Nonie Tao Eu, a.k.a. Nonie (SAG name) and Tao Kwun-Mei 陶君薇 (Cantonese name), is an

American-born Chinese American-born Chinese () (sometimes abbreviated as ABC) is a term widely used to refer to Chinese people that were born in the United States and received U.S. citizenship due to birthright citizenship in the United States. Contested usage ...

film actress, TV personality and

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay-television channel which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...

and

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Dis ...

video jockey and producer in the early 1990s. She hosted Dial MTV, MTV Most Wanted,

BY Demand By or BY may refer to: Places * By, Doubs, France, a commune * By, Norway, a village Codes * Belarus ISO country code ** .by, country-code top-level domain for Belarus * Burundi FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram country code * TUI Airwa ...

and Asian Top 20. US-born Nonie graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

majoring in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

and drama. In

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, she starred in television series, hosted her own variety shows, and endorsed a number of commercials. In

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

she starred in the films ''

Evil Black Magic Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is genera ...

'', ''

Finale in Blood Finale may refer to: Pieces of music * Finale (music), the last movement of a piece * ''Finale'' (album), a 1977 album by Loggins and Messina * " Finale B", a 1996 song from the rock opera ''Rent'' * "Finale", a song by Anthrax from '' State of ...

'', '' A Touch of Class'', and ''

The Bride with White Hair 2 ''The Bride with White Hair 2'' is a 1993 Hong Kong film directed by David Wu. It is the sequel to '' The Bride with White Hair'', with Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung reprising their roles as Lian Nichang and Zhuo Yihang. Although the first fil ...

''. She guest-starred in the U.K. television series Soldier Soldier. In America, she guest-starred in William Boyles Jr. television series, Under Cover. Nonie was also featured on Good Morning America with Charles Gibson. She was one of the first VJs for MTV Asia when it was launched in September 1991. Her shows on STAR TV were broadcast to 38 countries in Asia and Middle East - from Tokyo to Tehran, from Mongolia to Malaysia, and all of China and India before STAR TV split the beams into different languages and regions. Nonie continued to produce shows for all of their English and Chinese speaking channels. Her popularity saw her in demand for commercial endorsements including securing a six-figure deal with Pepsi Cola and becoming the first international celebrity endorsement for Philippine clothing brand Bench After

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, she joined

STAR TV Star TV may refer to: * E! (Canadian TV channel) (formerly Star!), a Canadian entertainment news channel * Las Estrellas (Spanish for The Stars), the Mexican television network * Estrella TV (Spanish for Star TV), the American Spanish-language ne ...

as a co-producer and VJ where she also had a radio show. As one of the early VJs in Asia, she developed a huge following in Taiwan, Singapore, Dubai, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. In 1992 India Times proclaimed Nonie as "More famous than Princess Diana". She received hundreds of fan letters per day as a MTV Asia VJ. Nonie Tao Eu is the granddaughter of Q.L. Dao, founder of Voh Kee & Co. The company was one of the largest construction firms in China and was regarded by one publication as "China's Foremost Constructor". Voh Kee & Co. was commissioned by the Chinese Government to build Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Memorial Auditorium in Guangzhou, the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat Sen in Nanking, Memorial to War Heros in Nanking, as well as various bridges, naval docks and river locks. Voh Kee & Co. was also responsible for building the National Revolutionary Martyr's Shrine in Taipei, Taiwan. In 1992, China Published a biography on Q.L.Dao's life and honored him in the Construction Museum in Nantong, China.

Personal life

In the early-1990s, Nonie wed Jardine Fleming Finance fund director Douglas Eu in Maui, Hawaii. Douglas Eu is the son of Andrew Eu, the first managing director of the TVB television station in Hong Kong. Douglas is the grandson of Eu Tong Sen, founder of the Chinese medicine company Eu Yan Sang. Eu Yan Sang has over 230 retail outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia. In 1996, Nonie left her duties as host of

's Asian Top-20 to have three children.Nonie Takes a Pregnant Pause
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References

External links

* * * Ruth Winona Tao in a San Miguel commercial circa 1990

* Official fan page on Ruth Winona Tao TV VJ Nonie Tao [official Fan Pagettps://www.facebook.com/groups/340269827483/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Tao, Ruth Winona 1963 births Living people American people of Chinese descent VJs (media personalities) University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni