Actors - Zoe Tay

	Actors - Zoe Tay

Zoe Tay Hui Gek (; born 10 January 1968) is a Singaporean actress in MediaCorp. She is known as the Queen (Ah jie) of Caldecott Hill. She is also known as the Thousand-Faced Lady.

She became notorious overnight after her various antics at Star Awards 2005, including snatching attention from Chen Hanwei, forcing Christopher Lee to propose to Fann Wong and snatching Christy Chung's lines.

She is married to pilot Philip Chionh and has a son, Brayden.

Career Life

Early days

Zoe Tay was born to pig farming parents in 10 January 1968 and was the second youngest child in her family who lived in Lim Chu Kang in her childhood. She entered the now defunct Kay Hua Primary School and later Yuan Ching Secondary School for her secondary education. A tomboy in her youth, she enjoyed football and climbing trees, or challenging other children who did bicycle race. Zoe became a model at the age of 16, much to her father's disappoval. She was first groomed at IMP International and David Gan in 1986.

During her modeling stint, she became Model of the Year 1987. She would have carried on to Hong Kong to become a model, if not for Patricia Chan and her other friends who persuaded Zoe to join the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (now MediaCorp) bi-annual talent Star Search in 1988.

Zoe put up a comparatively superb performance; however, she also mentioned in latter years that if she were to enter Star Search later, she would not have stood a chance as the standards and judging criteria were rising. Zoe also believes that her modeling background helped her to be more confident and project her personality better.

Difficult Times

Zoe Tay did not enjoy being an actress when she first started out. In fact, she was so down in the dumps that she had actually wanted to become a production assistant instead.

Nonetheless, Zoe did not become a production assistant due to kind words from an acting coach, who assured her that she would become an outstanding actress if she was willing to persevere through the early days.

It was only in 1991 when Zoe realized that she actually did like acting. She was given a role as a simple village girl who was torn between two men in Crime and Passion, and it was through this role where she found herself appreciating the colorful life of an actress. Her first TV serial was My Fair Ladies that was played in 1988. In it, she acted together with the other winners from Star Search, Jazreel Low and Aileen Tan.

Ascendance To Popularity

Zoe carried on playing a myriad of characters in countless television series ranging from contemporary to period dramas. Due to her natural flair in acting and her versatility, she is labeled by the media as the “Thousand-Faced Lady”.

In 1990, Zoe joined the scintillating company of international celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Michelle Pfeiffer and Joan Chen where she became the first local star to be featured in the Lux commercials.

After being the Lux girl, further endorsement products came knocking on her door, making her the favorite star for their endorsements.

Zoe’s breakthrough came in 1991 when she was cast as a materialistic and malicious woman in Pretty Faces, a serial in which she stamped her mark with her versatility and sex appeal. Because of Zoe’s superlative acting, it set a record with over a million viewers tuning in for the episode where Bobo was raped. The role “Bobo” won Zoe copious accolades and critical compliments. It was nominated as one of the most memorable roles in the Star Awards in 2003!

In 1993, Zoe performed together with Li Nan Xing in The Unbeatables, a serial that focused on the gambling table. The chemistry between them in this serial resulted in the series hitting the top of the viewers ratio, settting records that were raised through the roof that that period of time. Even as of now, the duo are still deemed as one of the most compatible on-screen lovers. At her peak, there was a widespread agreement in the media industry that putting Zoe's picture on the cover will revive the plummeting sales of any magazine. Hence, it is not surprising that Zoe has earned herself the title, “Queen of Caldecott Hill” or the “Queen of Viewers Ratio”.

This undisputed Queen of Caldecott Hill has certainly lived up to her status with her consistent placement among the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes in the annual Star Awards, an award ceremony for TV personalities, since its inception in 1994. She also clinched the Best Actress Award in Star Awards 1996 for her stellar performance in Golden Pillow. This is the one and only serial in which Zoe has starred with Fann Wong, one of the uprising stars who scored a hat-trick by sweeping away three of the main awards in 1995. Her portrayal of a modern-day career woman in Home Affairs also earned her a nomination for Best Leading Actress at the Asian Television Awards 2000, which is one of the most anticipated events annually in the media.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Zoe Tay ]

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