Miao worked well with Ko Chuen Hsiung and was paired with him in several movies. She played opposite both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Mia appeared in all three of Bruce Lee's Hong Kong films, and the only actress to share an on-screen kiss with the legendary Lee.

Born in the Crown Colony of Hong Kong, Miao attended St. Teresa's School Kowloon. She began acting in 1968, and in 1981 formed a film company with her brother, Ricky Chan, in 1961. She more or less retired from acting in the late 1980s, and during the 1990s hosted an evening television show for the CFMT channel in Toronto.

Nora Miao currently lives in Toronto and hosts a radio program, "Coffee Talk", on CCBC Radio.