Zoe Tay

Zoe Tay

Born: January 10, 1968
in Singapore
Zoe Tay is a Singaporean actress , a former model and was named as "Queen of Caldecott Hill" by local media and fellow referred to as "Ah Jie" (senior actress) due to her status. Tay started out as a model at the age of 16. In 1987, she was named Model of The Year. After Tay was crowned champion of the inaugural Star Search in 1988, she was offered a 3-year contract with the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), now known as Mediacorp. While Tay had initially disliked acting, she began feeling passionate for her craft after her role in Crime and Passion in 1991. Her breakthrough performance as a materialistic young woman in Pretty Faces catapulted her into stardom. Her popularity was affirmed with a Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste Award at the Star Awards every year for ten consecutive years since its inception in 1994. In 1996, Zoe won the Best Actress award for her role in The Golden Pillow at the annual Star Awards. In 2004, she was the first actress to have been awarded the prestigious All-Time Favourite Artiste .

Other than television dramas, Tay also forayed into films. In 2010, she starred opposite Hong Kong actor Kenny Ho in Love Cuts, playing the role of a terminally ill woman who has breast cancer. In 2013, she appeared in her first fully English-speaking role in Mister John with Irish star Aidan Gillen.

Tay has collaborated with many artistes in her various projects. Her on-screen chemistry with Li Nanxing in The Unbeatables and other serials has put them in the list of the Top 5 Best Onscreen Couples at the Star Awards 25th Drama Anniversary show. In 2015, she collaborated for the first time with Huang Biren, in The Dream Makers II.

Due to her contributions to the television industry in Singapore, a wax figurine was modelled after her by Madame Tussauds Singapore, and is currently on display in the museum.

Tay won her second Best Actress at the Star Awards 2017 for You Can Be an Angel 2, 21 years after her first. In an interview, she revealed that after her first win in 1996, she had contemplated quitting as she felt "strangely empty and lost". Instead, she enrolled in an acting class in New York, an experience which transformed her to "someone who is focused on improving my acting and who can be exemplary to other actors." Guiding her are three Chinese words from her father: 毅力 or perseverance, 耐力 or endurance , 勇气 or courage.

In Star Awards 2019, Tay won her third Best Actress for the drama, A Million Dollar Dream.

Movies for Zoe Tay...

Title: My One and Only
Character: Ma Limin
Released: July 27, 2023
Type: TV
The owner of My One and Only, Ma Limin, aspires to become a real estate developer with her son Hao Renpin, offering one-stop services for property purchase and renovation with her husband Hao Haojian and interior designer Wan Defu, who run How Luck Renovation. Their interactions with their clients reveal stories about different types of families.
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Title: My Guardian Angels
Character: Mandy
Released: April 6, 2020
Type: TV
Mandy (Zoe Tay), Miao Miao (Kym Ng) and Si Jin (Somaline Ang) come from different backgrounds but share one common trait, they have to raise their children single-handedly. Mandy was a socialite before her husband died after absconding with company funds. She was forced to move into a tiny apartment with her two daughters and shares it with another tenant Dong Yu (Pierre Png). Miao Miao is a housewife whose husband worked overseas all year long, leaving her to raise their three sons alone. Si Jin was a student with good grades, until she gave it up to give birth to her son at 19 years old and became a single mother. All three seemingly different women become friends and see each other through many ups and downs. And at the centre of it all is an uncanny guardian angel, Dong Yu, who helped them through many difficult times. But soon is it discovered that Dong Yu was a convicted felon, what are his secrets and will it change their friendship with him?
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Title: All is Well
Character: Zhang Bi Zhu
Released: August 26, 2019
Type: TV
The media in Taiwan is gripped by a recent incident where an ATM machine mysteriously dispensed a large amount of cash. With no suspects in sight, the police is stumped while the public is intrigued. Meanwhile, a luxury car stopped in front of a small pottery shop, the owner of the shop Guo Hao Sen (Blue Cheng-Lung Lan) reluctantly enters the car - As a young scion of a commercial bank in Taiwan, Hao Sen is plucked from obscurity and sent to the Singapore office by his power hungry uncle after the death of his elder brother. A power struggle ensues across the border while an insidious plot for revenge begins. As the wheel of revenge starts, a group of seemingly innocent young people, Xiao Ai (Joanne Tseng), Ting Xuan (Kuan-Ting Liu), Lu Di (Elvin Ng) and Dong Huang (Romeo Tan) get embroiled in the plot. Who is behind the ATM incident and what links are there with those in Singapore? As their fate intertwines, they soon realize they are closer to each other than they think.
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Title: How Are You?
Character: Dr. Michelle Soong
Released: January 4, 2019
Type: TV
Gong Jia Qiao, 66 years-old, becomes wheelchair-bound after a car accident. He currently sells lottery and tissue packets for a living. Over 30 years ago, his neighbour Guo Mei Li puts Ah Dai under his care but has never returned since. With an intelligence similar to that of a six or eight year-old child, Ah Dai can only follow simple instructions and is thus easily cheated. Her ex-lover Pian Lang disappeared after she becomes pregnant with his child. One day, Ah Dai meets Xiao Gan Dang, a man that looks like Pian Lang. As it turns out, Pian Lang is Gan Dangs father. Xiao Gan Dang grew up along the streets and has seen all the good and bad sides of humans. He is best friends with Mei Da Han, who is also a gangster like him, and is thrown behind bars because of a fight. After completing his sentence, he meets a social worker Qing Qing and the two becomes a bickering duo.
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Title: VIC
Character: Zoe
Released: April 19, 2018
Type: TV
Vicky (Carrie Wong) is an aspiring model entering a modelling reality show, while Victoria (Irene Ang) is the CEO of a real estate company sponsoring the show. Both get into a tiff over a crazy fan of Vicky, in their argument, they fall into the pool. Victoria awakes to find herself in the body of Vicky, while her own body is nowhere to be found. She can only lower herself down to play Vicky and continue as a contestant of the reality show whilst she unravels the truth behind the mysterious 'curse' and tries to locate her missing body. How would the high and mighty CEO adapt to a completely new and bedazzling modelling life? Will she be able to solve the many mysteries and survive the numerous crises that arise from the competition?
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Title: A Million Dollar Dream
Character: Hu Jiao Fen
Released: April 9, 2018
Type: TV
Zhang Zi Cheng (Hanwei Chen) is a senior creative director at an advertising firm when he was retrenched. With an overly generous wife Hu Jiao Fen (Zoe Tay), a son Yi Zheng (Edwin Goh) who wants to study in England to be with his girlfriend, and a daughter Yi Jing (Ying Ying He) who aspires to be a model, Zi Cheng is in need of money. He ends up as a delivery man and one day meets a mysterious man who passes him an expired TOTO slip. He ends up buying the same numbers on the expired TOTO and miraculously won the top prize. For the fear of losing his prize money, Zi Cheng hides his win from family and friends. But the stress takes a toll on him, and when his family finds out about his win, things started to fall apart.
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Title: While We Are Young
Character: Fang Ting
Released: November 6, 2017
Type: TV
Yang Xiao Shuai (Zijie Zong) and Tang Yi Jie (Calvert Tay) come from two totally different backgrounds; one is a troubled youth trying to turn over a new leaf, the other is a student who excels in school and come from a well-to-do family. Their path crosses when they fall in love with the same girl. Yi Jie's mother Fang Ting (Zoe Tay) and sister-in-law Zhong Ai (Rebecca Lim) are teachers in his school. They are constantly at odds with each other both at school and at home over teaching methods and domestic matters. But when Fang Ting helped Zhong Ai pulled her husband Yi Wei (Zhen Huan Zhang) back from the brink of an extramarital affair, Zhong Ai finally put their differences aside as they work together to guide their students help them overcome their problems.
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Title: Hero
Character: Deborah
Released: November 22, 2016
Type: TV
The story starts in Dakota Crescent, an old estate which is going to be reclaimed by the authorities for redevelopment. The story centres around three protagonists living in Dakota Crescent, Zhou Fa Da, Ye Xiao Ying and Zhang Wei Xiong. Big Brother Fa Da, Wei Xiong and Xiao Ying are the three musketeers of the neighborhood, people often refer to them as "The Heroes". Within ten years, Wei Xiong has become a capable lawyer, Xiao Ying now has a wife. During these ten years, Big brother left Dakota Crescent without a word. Nobody knows of his whereabouts, not even Wei Xiong. This led the neighbours into making wild speculations about his disappearance. Some said he was involved in a kidnapping case, other said that he was in prison. Ten years later, Big brother is finally back. He still retains his strong sense of justice and is prone to impulsiveness, hence turning the neighborhood upside down. However, he refuses to reveal the reasons behind his disappearance.
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Title: Eat Already?
Character: Dr. Tay
Released: September 9, 2016
Type: TV
Eat Already? is set in a coffee shop, and is centered around an elderly widow named Ah Niu Sao (Yinzhu Li) , who works as a cleaner as her sons Ah Bee (Elvin Ng) and Ah Qiang (Aden Tan) who still rely on her for their living expenses. Her elder son Ah Bee is a chronic gambler who is unemployed for a long time while her younger son Ah Qiang is an introvert who is wheelchair bound. Throughout the series, she manages to tide over various issues thanks to help from neighbours, friends and several support schemes available. Will the boys finally get their acts together and be a reliable pillar of support for their aging mother?
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Title: You Can Be an Angel
Character: Wang Ruojun
Released: May 5, 2015
Type: TV
This story follows the life of a group of nurses as they take on their challenging routines with professionalism and pride. Wang Ruojun is an experienced nurse who saved Liu You Le from an accident. You Le is grateful towards Ruojun and this incident inspires her to be a nurse. Though successful in her career, Ruojun faced marital woes. Her husband of many years cheated on her and even has a love child outside. Fu Jiazi is originally a software engineer; he lost a friend during a car accident and blames himself for not being able to save his friend. This incident makes him decide to quit his job as a software engineer and become a nurse. Guan Xinni suspects that Xie Yaozong is the man who molested her when she was a child. Because of this misunderstanding, she puts herself in many funny and embarrassing situations. The nurses not only face challenges in their job but also in love as well. Will they be able to resolve their problems in love, career and family?
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Recipe
Title: Recipe
Character: Qiu Yun
Released: September 29, 2013
Type: Movie
Eric Khoo's tv-movie about the relationship between a young girl and her mother with dementia.
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Mister John
Title: Mister John
Character: Kim Devine
Released: June 27, 2013
Type: Movie
After discovering his wife's infidelities, Gerry leaves London to look after his deceased brother's business and family in Singapore. Discovering a foreign world of opportunity that had not existed before gives Gerry a chance at starting over by slipping into his brother's life - both emotionally and physically. However, leaving his wife and child behind in the UK is not so easy as Gerry must choose between becoming his brother's alter ego 'Mister John' or returning to London to face his failing relationship.
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Title: The Dream Makers
Character: Zhou Wei Yun
Released: June 24, 2013
Type: TV
The Dream Makers is a 30-episode drama serial that airs on MediaCorp Channel 8 from 24 June 2013, to 2 August 2013. It features Zoe Tay, Rui En, Jeanette Aw, Chen Liping, Qi Yuwu and Chen Hanwei in the main cast and is also the first such series to commemorate 50 years of local television.
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Love... And Other Bad Habits
Title: Love... And Other Bad Habits
Character: Mei
Released: February 14, 2013
Type: Movie
LOVE... and other Bad Habits is a light-hearted, sometimes heartfelt, look at three different kinds of relationships in Singapore, from teen infatuation to the nuances of adult relationships.
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Title: Double Bonus
Character: Mei Feng
Released: January 3, 2012
Type: TV
Double Bonus is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. This drama serial consists of 23 episodes. It made its debut on 3 Jan 2012 and was screened on Channel 8 at 2100hrs on every weekday night.
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Title: Devotion
Character: Liu Zhao Di
Released: June 28, 2011
Type: TV
Devotion is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It made its debut on 28 June 2011 and ended its run on 1 August 2011. This drama serial consists of 25 episodes, and was screened on every weekday night at 9.00 pm. The storyline spans 40 years, and is also dubbed the mid-year blockbuster-cum-47th anniversary drama.
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Love Cuts
Title: Love Cuts
Character: Sissy
Released: September 9, 2010
Type: Movie
Forty-something Cecilia better known as Sissy to her friends is a cheery and vivacious seamstress. Wai Mun, her husband of many years is the captain of an acclaimed Chinese restaurant. Although somewhat discontented with life since his migration from Hong Kong to Singapore, he and Sissy are a loving couple and enjoy a blissful marriage. They have a 15-year-old son and a nine-year-old daughter who has a very close relationship with Sissy and is a source of great cheer and comfort to her. In a twist of fate, an unexpected occurrence befalls their seemingly mediocre and uneventful lives. One day as Sissy feels a hard lump in her left breast. A gush of complex emotions overwhelms her.
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Title: Carlsberg Lunar New Year Variety Show 2010
Released: January 17, 2010
Type: TV
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Title: The Ultimatum
Character: Ye Yu-Chen
Released: May 27, 2009
Type: TV
The Ultimatum is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It made its debut on 27 May 2009 and ended on the date 7 July 2009. This drama serial consists of 30 episodes, and was screened on every weekday night at 9:00 pm. Being the mid-year Channel 8 blockbuster of 2009, it was the first Channel 8 drama to be fully filmed in HD. Despite being touted as the 2009 blockbuster of the year and featuring many established actors and actresses like Zoe Tay, Li Nanxing and Fann Wong, the show's reception was lukewarm at best. Many viewers faulted the serial for improbable casting and for a lack of originality in certain parts of the scripting. The series also came under harsh criticism for being overly melodramatic. However, the performance of newcomers such as Jerry Yeo, who played an antagonist for the first time, were widely praised.
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Title: La Femme
Character: Fang Bao Yu
Released: June 2, 2008
Type: TV
La Femme is a Singaporean Chinese modern family drama mainly emphasizing on the lives of three women of different traits. It was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It made its debut on 2 June 2008 and ended on 4 July 2008. This drama serial consists of 25 episodes, and was screened on every weekday night at 9:00 pm.
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Title: A Million Treasures
Character: Bai Xing Xing
Released: December 4, 2006
Type: TV
A Million Treasures is a Singaporean Chinese drama that was telecast on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8. This show, consisting of 25 episodes, made its debut on 4 December 2006 and ended its run on 5 January 2007. The theme song of the show is sung by Mi Lu Bing.
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Title: My Mighty-in-Laws
Character: Yao Mei Mei
Released: November 17, 2004
Type: TV
My Mighty-in-Laws is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. This drama serial consists of 20 episodes. It made its debut on 17 November 2004 and ended its run on 14 December 2004.
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Title: Man at Forty
Character: Jian Jie
Released: May 17, 2004
Type: TV
Man At Forty is an intense drama which revolves around a pair of brothers, one born with a silver spoon and the other having to live in poverty almost all his life and how their lives are thrown into a roller-coaster ride by the sudden change in wealth and status. Things get more complicated as jealousy, complacency, resentment, hatred and disillusion steps in. This drama was broadcast in Year 2004.
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Title: Baby Boom
Character: Kim
Released: September 1, 2003
Type: TV
Baby Boom is a Singaporean TV series aired on MediaCorp Channel 8 in 2003.
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The Tree
Title: The Tree
Character: Guo Mei Feng
Released: April 26, 2001
Type: Movie
A man is found dead on the road. The police are on site to collect and examine the evidence. According to the police officer, it appears to be a straightforward hit-and-run accident until a pathologist operates on the deceased and suspects otherwise. The only witness to the accident is a 9 year-old boy who was found hiding behind the branches of a tree and he happens to be the deceased stepson. Hence, the investigation begins.
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Title: The Stratagem
Character: Ye Kai Shuang
Released: January 1, 2001
Type: TV
Office politics, power struggles and greed provide action, thrills and excitement to this new drama about the banking sector. Zoe Tay helms this series as a go-getter who has to wrestle with her male colleagues to ascend the corporate ladder. In the process, she is often called to stake her moral integrity.
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Title: My Home Affairs
Character: Zhang Xiao Tong
Released: January 1, 2000
Type: TV
This contemporary drama centres around the Hong family. Head of the household is Hong Yun who together with his wife and five children tries to keep the family together despite their individual differences and conflicts. The developments in this family drama can be heart-warming and are very often unexpected.
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Liang Po Po: The Movie
Title: Liang Po Po: The Movie
Character: Cameo
Released: February 11, 1999
Type: Movie
Liang Po Po: The Movie is a Singaporean film directed by Jack Neo in 1999. It stars the comedian director Jack Neo himself, who cross-dresses as the titular old lady, which in English is translated as "Granny Neo". Liang Po Po, a lovable 85 year old granny, decides to leave the Old Folks Home in search of a new life. Believing that she can still contribute to the good of the society, the determined old lady sets on a path where she soon realizes how her trusting and naïve nature can be used against her.
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Title: The Millennium Bug
Character: Huang Si Jie
Released: January 1, 1999
Type: TV
As the world counts down to the year 2000, an evil conspiracy awaits to be uncovered. Can the cyber detective nail the hacker in time ? Will human emerge the bigger millennium 'bug' ? All is unveiled in this action thriller which highlights the repercussions of the Y2K phenomenon. Beautiful Jie is an outstanding cyber detective whose brief marriage to Yu ended over character differences. During an investigation, Jie runs into old pal Xuan and romance blossoms between them. Xuan is a computer prodigy whose father owns an enterprise which creates computer viruses for business gains. Yu is haunted by childhood memories of a computer hacking episode and accidentally discovers his hidden talent in computing. Meanwhile, Jie suspects that Xuan's father may be the mastermind behind the Y2K conspiracy.
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Title: Lost Soul
Character: Pian Pian
Released: January 1, 1999
Type: TV
The divine one is immortalised - literally - as a wandering apparition in this 30-part mystery-romance that spans over three decades of contemporary Singapore history.
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Title: The New Adventure of Wisely
Character: Bai Su
Released: September 15, 1998
Type: TV
Wisely, the eastern equivalent of Indiana Jones and James Bond, is a hero in every sense. He is multi-talented, believes in paranormal, knowledgeable in many cultures and oozes quiet charm. A character out of the sci-fi novels by renowned adventure-loving author Ni Kuang, Wisely was raised by a couple from a circus. His unusual milieu provided the foundation for his formidable skills. Hand-in-hand with the love of his life, Bai Su, they solve many inexplicable mysteries, namely "Shadow", "Destiny", "Reincarnation", "Hopes Eternal", "Dimensions", "Souls" and "Wishes". Not to be missed are the picturesque scenery shot in Cairo, Egypt.
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Title: The Return of the Condor Heroes
Character: Lu Erniang
Released: June 2, 1998
Type: TV
The Return of the Condor Heroes is a Singaporean television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. It was broadcast from 2 June to 27 July 1998 on TCS Eighth Frequency in Singapore and was later released on other Asian television networks.
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The Scoop
Title: The Scoop
Character: Joey
Released: December 22, 1997
Type: Movie
During the final months before Hong Kong's return to China, an ambitious young female reporter stumbles upon a murder scene.
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Pointed Triangle
Title: Pointed Triangle
Character: Shi Jia
Released: April 6, 1996
Type: Movie
What chemistry. Zoe Tay, the versatile actress with a thousand faces, teams up with Simon Yam and Edmund Chen in this TCS telemovie filmed partially in picturesque Spain. Add the combined appeal of these three megastars to an engaging love-triangle and you get a sizzling must-see.
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Title: A Different Life
Character: Pan Gui Kai
Released: January 1, 1996
Type: TV
An aged majie (servant) recalls her painful past in this touching drama. Besides the hardships she suffered as a servant, she also had an unhappy marriage. Though she eventually finds solace with another man, true happiness continues to elude her because of her stormy relationship with her daughter.
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Title: The Golden Pillow
Character: Zhou Xiaodan
Released: November 21, 1995
Type: TV
A simple man with ordinary looks from Thailand, finds himself hitting on gold when he makes it big in his career as well as having the dilemma of choosing the woman he loves - his childhood playmate or business partner? Finally, the confused trio decides to consult the golden pillow...
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Title: The Teochew Family
Character: Cai Chong-mei
Released: August 8, 1995
Type: TV
This drama describes the trials and tribulations the teochew Cai Family under the patriarch Cai Qingyang from the late 1940s to the 1990s.
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Love Knows No Bounds
Title: Love Knows No Bounds
Character: Xu Xiu Hui
Released: January 1, 1995
Type: Movie
Zoe Tay, Martin Yan and Christopher Ming-Shun Lee star in this telemovie about a resolute divorcee who loses her financial assets after the divorce. She works hard in a restaurant business and later becomes successful.
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Love Dowry
Title: Love Dowry
Character: Zheng Min
Released: January 1, 1994
Type: Movie
This telemovie, with Zoe Tay and Alan Ka-Lun Yu in the leads, is a comedy about two enemies who become lovers after strange twists of events.
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Title: The Unbeatables
Character: Luo Qi-Fang
Released: November 4, 1993
Type: TV
The Unbeatables I is a Singapore drama series that was made by MediaCorp TV Channel 8. The popularity of the series led to the production of 2 follow-ups, The Unbeatables II and The Unbeatables III.
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Title: Terms of Endearment
Character: Shu Qing
Released: January 1, 1992
Type: TV
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Asian Beat: Love from Temasek
Title: Asian Beat: Love from Temasek
Released: September 1, 1991
Type: Movie
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Title: The Last Swordsman
Character: Hong Xiu
Released: January 1, 1991
Type: TV
A 1991 classic drama by Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (currently Mediacorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd)
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Title: Pretty Faces
Character: Bobo Wu
Released: January 1, 1991
Type: TV
This is the show that catapulted Zoe Tay into instant stardom. Along with Meijiao Lin and Miaoling Tang, this 30-parter shows how Bobo (played by Zoe) tears her best friend's life apart by stealing the latter's boyfriend and her father, and then causing her mother's death.
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Title: 出人头地
Character: 叶蓓
Released: March 20, 1990
Type: TV
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Title: 窈窕淑女
Character: 傅桂花
Released: January 1, 1988
Type: TV
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Title: Strange Encounters
Character: Zhu Xiu Juan
Released: October 26, 1987
Type: TV
A series comprising of seven tales adapted from legends, war poems, and Liao Zai's collection from the Qing dynasty. These tales consist of loves stories, comedies and stories with a moral behind it. It deals with the supernatural and the unexplored aspect of life.