Kris Phillips was born in Taiwan in 1960. His father was an American
diplomat and his mother a writer. He was first accepted by Stanford on
full scholarship but dropped out after a year. He moved to New York in
order to pursue a career in theater. He went to American Dramatic Arts
Academy in New York and graduated in 1980. He made 3 movies in Taiwan
in the early 1980s, but, at the same time, his singing career took off
in a much bigger way. Kris made 13 records in Asia from 1981 to 1989,
and every one of them was a best seller. In 1987, because of his
American citizenship, he became the first performer from Taiwan to
perform in mainland China's New Year's Eve variety show. It was an
overnight success, and Kris dominated China's pop music for the next 3
years. He made 5 records in China between 1987 and 1989.
Kris moved to New York in 1990 and was in the original Broadway cast of
Miss Saigon. He also appeared in a few other Broadway musicals and
plays between 1990 and 1995, but none of them was particularly
successful. In 1995, he joined Andrew Lloyd Webber's touring company, costarring
Sarah Brightman, in Webber's The Music of Night concert. The concert started in
New York's Radio City Music Hall and then toured 43 cities in the US.
The same concert was moved to Beijing in September 2001, with Elaine Paige
replacing Brightman. It was the first time Broadway musical being
introduced to mainland China.
Kris Phillips also made a big comeback as a recording artist in Asia in
2000. He made two records in 2000 and 2002. He still is one of the
highest paid stars in Asia today. Although he works extensively in
Asia, Kris keeps an apartment in New York and considers himself a New
Yorker.
