Renee Li-Yen Lim (born ) is an Australian

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

, and

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

. She is best known for her roles as Constable Jung Lim in '' East West 101'' (2007–2011), Mae in ''

Please Like Me ''Please Like Me'' is an Australian comedy-drama television series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for every episode. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is on occasion available ...

'' (2013–2016) and her recurring role as Vivienne Hart in ''

The Secret Daughter ''The Secret Daughter'' is an Australian television drama series which premiered on the Seven Network on 3 October 2016. The series is written by Justin Monjo, Greg Haddrick, Louise Bowes and Keith Thompson and directed by Leah Purcell, Geof ...

'' (2016–2017).

Early life and education

Lim was born in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

to Chinese-Malaysian parents who had migrated from Malaysia to Australia in the 1970s. When she was five years old, her parents divorced. Lim was primarily raised by her single father. Her mother moved to Malaysia and remarried, with a

Peranakan The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...

man. Lim would often travel to Malaysia, where she had family other than her mother, to visit her mother. Lim's father later also remarried, and had a son with his new wife when she was 12 years old. Lim graduated as the dux of her high school Hampton Senior High School. Few from Lim's high school pursued tertiary studies, and she had initially intended to "be a doctor on weekdays, a lawyer on weekends, an actor on the holidays and a dancer at night". At 17 years old, Lim moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to commence medical studies at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

in 2001. In 2000, Lim co-directed the University of New South Wales Medical Revue, ''American Booty'' (an homage to the 1999 film '' American Beauty''), alongside Keith Lim and Jason Appleby. Also during her university studies, Lim co-authored two academic articles.

Career

Medical career

Lim is a physician, mostly working in part-time, locum posts in

emergency medicine Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated pa ...

geriatrics Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros'' mean ...

, and

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

departments, and a clinical lecturer at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

's Northern Clinical School. She is the Director of Programs at the Pam McLean Centre, an organisation that develops communication training for medical professionals. Lim considered leaving medical practice altogether to focus on acting; however, she realised that she "love it", adding that "acting is now my job opposed to my hobby".

Entertainment career

As an actor, Lim made ten guest appearances on the Australian hospital drama '' All Saints'' as Suzi Lau, and appeared as a regular cast member on SBS's police drama '' East West 101'' as Jung Lim. Lim played Mae, the younger Thai girlfriend of Josh's father, in ''

'', and starred in ''Forget Me Not'' in 2014, and in ''

'', ''Wonderland'' and ''

Pulse In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...

'' in 2016. As a presenter she has appeared on the ABC's ''Ask The Doctors'', and on ''Food Investigators'' and ''Destination Flavour''. Lim creates content for Nay In The Life, a multi-platform project that combines video, theatre and written content centred around well-being and personal development.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Renee Actresses from Perth, Western Australia Actresses from Sydney Australian film actresses 21st-century Australian medical doctors Australian people of Chinese descent Australian people of Malaysian descent Australian television actresses Australian television presenters Living people University of New South Wales Medical School alumni 1970s births Australian women television presenters Year of birth missing (living people)