Zoe Tay
Zoe Tay | |||
---|---|---|---|
郑惠玉 | |||
Born | |||
Nationality | Singaporean | ||
Education | Kay Hua Primary School Yuan Ching Secondary School | ||
Alma mater | Baharuddin Vocational Institute | ||
Occupation | Actress, singer, model | ||
Years active | 1988–present | ||
Spouse(s) | Philip Chionh (m. 2001) | ||
Children | 3 | ||
Chinese name | |||
Traditional Chinese | 鄭惠玉 | ||
Simplified Chinese | 郑惠玉 | ||
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Zoe Tay (Chinese: 郑惠玉; born 10 January 1968) is a Singaporean actress and former model. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Caldecott Hill" and Ah Jie (senior actress) by the local media since the rise of her popularity in the 1990s. She is one of the first batch of actors to receive the Star Awards All-Time Favourite Artiste award, alongside with Li Nanxing and Chew Chor Meng.[1][2][3]
To date, Tay has received four Star Awards for Best Actress - a record for most number of wins in the category.[4]
Early life[]
Tay is the sixth of seven children born to Teochew parents. She was three when her biological mother died in an accident. Her father remarried and had a daughter with Wong Pong Chin.[5] Her father worked at a pig farm in Lim Chu Kang while her stepmother was a housewife. Tay attended Kay Hua Primary School and later, Yuan Ching Secondary School,[6] where she completed her O-level examinations. She studied fashion design at the Baharuddin Vocational Institute.[6]
When she was 13, she thought of using "Jenny" as her English name as people pronounced her hanyu pinyin surname Zheng as "Jenny". However her siblings didn't like it. She later found the name "Zoe" in a dictionary.[5]
Career[]
Tay started out as a model at the age of 16. In 1987, she was named Model of The Year. After Tay was crowned champion of the inaugural Star Search in 1988, she was offered a 3-year contract with the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), now known as MediaCorp. While Tay had initially disliked acting, she began feeling passionate for her craft after her role in Crime and Passion in 1991. Her breakthrough performance as a materialistic young woman in Pretty Faces catapulted her into stardom. Her popularity was affirmed with a Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste Award at the Star Awards every year for ten consecutive years since its inception in 1994. In 1996, Zoe won the Best Actress award for her role in The Golden Pillow at the annual Star Awards. In 2004, she was the first actress to have been awarded the prestigious All-Time Favourite Artiste .
Other than television series, Tay also forayed into films. In 2010, she starred opposite Hong Kong actor Kenny Ho in Love Cuts, playing the role of a terminally ill woman who has breast cancer. In 2013, she appeared in her first fully English-speaking role in Mister John with Irish star Aidan Gillen.
Tay has collaborated with many artistes in her various projects. Her on-screen chemistry with Li Nanxing in The Unbeatables and other serials has put them in the list of the Top 5 Best Onscreen Couples at the Star Awards 25th Drama Anniversary show. In 2015, she collaborated for the first time with Huang Biren, in The Dream Makers II.
Due to her contributions to the television industry in Singapore, a wax figurine was modelled after her by Madame Tussauds Singapore, and has been on display in the museum since 2014.[7][8]
Tay won her second Best Actress at the Star Awards 2017 for You Can Be an Angel 2, 21 years after her first. In an interview, she revealed that after her first win in 1996, she had contemplated quitting as she felt "strangely empty and lost". Instead, she enrolled in an acting class in New York, an experience which transformed her to "someone who is focused on improving my acting and who can be exemplary to other actors." Guiding her are three Chinese words from her father: 毅力 or perseverance, 耐力 or endurance, 勇气 or courage.[9]
At the Star Awards 2019, Tay won her third Best Actress award for the drama, A Million Dollar Dream.
Personal life[]
Tay is married to Philip Chionh, a former Republic of Singapore Air Force pilot.[10][11] They were engaged in 1995 and held their wedding ceremony in 2001. They have 3 sons together: Brayden, Ashton and Nathan.[12]
Filmography[]
Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Network | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | My Fair Ladies 窈窕淑女 | Fu Guihua | ||
Strange Encounters II 奇缘之怨偶天成 | Zhu Xiujuan / Jia | |||
1989 | Patrol 铁警雄风 | Lin Biqing | ||
A Mother's Love 亲心唤我心 | Fang Yining | |||
1990 | Finishing Line 出人头地 | Ye Bei | ||
Navy 壮志豪情 | Jiang Shuna | |||
1991 | The Last Swordsman 最后一个大侠 | Hong Xiu | ||
Pretty Faces 三面夏娃 | Bobo | |||
1992 | Ladies In Action 霹雳红唇 | Ni Jie | ||
Crime and Passion 执法先锋 | Wen Daijin | |||
Terms of Endearment 戏剧人生 | Shu Qing | |||
1993 | Angel of Vengeance 暴雨狂花 | Cai Yiling | ||
Ride The Waves 卿本佳人 | Fang Xiaoting | |||
The Unbeatables I 双天至尊 | Luo Qifang (Long Jiajia) | |||
Happy Foes 欢喜冤家 | Zhang Shuimei | |||
1994 | Thunder Plot 惊天大阴谋 | Le Shan | ||
Truly Yours 聪明糊涂心 | Qi Meihua | |||
Shadow In the Dark 一号凶宅 | Li Shali / Li Qing | |||
1995 | Teochew Family 潮洲家族 | Cai Chongmei (Cai Meina) | ||
Golden Pillow 金枕头 | Zhou Xiaodan | |||
1996 | A Different Life 妈姐情缘 | Ou Guikai | ||
The Unbeatables II 双天至尊II | Luo Qifang (Huang Yuefang) | |||
1997 | My Wife, Your Wife, Their Wives 101老婆之老婆柠檬茶 | Yang Jing | ||
Love in A Foreign City 富贵双城 | Yu Shuting | |||
Rising Expectations 长河 | Yu Jiahui | |||
1998 | Return of the Condor Heroes 神雕侠侣 | Lu Erniang | ||
The New Adventures Of Wisely 卫斯理传奇 | Bai Su | |||
1999 | Lost Soul 另类佳人 | Pian Pian | ||
The Millennium Bug 千年虫 | Huang Si Jie | |||
2000 | My Home Affairs 家事 | Zhang Xiao Tong | ||
2001 | The Stratagem 世纪攻略 | Ye Kai Shuang | ||
The Hotel 大酒店 | Biyu | |||
2002 | Katong Miss Oh 加东Miss Oh | Miss Oh | ||
The Unbeatables III 双天至尊III | Luo Qifang / Long Jiajia / Huang Yuefang | |||
2003 | PCK Pte Ltd V | Ting Ting | Mediacorp Channel 5 | |
Baby Boom 我家四个宝 | Kim | |||
2004 | Man at 40 跑吧男人 | Jian Jie | ||
My Mighty In Laws 野蛮亲家 | Yao Mei Mei | |||
2006 | Lady of Leisure 闲妻靓母 | Yue Liang | ||
A Million Treasures 百万宝 | Bai Xing Xing | |||
2008 | La Femme 绝对佳人 | Fang Bao Yu | ||
By My Side 不凡的爱 | Lin Xin Ya | |||
2009 | The Ultimatum 双子星 | Ye Yuchen 叶予晨 | ||
2011 | Devotion 阿娣 | Liu Zhaodi 刘昭娣 | ||
2012 | Double Bonus 双星报喜 | Li Meifeng 李美凤 | ||
2013 | The Dream Makers 志在四方 | Zhou Weiyun 周薇云 | ||
Recipe 回味 | Qiu Yun 秋芸 | |||
2015 | You Can Be An Angel Too 你也可以是天使 | Wang Ruojun 王若君 | ||
The Dream Makers II 志在四方II | Zhou Weiyun 周薇云 | |||
2016 | Eat Already? 吃饱没? | Doctor Tay 郑医生 | ||
You Can Be An Angel 2 你也可以是天使2 | Wang Ruojun 王若君 | |||
Hero 大英雄 | Deborah | |||
2017 | While We Are Young Z世代 | Fang Ting 方庭 | [13] | |
2018 | A Million Dollar Dream 给我一百万 | Hu Jiaofen 胡娇芬 | ||
VIC 维多利亚的模力 | Zoe | Toggle | ||
You Can Be An Angel 3 你也可以是天使3 | Wang Ruojun 王若君 | |||
2019 | How Are You? 好世谋 | Doctor Soong 医生 | ||
All Is Well 你那边怎样,我���边OK | Zhang Bizhu 张碧珠 |
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2020 | My Guardian Angels 单翼天使 | Mandy See | ||
2021 | The Heartland Hero 邻里帮 | Tai Qin 秦勒 | ||
2021/2022 | You Can Be An Angel 4 你也可以是天使4 | Wang Ruojun 王若君 |
Film[]
Year | Title | Role | Note |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Love Dowry 爱情定金 | Min | Telemovie |
1995 | Love Knows No Bounds 甜甜屋 | Xiu Hui | TV film |
1996 | Pointed Triangle 杀之恋 | Shi Jia | TV film |
1997 | The Scoop 迷情专访 | Joey | TV film |
1999 | Liang Po Po: The Movie 梁婆婆重出江湖 | Herself | |
2001 | The Tree 孩子·树 | Guo Meifeng | |
2010 | Love Cuts 割愛 | Sissy | |
2013 | Mister John | Kim Devine | |
2013 | Love.. And Other Bad Habits | Mei |
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
Year | English title | Mandarin title |
---|---|---|
1998 | Zoe Tay | 十分郑惠玉 |
Compilation albums[]
Year | English title | Mandarin title |
---|---|---|
2012 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 12 | 新传媒群星金龙接财神 |
2013 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 13 | 群星贺岁金蛇献祥和 |
2015 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 15 | 新传媒群星金羊添吉祥 |
2016 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 16 | 新传媒群星金猴添喜庆 |
2017 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 17 | 新传媒群星咕鸡咕鸡庆丰年 |
2018 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 18 | 新传媒群星阿狗狗过好年 |
2019 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 19 | 新传媒群星猪饱饱欢乐迎肥年 |
2020 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 20 | 裕鼠鼠纳福迎春了 |
Awards and nominations[]
Asian Television Awards | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
2000 | Best Actress in a Leading Role | My Home Affairs (as Zhang Xiaotong) |
Nominated |
2010 | The Ultimatum (as Ye Yucheng) |
Nominated | |
2017 | You Can Be an Angel 2 (as Wang Ruojun) |
Nominated |
References[]
- ^ Loh, Aretha (17 June 2015). "Zoe Tay on why she's not afraid of growing old". Her World. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ Tay, Mervin; Whang, Rennie; Tan, Judith (15 June 2013). "MediaCorp veterans blast young actors for being rude". The New Paper.
- ^ Fam, Jonathan (11 January 2017). "Zoe Tay Shows Us Why She'll Always Be The Queen of Caldecott Hill". 8 Days.
- ^ "Surprise Best Actress Winner Zoe Tay: "You Saw My Stunned Face Or Not?"". TODAYonline. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Tan, Sumiko (21 May 2017). "Lunch With Sumiko: Zoe Tay on motherhood, her mum, and how she once called herself Jenny". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "THE ZOE TAY STATISTICS CORNER".
- ^ Chan, Ilsa (23 October 2014). "Zoe Tay 'surprised' by her wax figure at Madame Tussauds". Toggle. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
- ^ "Zoe Tay's wax double - TODAYonline". YouTube. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
- ^ Yun, Daniel (14 May 2017). "Understanding Zoe Tay's enduring appeal". Today. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
- ^ Ejlersen, Jeanette (29 January 2015). "EXPERT ADVICE: Timeless wedding tips from Zoe Tay". Her World. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- ^ "Zoe Tay Hints That Her Pilot Husband Has A New Job In Her Latest IG Post". 8 Days. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ^ Chua, Charlene (20 January 2013). "Zoe wants Baby No. 4 but..." Asiaone. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- ^ "Zoe Tay lands 'dream job' in upcoming TV series While We Are Young". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
External links[]
- 1968 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Singaporean actresses
- 21st-century Singaporean actresses
- Singaporean film actresses
- Singaporean television actresses
- Singaporean people of Teochew descent
- Singaporean female models
- Singaporean women singers