Cheryl Chou (born 15 March 1996) is a

Singaporean Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial-religious origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, m ...

actress, TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She joined the entertainment industry after being crowned Miss Universe Singapore 2016.

Early and personal life

Chou was born and raised in Singapore before moving at the age of 8 to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where she stayed for 10 years. She studied at the

Shanghai Singapore International School Shanghai Singapore International School () is a K-12 private school and a school for children of foreign personnel in Shanghai, China. There are two campuses: the Minhang Campus serves preschool through senior high school and the Xuhui Campus ...

and graduated with an

IB Diploma The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

at 18. Both her parents are based in Shanghai. Her mother runs a wine machine distribution business and her father is an operations manager. Chou spent her freshman year of college at the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United ...

, majoring in Fashion Marketing and Management. She then moved back to Singapore and attended LASALLE College of the Arts, majoring in BA (Hons) Fashion Media and Industries. Aside from being able to speak fluent

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, she is also able to converse effectively in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

. She also has a nickname of "

Song Hye-kyo Song Hye-kyo (; born November 22, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She gained international popularity through her leading roles in the television dramas '' Autumn in My Heart'' (2000), '' All In'' (2003), ''Full House'' (2004), '' That Winter, ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

" and can professionally play

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Career

Miss Universe

In 2016, Chou entered the Miss Universe Singapore pageant, where she won the title of Miss Universe Singapore 2016. The judges found her answer to the question "What do you believe is the essence of a true Singapore woman?" during the Q&A segment to be the best of the lot. Her response was: "A woman who is confident in her own skin and not afraid of failure and to follow her dreams." She represented Singapore at

Miss Universe 2016 Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This was the second time that the pageant skipped a year, after Miss Universe 2014 was held i ...

competition in Manila, Philippines, but was unplaced.

Acting and hosting

Chou has hosting experience in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

by hosting a travel programme namely the "Beautivels". On 13 April 2023, she signed a contract with

The Celebrity Agency Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state-owned media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the investment arm of the Government of Singapore—it owns and operates television channels, radio, and digital media properties. It is headqua ...

(TCA), officially joining

Mediacorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state media, state-owned media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the investment arm of the Government of Singapore—it owns and operates television channels, radio, and digital media properties. ...

Filmography

Television series

Television shows

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chou, Cheryl 1996 births Living people Miss Universe 2016 contestants Singaporean female models Singaporean television actresses 21st-century Singaporean actresses Lasalle College of the Arts alumni Singaporean television presenters