 Yu made her debut in film at the age of 16 in "Let's Rock" and was instantly signed by the Shaw Brothers Studio in 1976 after starring in the film "Massage Girls" with Chow Yun-fat, her future husband and in "Forever and Ever" alongside Alan Tang.Between 1977 and 1979, she starred in six of Chu Yuan's sword films, including "Death Duel, The Sentimental Swordsman", "Legend of the Bat", "Murder Plot" and two Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre films.In the late 1970s, Yu also began appearing on television, notably the Rediffusion TV series "Reincarnated" and her appearances as Princess Xiang Xiang in the martial arts series "Book and Sword".