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From Michelle Yeoh to Lawrence Wong, 10 Malaysian- and Singaporean-Chinese celebrities who are huge stars in China

From left, Lawrence Ong, Michelle Yeoh, Stefanie Sun and Lawrence Wong are among the stars to have become hot property in the Chinese entertainment industry. Photos: Facebook/Handout/Instagram

Numerous Malaysian-Chinese and Singaporean-Chinese actors and singers have become huge stars in China.

From Malaysia, we are blessed with Ipoh-born Michelle Yeoh of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame as well as talented voices like Bahau-born Fish Leong, Ipoh native Michael Wong and Kuching-born Nicholas Teo, all of whom are often thought of as Taiwanese. There’s also actor Christopher Lee who made Singapore his base. He has been more active in Taiwan in recent years, taking up drama roles like Li Shaowen in the 2013 Taiwanese series A Good Wife.

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Michelle Yeoh plays Santa in Paul Feig’s Last Christmas. Photo: Handout

Singer-songwriter Tanya Chua is one of Singapore’s most successful singers, having released 18 albums and clinched awards such as Best Mandarin Female Singer at the 2006 and 2012 Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. Singer and composer Dick Lee was popular in the nineties. His awards include Best Original Film Song at the 1999 Hong Kong Film Awards for City of Glass starring Leon Lai and Shu Qi.  

Here are more Chinese celebrities from Malaysia and Singapore whose talent has made their countries more recognisable on the world stage.

Lawrence Wong

The Johor Bahru lad – he is not Singaporean – became an overnight heartthrob when he starred in the famed 2018 period drama Story of Yanxi Palace, playing the smart and handsome guard of emperor Qianlong.

Having been in the entertainment industry since 2002, his hard work paid off as he won two international awards in the United States – Asia’s Most Promising Actor award at the 2018 Asian-American TV & Film Festival and Best Supporting Actor award at the 2018 Chinese-American Film Festival. Lawrence has graced the covers of numerous Chinese magazines and got a part in this year’s Chinese drama series One Boat One World.

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Rujing Yan

Rujing Yan. Photo: Handout

With her bob hair and round black-rimmed glasses, the bespectacled Malaysian shot to fame after appearing in hit Chinese debate show Qipa Shuo. Produced by online video platforms iQiyi and Miwei Media, the show pits two debate teams against each other in rounds of verbal jousting over a range of topics. With the appearance of a comedienne, the voluble orator impressed the audience with her razor-edged wit and humorous logic.

A Malay-language speaker and a graduate from the University of Malaya, Rujing led the university’s Chinese debate team and has competed in various debate competitions in Asian universities. Her popularity earned her an appearance in a number of Chinese variety shows, including the 2018 Tencent-produced Team Talk.

Penny Tai

Malaysia singer Penny Tai celebrates winning the Best Female Mandarin Singer award at the 25th Golden Melody Awards in Taipei in June 2014. Photo: AP

Born in Segamat, the acclaimed Taiwan-based singer, songwriter, producer and director has achieved significant success in a music career spanning 19 years with five Golden Melody awards. After success as a solo artist, Penny joined forces with female band D-Power to form alternative rock band Buddha Jump and released their first album of the same name in late 2011, which claimed Best Musical Group at the 2015 Golden Melody Awards.

Stefanie Sun

 

The Singapore-born singer-songwriter also started her career in Taiwan and has been in the industry for close to two decades now, selling over 30 million records since being discovered by composer and musician Lee Wei Song. Stefanie has multiple Best Newcomer awards under her belt since she released two albums, “Yan Zi” and “My Desired Happiness” in 2000, and enjoys massive popularity throughout the region.

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Azora Chin

 

In 2018, the Johorean – who’s a music graduate from the Nanjing University of the Arts, used his looks, and singing and dancing talent, to beat 90 wannabe stars on Chinese talent show Idol Producer to become one of the nine members of pop band Nine Percent. Azora released his debut solo album, “Azoraland” in early 2019.

JJ Lin

 

Singer Lin Jun Jie, or more fondly known as JJ Lin, is a Singaporean singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He broke into the music scene in 2003 with his debut album “Music Voyager” and claimed the Best New Artist award at the 2015 Golden Melody Awards. He has since bagged several Best Mandarin Male Singer accolades from the Golden Melody Awards and his latest album, “Message in a Bottle” was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2018 Golden Melody Awards. In 2015, JJ appeared on the fourth season of Chinese reality TV show The Voice of China as an adviser for Taiwanese singer and host Harlem Yu.

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Kit Chan

 

Chan’s debut album “Heartache” was a hit in Taiwan in 1994 – but the Singaporean is also an experienced actress, with a handful of films and television series, including TVB’s 2000 medical drama Healing Hands II, to her credit. The songstress has performed in numerous stage and musical performances in Hong Kong, China and Singapore.

Joanna Dong

 

The Singaporean jazz vocalist rose to fame after being chosen by superstar Jay Chou and singing her way to a podium finish on the second season of top-rated Chinese reality television show Sing! China in 2017. Did you know that she was booted off the first-ever Singapore Idol in 2004 because of her dowdy clothes? However, Dong was not deterred by the setback, and has expanded her repertoire in 2015 to include becoming a television host and fronting Singaporean infotainment series Homeward Bound, Life Extraordinaire and City DNA.

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Gary Chaw

 

Born in Kota Belud in East Malaysia, Taiwan-based singer-songwriter Chaw has enjoyed success in Asia thanks to a rich voice, wide vocal range and powerful stage presence. His big break came with the release of his Mandarin version of Karyn White’s 1988 song I’m Not Your Superwoman, which earned him Best New Male Artist at the 2006 Hong Kong TVB8 Awards and Guang Zhou Golden Melody Awards as well as Best Mandarin Male Singer at the 2008 Golden Melody Awards. Chaw has also written chart-topping songs for S. H. E, Cyndi Wang and Aaron Kwok.

Lawrence Ong

Lawrence Ong. Photo: Facebook

Born and raised in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, the Malaysian thespian, who studied communications in Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, is working hard to shake up the international theatre scene. He started by making his mark in Taiwan with a starring role in the 2016 play For Samuel Beckett 110. He was nominated for Best Actor at the 2015 Taiwan MOD Micro and Short Film Competition for his role in short film W/C, the only Malaysian among the 11 nominees. He’s also the only Malaysian actor to have been cast in Hong Kong director Edward Lam’s Dance Theatre productions, namely Dreams of the Red Chamber in Hong Kong and I Hate Therefore I Marry in Beijing. Ong has been involved in a number of commercial and independent projects, including as a hit man in Chinese film Desire/Cell/Angel/Temptation.

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A surprising number of Malaysian-Chinese and Singaporean-Chinese actors and singers have become famous in China and elsewhere across the globe