Celest Chong

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chong.
Celest Chong
Chinese name 張玉華 (traditional)
Chinese name 张玉华 (simplified)
Pinyin Zhāng Yùhuá (Mandarin)
Ancestry Chaozhou, Guangdong, China
Born Singapore
Occupation Singer, actress
Years active 2000–present
Official Website CelestChong.com

Celest Chong is a Singaporean actress, singer and former cover model.

Biography

Early life

Chong is the youngest of five daughters. Her mother was from an orchid flower family and her father was a blacksmith. She started working at the age of twelve at a bookstore, packing boxes.

She won her first singing competition at the age of eight at her school, singing "Nobody's Child". She became a wedding singer with a pianist. She wrote her first song at age eleven about a Chow Yun-fat film that had touched her deeply. Chong started stage acting when she was thirteen and was president of her school's drama club, which she had founded. She acted, wrote and directed some of the plays she did at school.

Before post-secondary school, Chong volunteered to help and tutor disabled children through an organisation called Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore. She studied in Ang Mo Kio Secondary School and Yishun Junior College before moving on to the National University of Singapore where she majored in English and economics.

Career

Chong was spotted by a talent scout at the age of fourteen and began her career as a model. Later she joined Malcolm McLaren's now defunct girl-band, Jungk.

Chong began her acting as a secretary in Eric Khoo's Stories about Love performing a Turkish inspired belly-dance. She also sang the show's theme song, "Sorry, My Love".[1] Later, she moved on to Channel 5's sitcom, Making Love, in which she played a sultry receptionist named Pamela.

She played the character of a child social worker in the Channel 8 television drama, You Light Up My Life. She sang the theme songs for the new show, which were on Singapore's top music charts for four weeks.

Chong then signed with Universal Music to record a solo album in 2001, Belong to Myself. She found the show meaningful and chose to continue with it rather than going back to New York to sign with an independent music label. After three months on Channel 8, she was voted third for Most Ideal Female Artiste on Mediaworks TV Station.

In December 2002, second album, Celest, was released in Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

In 2002, Chong left MediaCorp and Singapore for Taiwan to work in the Taiwanese entertainment industry where she released her third album, Snowflakes, in 2004. While in Taiwan, she also acted as a reporter in C'est La Vie, starring the Taiwanese actor Lin Youwei. She recorded her fourth album, Little Happiness, in 2006.[2]

After almost five years in Taiwan, Chong moved to Guiyang, China, in 2007 to film Acalea Blossoms. After about two years, she moved back to Singapore because of a family emergency.[3]

Chong has appeared on dozens of magazine covers including Her World, Vogue, Elle, Citta Bella and FHM. She has modelled around the world for various print advertisements. She was voted one of the Top 100 most beautiful women in the world by FHM and The Sexiest Woman in Singapore by International Media with her five Ss - Sunshine Sweet, Smile, Sexy & Song. She was also voted No.1 in the Singapore Most Sexy Women's Survey on Citta Bella.

Personal life

Chong relocated to Canada in 2009. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, and works at The Characters Talent Agency in Toronto.

Filmography

Discography

Chong's former singing career included being the lead singer in the all-girl band Jungk, produced by Malcom McLaren. She also sang "Voice of an Angel" for McLaren. On National Day she sang "Stand Up for Singapore". She was also the lead singer for a song called "Earth Song" regarding environmental awareness. For the film Stories About Love, she sang the title track "Sorry My Love". For the drama series You Light Up My Life, she sang the theme song "Distance" which was No. 1 on the Yes 933 Pop Charts. Chong was voted No. 1 for Most Captivating Voice on Singapore Press Holdings, Asiaone.com.

Albums:

References

  1. ↑ "Celest Chong shows off her dark side". MediaCorp. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  2. ↑ "Back in the limelight". DivaAsia. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  3. ↑ "Beauty unmasked". DivaAsia. Retrieved 12 November 2010.