What has former variety show host Sharon Au has been up to since leaving mediacorp?

Sharon Au was a Singapore Girl after she joined Singapore Airlines (SIA) as a cabin crew. She was even given the Best Trainee Award at the 1994 graduation ceremony.

"Before I become an actress at 20, my first job was a SQ flight attendant serving on Biz Class. Even now, whenever I fly SQ, I’ll still meet ex-colleagues. The attendants are very nice to me ’cos they all know that I was once a Singapore Girl. We always chat. They’re like family. They know I like chocolates ’cos they hear that I’d always eat up all the Biz Class pralines [when I used to work there]. So they’ll bring an entire tray of chocolates to me. I remember when I became a celeb, and flew Biz class for my very first overseas trip, I almost wanted to stand up and serve passengers. I was really trying to control myself not to go to the galley and work!"

A year later and at the age of 20, Sharon Au was talent scouted and joined showbiz with the then-Television Corporation of Singapore. Armed with quick wit, she quickly become of the most well-known variety show host and was especially known for hosting City Beat (1998-2002) with Kym Ng and Bryan Wong. Some of you might also remember Sharon Au in the radio-themed drama Right Frequency (1998-2000) too.

During these years, her hosting skills got recognised with four consecutive Star Awards' Best Variety Show Host wins. Likewise, Sharon Au's accompanying popularity scored her multiple Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes wins too.

Sharon Au's first theatre role was in the 1995 production of I Have a Date with Spring. She went on to star in many productions with the most notable one likely being The LKY Musical (2015) where she played Kwa Geok Choo, the wife of the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (who was portrayed by Adrian Pang).

In June 2023, Sharon Au went back onstage as part of Pompeii, a live cinema theatre piece that happened during the Singapore International Festival of Arts.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Sharon Au has continually reinvented herself by continually pursuing new knowledge and adventures. At the peak of her fame in 2005 and at the age of 30, she sent shockwaves when she announced that she was heading to Waseda University in Tokyo to major in Liberal Studies.

Following the completion, she came back to serve her six-year bond with Mediacorp where she was named an Assistant Vice President. During that time, she also led the now-defunct fashion community portal styleXstyle and was the publisher of ELLE Singapore.

Then in January 2018, Sharon Au bade goodbye to Mediacorp after 22 years with them. "With my resignation, I will be leaving the world of entertainment and fashion to pursue another path."

Her new path involved moving to Paris after she had secured a job as an investment director at a private equity firm there. Sharon Au continues to live in the French capital with her cat Rudon.

In the first week of her job though, Sharon Au received a complaint from the human resource department. The reason? It was because she had sent an e-mail to a colleague after work hours. "I had been briefed. It was in the handbook. I knew about the law. I just didn't think it would be obeyed because never in my consciousness can you not send an e-mail after 8pm. French people are very productive. They do everything within working hours."

This wasn't the only time Sharon Au received a notice for her more than zealous work ethic (by French standards) though. The self-professed workaholic was also told to leave work on time and switch off after work hours.

In April 2022, Sharon Au received a rude shock after she found that her Paris apartment was broken into. She shared the news on Instagram stating that "My apartment was broken into 11 days ago. 30 April 2022. They took everything I love. I have nothing now. They did not take the love of my life, the one thing that money cannot buy- #Rudon."

"Starting from zero. Again. This is life."

And start over she did. After the incident, Sharon Au decided to quit her job and now lives on her savings as she takes the time to heal. "I don’t want to rush into anything. I don’t want my recovery to be half-baked. I’ve been through therapy so I know the process and I know it’s unhealthy to jump into something that makes you forget, be it work or a relationship. I didn’t want to make that the solution. I want to really deal with it."

"I already live in one of the safest districts in Paris, in an apartment with a concierge. There’s no point in moving. But I fortified the place, I got better doors, set it up with more locks, and got a security system with an alarm set up. The rest is up to fate."

It wasn't until she was 17 that Sharon Au began living with her mother. And even then, there was barely any relationship to speak off. Sharon Au revealed on Hear U Out in 2020 that she would move between relatives when she was a child as her parents were divorced. Her mother didn't visit despite having legal custody too. She also tried being the model child or acting out to gain some attention, though those attempts didn't work either.

It was on a return flight from Hong Kong troubled with severe turbulence that finally led Sharon Au to attempt to mend the relationship.

"Under those circumstances, in which I thought I was going to die, I regretted not reaching an understanding with her. I even regretted not asking her why she did what she did, like why was she such a terrible mum... and [not] telling her that I forgave her because I was actually okay with it.

I just prayed that the plane wouldn't crash and I gave my word that if the plane landed safely, I would reconcile with my mum the moment I got off the plane."

Slowly but surely, Sharon Au and her mother fixed their relationship.

In April 2022, Sharon Au spoke about her struggle with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with Jean Danker. She had experienced the 2011 Tohuku earthquake and tsunami and felt like she had "abandoned" her friends and family in Japan after returning to Singapore shortly after. She thought that it was "pointless to continue" living.

Sharon Au later confided in her mother and credits the "sensible" reaction to helping her see the light at the end of the tunnel. "It wasn't like: 'Mum I'm going to kill myself', it was more like: ‘I… don't want to live'. So when I confided in her, her reaction really made me feel the strength of a mother. If she had broken down and gone hysterical, I think it would've made me feel worse. It probably would've really driven me to do something silly. But the fact that she just sat there and she took it in and she said: 'I really just want you to be okay. And if you don't think you're okay anymore in this sphere, okay, you go, I will pray for you. And I'm sure the Lord would take care of you.'"

She later distracted herself with work so that she couldn't "just wallow at home and think of ways to end my life." A counsellor from the church her mother attended also reached out and helped "paved the way to my recovery".

Remember when quarantine was a thing during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic? Many of us hated the associated cabin fever of needing to stay isolated and alone. But for Sharon Au, she relished having the time alone in a small space. When she was quarantined in June 2021, she shared that she "was reluctant to leave because I enjoyed tremendously the me-time I had. The past 18 days motivated me to be more creative than I’ve ever been. I felt safer in the room, than out there in the real world. I know it is warped to feel this way but I can’t help it."

During that period, she found out that she was "someone who possesses tremendous discipline in picking up new languages, new musical instruments, [and] new skills."