Michelle Chong (born 22 April 1977) is a Singaporean actress, comedian, host, filmmaker, digital content producer and businesswoman. She left

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. ...

in 2011 to set up the media agency Left Profile and production house Huat Films. To date, she has produced, written and directed 3 mainstream films, the first of which, '' Already Famous'', was chosen as Singapore’s entry for Best Foreign Film at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

in 2013. Chong is known for her versatility and comedic performances in satire shows such as '' The Noose'' and more recently for her online personas "Ah Lian", "Venus Seow" and "Emily 爱美丽", etc., from The Michelle Chong Channel on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Early life

Chong studied in CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School, Dunman High School and Victoria Junior College where she took drama as a subject. Her drama teacher recommended her to

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

, a top

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

in Maine, USA where she studied theatre for a year. She also subsequently studied in the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

Career

Chong was voted by '' FHM'' readers as one of the world's top 30 sexiest women in 2002 and 2003. Chong won the ''Elle'' Actress of the Year Award (2008) and the

Asian Television Awards The Asian Television Awards, founded in 1996, is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, it comprises 56 categories across news, documentaries and curre ...

' (ATV) Best Comedy Performance (Highly Commended) Award (2008) for her portrayal of Beh Li Choo, a butcher in the popular Peranakan dramedy, ''Sayang Sayang''. Chong is also known for portraying a celebrity maid, Leticia Bongnino. In 2011, Chong took seven months of

sabbatical leave A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bib ...

to set up her own film company, Huat Films, and produced her first film as director, screenwriter and actress: '' Already Famous'' starred her, Taiwanese singer

Alien Huang Alien Huang (28 November 1983 – 16 September 2020), also known as Xiao Gui (Little Ghost), was a Taiwanese singer, actor, television presenter, illustrator and fashion designer. He was a member of Japanese TV Asahi's disbanded boy band HC ...

as well as other local celebrities who were

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s in the film. In 2012, Chong started artiste management agency Left Profile, which manages her, Pornsak and Lee Teng. In 2015, Chong worked with actress

Cynthia Koh Cynthia Koh (born 25 March 1974) is a Singaporean actress. She has appeared and starred in many television series produced by MediaCorp Channel 8 and MediaCorp Channel 5. Early life Koh has one younger sister. Her father works in the Singa ...

, former radio deejay

Daniel Ong Daniel Ong Ming Yu (; born 27 December 1975) is a Singaporean businessman, radio DJ and television host. He is the co-founder of Twelve Cupcakes, a Singapore-based cupcake chain. He also entered the eateries business with ''Mischief American' ...

, and three other partners to open a 180-seater restaurant, ''Mischief'', at

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

. '' Already Famous'' was selected as the Singaporean entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the

85th Academy Awards The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p ...

, but it did not make the final shortlist.

Filmography

Variety show

*1999 **1999 ''High-Revs'' *2000 **2000 ''Crimewatch'' *2002 **''Happy Rules'' 开心就好 **''Mars Vs Venus'' 男人女人 Oh Yeah **''Open Sesame'' 芝麻开门客人来 *2003 **''Bon Voyage'' 一路风光 **''Oooh!'' 元气大搜查 **''XXXtraordinary'' 少见多怪 **''Mission Possible'' 地球无界限 *2004 **''Miss Singapore Universe 2004 Finals'' 新加坡环球小姐选美大决赛 2004 **''All In NETS NETS'' 有钱坤 **''New City Beat'' 品味动感辣辣辣 **''Carlsberg World of Friends'' 好友满天下 **''President’s Star Charity 2004'' **''Eye For A Guy'' *2005 **''Fortune Festival at Giant'' 爱上Giant过肥年 **''Lunar New Year Show'' **''Life Scent'' 花花都市 **''Be A Giant Star 2005'' Giant点星光 2005 **''Star Choice'' 街头美食星 **''Made In Singapore'' 出奇制胜 **''The Cancer Charity Show 2005'' 癌过有晴天 2005 **''Wish You Were Here'' **''The Sky Symphony Countdown 2006'' *2006 **''PSC Night'' 普威之夜 **''Battle of The Best 5'' 强中自有强中手5 **''My Star Guide'' 我的导游是明星 (season 1) **''Trivio Trove 2'' 不说你不知 2 **''Life Scent 2'' 花花都市 2 **''Seoul Far Seoul Good'' **''Rated:E'' **''She's The One'' 亮丽俏佳人 *2007 **''ChongQing Discovery'' 麻辣重庆 **''Sweets for my Sweet'' **''Adonis Beauty Charter Box'' ADONIS 美丽论谈 **''Welcome to Taiwan'' 铁定台湾 **''PSC Night 2007'' 赢万金游万里 2007 **''The Noose season 1'' *2008 **''Lets Party With Food 5'' 食福满人间V **''Sweets for My Sweet 2'' **''The Noose Season 2'' **''Energy Savers'' 省电家族 **''Haircare 101'' 草药护发101 **''Haircare 101 2'' 草药护发101 II **''F&B Heroes'' 餐饮英雄榜 **''National Day Parade 2008'' **''New Foreigner in Town''

Film

Television series

Theatre

*1995 **''The Bald Soprano'' *1996 **''The Blue Hibiscus'' *1999 **''Love is Not Puttu Mayam'' **''Joy Luck Club'' **''PIE'' **''Ah Kong’s Birthday Party'' *2000 **''Midsummer Night’s Dream'' 仲夏夜之梦 **''Travelling Light'' **''Is This Our Stop?'' **''Oleanna'' **''The Theory of Everything'' *2001 **''Oleanna'' **''The Theory of Everything''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Profile
on xinmsn {{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Michelle 1977 births Living people Singaporean women television presenters Singaporean television actresses Singaporean film directors Singaporean women film directors Singaporean people of Hakka descent CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School alumni Victoria Junior College alumni Bates College alumni National University of Singapore alumni Dunman High School alumni 21st-century Singaporean actresses 21st-century Singaporean businesspeople 21st-century Singaporean businesswomen Singaporean YouTubers Singaporean women comedians