Elaine Tan is an English actress.

Early life

Tan trained at the

Sylvia Young Theatre School Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE. Outline The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in 19 ...

before graduating from the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

with a degree in Law and completing the Legal Practice Certificate with Distinction.

Career

In 2001 Tan was cast in the lead role of Liat by

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

in his production of ''South Pacific'' at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, and sang the song "Happy Talk" as a duet with the character of Bloody Mary, which features on the musical soundtrack recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

. In 2006, she was nominated for Best Actress at the ECU European Independent Film Festival. Her television credits include ''

Nighty Night ''Nighty Night'' is a BBC black comedy television sitcom starring Julia Davis. It was first broadcast on 6 January 2004 on BBC Three. Notorious for its dark humour, the show follows narcissistic sociopath Jill Tyrell (Julia Davis) alongside h ...

'', ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...

'', ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', ''

'Til Death ''Til Death'' is an American sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband and wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive pr ...

'', ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'', ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', '' Hawaii Five-0'' and ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. She played Kelli Lin in ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'', was Anne in '' Hand of God'' for Amazon, and 'Angeline Borgen' in the Norwegian crime drama ''

Frikjent ''Frikjent'' ("Acquitted") is a 2015 Norwegian TV series. In the UK, the series is shown on Walter Presents. Content In season one, Aksel Nilsen (Nicolai Cleve Broch) was tried 20 years ago for the murder of 18-year-old ex-girlfriend Karine Hans ...

''. Tan played Lucy Chang in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

feature film '' Starter for 10'', Sala Khan in the film ''Jewtopia'', April in Gina Prince-Bythewood's ''

Beyond the Lights ''Beyond the Lights'' is a 2014 American romantic drama film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Machine Gun Kelly, and Danny Glover. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto ...

'', Xandra in Paul Thomas Anderson's ''

Inherent Vice ''Inherent Vice'' is a novel by the American author Thomas Pynchon, originally published on August4, 2009. A darkly comic detective novel set in 1970s California, the plot follows sleuth Larry "Doc" Sportello whose ex-girlfriend asks him to i ...

'', and Elyse in '' Tully''. In 2023, Tan joined the cast of '' The Lazarus Project'' in the role of Zhang.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Elaine Living people 1979 births 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School Alumni of the University of Exeter English stage actresses English film actresses English people of Chinese descent English soap opera actresses English television actresses