Carmen Soo (born Soo Wai Ming; 14 October 1977) is a Malaysian model and actress.

Life and career

Soo was born and raised in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population of 2,075,600 . Greater Kuala Lum ...

, to a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

father and to a half-Chinese, half-British mother. She holds a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

business management Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and can speak fluent Malay,

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 ...

and English while also learning

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

to help her television acting career in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. She was part owner of a

boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...

named 'Kushi' located in

Bangsar Bangsar is a residential suburb on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, lying about south-west of the city centre. It is part of the Lembah Pantai parliamentary constituency. Bangsar is administered by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), unlike ...

. In 2015, Soo married Benson Tan in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

and they have one daughter. She currently resides in

Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...

, Selangor with her family.

Modeling

Carmen Soo began modelling at age 17 and moved to Hong Kong at age 20 to pursue modelling career, which has brought her all over Asia, including Singapore. At 156 cm (just under 5'1") tall, her petite size is not conducive to

catwalk model A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or Fashion accessory, accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter sea ...

ing, hence most of her shoots tend to be print and

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

. However, she has graced local magazines' covers such as ''New Man'', ''V Mag'', ''New Tide'' ''GLAM'' and ''Nu You''. She is a

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for international watch brand

Longines Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines (), is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Agassiz family, Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss The Swatch G ...

along with Malaysian theatre personality Paula Malai Ali, and for

Celcom Celcom Axiata Berhad (doing business as Celcom) was the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. Celcom was a member of the Axiata group of companies. Celcom was merged with Digi to form CelcomDigi on 1 December 2022. Being on ...

with Singaporean singer

JJ Lin Wayne Lim Junjie (; born 27 March 1981), professionally known as JJ Lin, is a Singaporean singer, songwriter, record producer, and businessman. One of the most successful artists in the Sinophone, Chinese-speaking world, Lin achieved recogniti ...

. Soo is the brand ambassador of Uniqlo Malaysia. She managed by Model One 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 ...

Acting

Carmen started as an extra in the 1999

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

movie entitled ''

Gorgeous Gorgeous may refer to: Animals * Gorgeous barb, a species of cyprinid fish native to Africa * Gorgeous bushshrike, a bird in the family Malaconotidae * Gorgeous prawn goby, a species of goby native to tropical reefs of the Indian Ocean to the we ...

'' alongside

Shu Qi Lin Li-hui (born 16 April 1976) ( zh, c=林立慧), better known by her stage name Shu Qi ( zh, c=舒淇), is a Hong Kong–Taiwanese actress and model. Widely regarded as one of the most successful Taiwanese actresses of all time, Shu has receive ...

, and later was in

Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer, and actor, known as one of Hong Kong's "Four Heavenly Kings". Active since the 1980s, he has released over 30 studio albums in Cantonese and Mandarin, mostly in the danc ...

's musical special. In September 2008, Carmen co-starred in an

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

(in collaboration with Malaysia's

Double Vision Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often voluntary. However, when occ ...

) soap opera with Filipino actors

Jericho Rosales Jericho Vibar Rosales (; born September 22, 1979), also known as Echo, is a Filipino actor, singer, songwriter and film producer. Known primarily for his leading man roles in romantic drama, he has starred in some of the most distributed Phil ...

Cristine Reyes Ara Cristine Pascual Klenk (born February 5, 1989) is a Filipino actress. She has been dubbed as the "Ultimate Star" by the local media for her acting prowess and popularity. Her films have collectively earned ₱1.05 billion, making her one o ...

and

Christopher de Leon Christopher Strauss de León (born October 31, 1956), also known as Boyet, is a Filipino actor, filmmaker and politician. Often referred to as the "King of Philippine Drama", he gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous film and te ...

in the

teleserye Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'' is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebisyón''" (television), and "''se ...

Kahit Isang Saglit ''Kahit Isang Saglit'' (International title: ''A Time For Us'' / ) is a Filipino drama television series produced by ABS-CBN and Double Vision. It aired in the Philippines in primetime from Monday through Friday and was aired both in Malaysia ...

'' that was aired in the Philippines and Malaysia, and worldwide through TFC. ''Kahit Isang Saglit'' later earned a nomination in the

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

Award. In 2010, Carmen appeared in a four-part series of ''

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in March 1970 ...

'' entitled "Beautiful Girl" with

Christian Bautista Christian Joseph Morata Bautista (born October 19, 1981) is a Filipino singer, host, and model. He was a finalist of '' Star in a Million'', a Philippine reality show aired on ABS-CBN channel, winning 4th place in the competition in 2003. Af ...

, which was shot through mid-July and August between Malaysia and the Philippines. In the same year, she appeared alongside

JC De Vera John Carlo de Vera (born March 10, 1986), better known by his screen name JC de Vera, is a Filipino actor. His accolades include a FAMAS Award, two PMPC Star Awards for Movies and two Box Office Entertainment Awards. Personal life De Vera wa ...

in the third season of 5 Star Specials entitled ''Si Paco at ang Prinsesa'', directed by Bb. Joyce Bernal on TV5. Carmen was the lead actor in the

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n horror film '' The Hunter 3D'', directed and written by Bjarne Wong. Soo then went on to perform on HBO Asia's ''

Dead Mine ''Dead Mine'' is a 2012 English-language Indonesian horror film directed by Steven Sheil and starring Ario Bayu and Joe Taslim. The film was produced by Infinite Frameworks, the production house before working on the musical animated film ''Merai ...

'' as Su-Ling. She also appeared in the

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 ...

horror film '' Ghost Child'', alongside

Chen Hanwei Chen Hanwei (born Tan Hung Wee on 29 August 1969) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian actor, host and former fashion coordinator based in Singapore. To date, Chen has received seven Star Awards for Best Actor, a record for the most wins in tha ...

and Jayley Woo.

Hosting

In 2009, Soo became a judge on '' It's Showtime''. In April 2010, Soo became a co-host on ''

Wowowee ''Wowowee'' () was a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Hosted by Willie Revillame, the show was aired from February 5, 2005 to February 4, 2006 replacing ''MTB (TV program), MTB'' (then name ...

'' along with Kelly Misa,

Jed Montero Jed Montero (born Rebecca Gail Bacbac Montero on September 6, 1988) is a Filipina actress, model (profession), model, athlete and Television presenter, host. Just like Paulo Avelino, Montero hails from Sagada, Mountain Province. Her parents are ...

Isabelle Abiera Isabelle Abiera Collins, professionally known as Max Collins, (born August 28, 1992) is an American born Filipino actress and model. She is currently an exclusive artist of GMA Network. Early life Collins was born in California. Her mother is ...

RR Enriquez RR Enriquez (born Romyreen Enriquez on October 19, 1983) is a Filipino model, dancer and television personality. She first became known as one of the dancers on the variety and game show ''Wowowee''. She later became one of its hosts alongside ...

Valerie Concepcion Valerie Norona Galang-Sunga (born December 21, 1987), known professionally as Valerie Concepcion (), is a Filipino actress, television host, and endorser. She is known for her role as Nora Ferrer in the soap opera '' Sinasamba Kita'' but later tr ...

Mariel Rodriguez Maria Erlinda Lucille Sazon Termulo-Padilla (born August 10, 1984), professionally known as Mariel Rodriguez (), is a Filipino-born American actress, television host, model, and video jockey. Early life Mariel Rodriguez was born Maria Erlind ...

and

Pokwang Marietta Tan Subong (born August 27, 1972), known professionally as Pokwang, is a Filipinos, Filipino comedian, actress, television host and singer. She started in a reality show on ABS-CBN and subsequently appeared in dramas and sitcoms of t ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards

*Most Promising Actress Award at the Malaysian Film Festival 2006

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soo, Carmen 1977 births Living people Actresses from Kuala Lumpur Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of English descent Malaysian Christians Malaysian female models 21st-century Malaysian actresses Malaysian expatriates in the Philippines