Hu Chin was born in 1947, to parents from Jiang Xi province. Growing up in Taiwan, her mother, Ma Li-Zhu, was a famous opera performer and her father was a soldier. At TTV, her performance in the drama show attracted the eyes of director Li Han-Hsiang who quickly got her involved in film. She joined the Guo Lian Film Company and debuted in Four Moods. But her true abilities shook the town in 1972 with a starring role in a Shaw Brothers movie, also directed by Li's. The Warlord with Michael Hui, where she played as a widow.
After this film, she received many contracts typecasting her into soft core, erotic films such as Love is a Four Letter Word, Illicit Desire, and The Golden Lotus. Her reputation for playing sex-kitten roles rapidly made her an audience favorite in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Besides doing erotica films, Hu had a broad range of skills as evident in her wu xia films Gambling Syndicate, The Young Dragons and Brotherhood, and her successful comedy performances in The House of 72 Tenants and Born Rich.