The many lives of Singaporean actress Dawn Yeoh

In the family drama The Shining Star where Dawn Yeoh played the lead role of Ah-Li opposite the male lead Pierre Png. In that same year, she was nominated for Most Popular Newcomer at Star Awards (which ultimately went to singer Kelvin Tan).

Her ensuing rising fame led her to be labelled as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp, alongside, Felicia Chin, Fiona Xie, Jeanette Aw, Jesseca Liu, Joanne Peh and Rui En. Dawn Yeoh later went on to star in dramas such as Crime Busters x 2 (2008), Beach.Ball.Babes (2008), Crescendo (2015), Jalan Jalan (2018) and Fix My Life (2023).

In 2009, Dawn Yeoh got into a disagreement with her Japanese manager. The manager, under the agency Future Stage, scouted and signed her on with a 10-year contract when she was still underage, despite her inexperience and lack of industry knowledge. Halfway through, Dawn Yeoh fell out with the manager and was embroiled in "very serious contract issues."

The issue was eventually resolved when she completed the stipulated duration in 2014. Between 2009 and 2013, Dawn Yeoh went into a hiatus where she travelled extensively to search "for my purpose in life and continuing with my hobbies."

"I got a call from MediaCorp, asking me to start acting again. I guess in my journey, I’ve been blessed in a sense, because as someone who didn’t know anything about acting, I was constantly being given opportunities.

I guess it’s the genuine affection I have for my work, that passion, that until today is sustaining this whole thing. I feel so gratified when someone tells me they’ve watched my shows and they give me good feedback. It’s all I could ever ask for."

Following her departure from Future Stage, Dawn Yeoh went on to sign with the Taiwanese artiste management agency Catwalk. The same agency has Fann Wong and Christopher Lee in its stable. Her initial meeting with Catwalk was in large part thanks to the assistance of celebrity hairstylist David Gan who introduced the two parties to each other. As a result of Catwalk's connections, Dawn Yeoh is now represented overseas in Taiwan and beyond too.

"David advised me that it was not the best thing to manage my own career. He could see that I was struggling so he introduced me to Catwalk and I had a chat with the managers."

In an interview regarding Dawn Yeoh's role in the 2015 drama Crescendo which delves into the Xinyao Movement, it was revealed that the actress has loved singing since her schooling days. While she didn't get to sing in the series (due to copyright issues), she added, "if possible, I would like to write my own songs too. I am all prepared!"

While her dress sense might not clue you in now, Dawn Yeoh was quite the otaku for Hello Kitty and all things princessy and cutesy. In fact, she shared that one of her self-professed cringest moments was wearing a black student-made Hello Kitty for the Star Awards 2007 red carpet. In 2018, Dawn Yeoh concluded her love for the saccharine sweet - "those days are long gone".

In 2012, Edwin Goh and Jayley Woo were in the midst of a high-profile relationship. But in three months, the relationship ceased to exist after he was found kissing Dawn Yeoh at Zouk while they were still attached. It was also reported that Jayley Woo felt suspicious and found an incriminating text on his phone.

Anyone scrolling through Dawn Yeoh's Instagram would know that the actress is a fitness lover, even going so far as to endorse labels such as Puma. She opened up in a 2020 interview that she has "been athletic since my school days" and competed in track and field competitions.

"Before, it was about purely fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle. Now I’m more into body-shaping and body awareness. You know, about enhancements and looking good. I feel more responsibility now to be social proof to others that I’m able to change from this shape to that. And that if you can see it on me, you can do it as well. I’ve been giving tips and guiding people along the way."

But behind her current confidence was Dawn Yeoh's metamorphosis while overcoming her struggles with depression and body image. She spoke about the issue in 2018 with Her World and an instance where she starved herself for two weeks and lost four kilograms - she eventually gave up on the idea because it got her too depressed.

"I spent most of my time with family and friends. Their unconditional love influenced and reawakened the love within me and really inspired me to pay it forward. At the same time, I also read stories, quotes and articles and they really helped to motivate me."

A friend in need is a friend indeed. In 2021, Nat Ho spoke candidly about his horrible financial state in his younger days, leaving him with only $16 in his bank account. His lifeline, however, came when he borrowed money from his good friend Dawn Yeoh. From then on, he disciplined himself in financial matters and eventually pulled himself out of his money woes.

Remember the Covid-19 social distancing restrictions in 2020 that limited us to having only a maximum of five guests at any one time? It was later revealed that Terence Cao had organised a birthday party for Jeffrey Xu and Shane Pow during that period, but the number of attendees swelled to 12 after a group photo of the celebration was shared online.

While she wasn't in the photo, Dawn Ywoh admitted to her wrongdoing and apologised for her actions in the post above. "I am sorry I made a mistake. I had shown indiscretion and lapse in social responsibility in the recently reported photo of the mass gathering. I have come forward to the authorities and shall take full responsibility for my actions."