoped for and Leong subsequently debuted with acting. From 2005 to 2007, she made a string of films including The Eye 10, Bug Me Not!, Isabella, Diary, and Spider Lilies.

Leong won her first American film role in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which was released in 2008.