Did you know that Hong Ling has a Thai name called Somaline? Born to a Thai mother and a Singaporean Chinese father, Hong Ling is one of the rising stars in the local entertainment scene. Case in point: She scored two consecutive Star Awards‘ Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes wins in 2021 and 2022. While she narrowly missed out on the third trophy in 2023, Hong Ling’s rise is without a doubt. Find out more about the budding actress ahead as we share with you 10 facts about the life and aspirations of Hong Ling.
Hey Gorgeous was a talent scouting competition that went into tertiary institutes to look for fresh faces. Hong Ling participated in the 2013 edition alongside winner Alfred Low and runner-ups Carrie Wong and Richie Koh. While she was only one of the semi-finalists, she eventually signed with Mediacorp and promptly entered the local entertainment industry.
“I was just doing my own thing in school and the TV crew asked me to join the show. I’m a very passive person, so I would never have signed up myself. But I’m glad they found me. I’m loving it so far and I think it will help build my confidence.”
A year later, Hong Ling got her first acting credit in Against The Tide. And as she honed her acting craft even further, she picked up bigger roles in series such as 118 (2014) and Home Truly (2017), where she took on her first female lead role opposite Pierre Png.
In 2023, Hong Ling got her first Star Awards‘ Best Actress nomination for her portrayal of Zheng Tianxi in Your World In Mine (2022). She also took home two Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste trophies.
Because of their public persona, it can be difficult to imagine that celebs are anything but extroverts. Yet, Hong Ling self-described herself as being “very shy and introverted”.
In fact, she found it “awkward” to intentionally walk up and greet someone so much so that she was criticised for being rude. Now, Hong Ling attempts to at least greet people around her but still finds it difficult to make the first move or small talk if there is “no eye contact”. She also tries to be more chatty “for work”.
In 2020, Hong Ling likely made one of the biggest purchases of her life when she bought her own 600 sq ft, two-bedroom condo in Balestier. She was living with her family in a five-room HDB flat in the north and shared a room with one of her siblings.
“My first home! Just gotten my keys today! It’s the best gift I’ve ever bought for myself. I bought the first condo in my life with my own effort. When I got my first endorsement upon entering showbiz, my goal was to get my own place by 30. Who knew I would be able to achieve it? I’m really grateful and happy.”
According to a report, the freehold apartment likely cost around $680k and was cheaper than usual due to a fire sale.
After achieving her goal of owning her own place, Hong Ling shared another ambition of hers in 2021. “I want to travel the world and visit every country before I turn 50,” said the actress who has never been outside of Asia when she declared the wish.
And with the easing of travel restrictions, Hong Ling has since checked off Australia from the list of countries she hasn’t been to.
To fellow actor Nick Teo. The couple met while they worked together on 118 and started dating. They even kept the relationship a secret for three years before making it public knowledge.
And after seven years of courtship, Nick Teo popped the question on Hong Ling’s 28th birthday. The couple was on a yacht for what was supposed to be her birthday party so as “throw her off so she wouldn’t suspect anything.”
At a press conference in February 2023, Nick Teo revealed that Hong Ling has slight hoarding tendencies. As a result, he has to help her clear her fridge frequently and dispose of food that has spoilt which she kept because “she dislikes wasting food” but “can’t bear to trash it”.
Hong Ling added that she is “the type of person who tends to keep things, so my house is very messy and I’ve a lot of things.” Fortunately, Nick Teo is here to help her. “I know Nick is in the right, but I just can’t throw away these things. There’s still an obstacle in my heart preventing that.”
On an episode of The Zoe and Liang Show (2023), Hong Ling opened up about how she once considered plastic surgery.
“I think I look okay, but after joining showbiz, I got a lot of criticism for my looks. Some people said my nose bridge is too high, because I have a bone here [that is very high], so I was asked if I ever considered shaving it down. In the past people used to have nose jobs to make their nose bridge higher. I have a nose bridge but why are people now asking me to shave it down?!
They also said my face is too square. I really considered shaving my [jawline] and I was really so dismayed. I called my good friend, who is my make-up artist, and he told me that I would look like any other influencer if I decided to shave my jawline. So I listened to his advice. As I grew older, I’m thankful that I didn’t go ahead with the surgery.”
Hong Ling shared in February 2023 that she has a habit of collecting keepsakes from projects that featured her, whether they be scripts, magazines or posters. Yet, she took it a step further when she took home the backdrop used in the press conference for the show Fix My Life which featured her and co-star James Seah. She even got her beau Nick Teo to help her take it home. She doesn’t have plans to display it though as it would “be weird to see James’ face every single day”.
In another interview, Hong Ling detailed her retirement plans. “When I was younger, I had a lot of ‘wants’ in life. I wanted a car, so I worked and bought one. Then I wanted a house, so I worked for it and got the house — but I wasn’t satisfied, and wanted an even bigger house. So it’s a never-ending chase and it was very taxing on me.”
“Maybe Covid-19 slowed down the pace, and I didn’t get many offers in my job — prior to that, I worked solely for the sake of money, but after Covid-19 I gave it more thought. I realised that actually, life is for us to enjoy, not for us to spend on chasing things that we think will make us happy but which only gives us hardship.”
In the end, Hong Ling stated that she has a wish to retire in a decade’s time, with dreams of living in Thailand where she can tend to her garden of plants and rear chickens for eggs. “I’ve been to Thailand for vacation before and I can see that the people there are happy even though they’re not wealthy. They’re very content with life.”
“Truthfully, I don’t think I’m in the position to completely step away from my job just yet because I’m still young. I’ll work hard for these 10 to 20 years… I hope my life in the future will be very simple.”