Remembering Terri Holladay

The gorgeous Holladay died in December at the age of 55

Hong Kong media just found out that former model and socialite Terri Holladay passed away at the age of 55 on December 27 in the city. An online memorial page was set up on February 5 with an obituary and condolence messages from friends, including from her son Roman Chao.

I did not know her personally, but a good friend of mine was in touch with her for several years. For us Holladay reminded us of 1990s Hong Kong. She was stunningly beautiful, and even her recent pictures revealed no signs of aging.

Chao with Holladay at a society event

The half-Vietnamese, half-American model was best known for being with tycoon playboy Cecil Chao Sze-tsung. They met in 1991 and were engaged the following year. They had a "ceremony" in Singapore before Roman was born, but when they broke up, Holladay discovered she and Chao were never legally married.

She fled Chao's compound on Victoria Road, and was chastised for not taking much of the jewellery he gave her. Many described her as very sweet, honest and naive, and they still do.

When Chao soon took on another lover, a mainland Chinese woman named Scarlett, Holladay tried to stay in Hong Kong. She tried to take Chao to court, and eventually settled out of court; she needed to stay in the city in order to see Roman.

Eventually she moved to the United States and met and married Italian businessman Paolo Durazzo in 2005, but he died in 2018 from cancer. 

Holladay told my friend during the pandemic that she was desperate to get back to Hong Kong to see her son, and she eventually moved back in late 2022.

Roman with his mother in an undated photo

In a news clip from a few years ago, she and Roman attended a society fundraiser in Hong Kong and he divulged that he was studying an MBA at City University.

His message on the online memorial page:

Hi Guys. Thanks for all the support and wishes for my family through these difficult times... To be honest, I'm still struggling with what to write about Mom. There's just too much to express and it's really hard to type out in feelings.

She and my late stepfather were the warmth and unconditional love that I wish I appreciated more. They were [the] kindest people I've ever met and having them gone, it's hard not to feel alone...

However, I know she'd want me and the family to move forward. Still in quite a bit of grief, so would appreciate everyone's prayers. Please help me pray for all our good memories to transition from sadness to strength. I love you Mom. I wish you and Paolo an eternity of happiness together in Heaven.

So tragic Holladay died so young, leaving behind a son who is practically orphaned. My friend had hoped that being back in Hong Kong she would be happy again, but her life was cut short.