How well do you know Singaporean actress and ah jie Zoe Tay?

Way before she cemented her status as the Queen of Caldecott Hill, Zoe Tay got her start in the modelling industry and was named Model of the Year in 1987.

Fun fact: Fann Wong once shared that the two were from the same modelling agency and were in a Metro catalogue together.

Zoe Tay later took part in the 1988 Star Search talent competition where she took home the top prize and began her foray into acting. Since then, Zoe Tay has been crowned the All-Time Favourite Artiste Award in 2004 after winning the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 10 times.

Her acting chops have also been recognised: Zoe Tay has four Best Actress wins in 1996, 2017, 2019 and 2021 for Golden Pillow, You Can Be An Angel Too II, A Million Dollar Dream and My Guardian Angel respectively.

Zoe Tay’s management company The Celebrity Agency (TCA) announced in February 2021 that they had inked deals with overseas agencies. Under the agreement, Zoe Tay will now be represented by the global talent management company Bohemia Group. Consequently, we shouldn’t be surprised to see the ah jie in an overseas production one day.

A chicken and a pig farm actually, both of which were owned by her father. The farms were located in Lim Chu Kang.

Zoe Tay was born Tay Hui Gek with the hanyu pinyin name Zheng Huiyu. But because many people didn’t know how to pronounce the word “Zheng” and called it “Jenny” instead, Zoe Tay almost settled for that to be her English name. Her siblings however didn’t like the name and suggested that she find one starting with the letter Z. She eventually settled on “Zoe” after seeing it in a dictionary.

“When I started using this name, nobody can pronounce it. Ah Joe, then they put an ‘i’ on top, Joei, Joey. Some call me Zoo, call me Joo. A lot of funny names… But I find it’s okay. I like the Z.”

As someone who depends on her face and facial expressions to earn a living, Zoe Tay has expressed that she isn’t too keen on seeking out plastic surgery. This is in spite of many who had commented on the changes to her appearance left by the hands of time. “It’s personal preference… I’m quite happy with the way I am.”

“There might have been burdens (to look good) as an actor in the past, but I think people now appreciate one’s personality more than the outer appearance.”

His name is Philip Chionh and the pair was introduced by host and actress Irene Ang. The two later got married in 1995, had a wedding ceremony in 2001 and now have three sons together. Check out the video Zoe Tay posted above that detailed the procession.

Good friend and fellow actor Wang Yuqing revealed in 2021 that Zoe Tay is actually “a very strict mum”. He detailed how he would always catch her with a cane at the dining table telling her sons to study whenever he went to her house. Zoe Tay went on to reveal that her sons once shared with their family helper that they “hardly get to see Mummy” and that made her more conscious of spending more time with them despite her busy filming schedules.

A year later, Zoe Tay reflected that she doesn’t think of herself as being a tiger mum. She was perhaps like that with her first child but later loosened the reins to suit the needs and patterns of her other kids.

Scroll through her Instagram and you’ll notice that Zoe Tay takes extra precautions to protect her family’s privacy by not revealing their faces. As such, it became extra shocking (and funny) when her youngest son suddenly appeared on her screen in a virtual press conference in August 2021, thereby shattering all her efforts at protecting their privacy.

Another thing you might notice about Zoe Tay is that she loves being outdoors cycling and hiking. Skateboarding, on the other hand, doesn’t seem all that congruent with the top actress. Zoe Tay shared in the November 2020 Instagram post that skateboarding was “something incredible” and it has always been something she wanted to learn.

And learn she did. Zoe Tay concluded that skateboarding wasn’t “as hard” as she thought and that “you can grasp the basics in the first lesson.” She also roped in fellow artiste Vivian Lai to join her.

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