10 facts to know about Miss Ai-Yo-Yo Chen Li Ping

While many local actors got their start through talent search competitions, Chen Li Ping got hers after she completed the drama training course with the then-Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. In fact, she was in the same batch as Li Nanxing and debuted in 1985. That same year, Chen Li Ping went on to star in Takeover.

It wasn't until 1989 that Chen Li Ping cemented herself into the local celeb zeitgeist. This was thanks to her portrayal in the hit 1989 drama Good Morning, Sir where she played Miss Ai-yo-yo. She became so known for the role that many would go on to refer to her as Aiyoyo Lao Shi (teacher).

Chen Li Ping then went on to create more iconic roles, one being the nasi lemak-cooking Mo Wanwan in Holland V (2003). Under her belt are also three Star Awards' Best Actress wins and the All-Time Favourite Artiste after winning Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 10 times.

In 1998, Chen Li Ping got married to fellow actor Rayson Tan. She wanted to have a low-key wedding by keeping the news of the marriage registration limited to people close to them. But to her horror, Guo Liang "surprised us at the Registry of Marriages and started interviewing me". "I really wanted to keep things low-key. If I didn’t, I would have just gotten sponsors for my wedding and actually turn a profit on it!"

As for Rayson Tan, he had to fend off people who questioned his sincerity in the relationship at the start. "I always wondered why Li Ping chose me. I knew she had many suitors back then, and I was a newcomer while she was a top actress.

Some of my colleagues actually asked me why I pursued the relationship. They said it made me look like I was trying to use her as a stepping stone to become famous. But I told them time will prove my sincerity. Sure enough, we stayed married and even have a child. I guess it is important to ignore what people say, or it will warp your experience of love."

And yes, the couple has a son named Xavier, who prefers to keep their relationship on the down-low.

It wasn't until 2015 that Chen Li Ping and Rayson Tan finally took wedding photos. The photos, however, were for the drama Life's Blessings where they played a couple. During an interview for the show, Chen Li Ping explained why the couple had never taken any wedding photos prior.

"I have a fear of wedding gowns! Just now, when I was putting on the wedding gown, I had a headache and my stomach hurt!"

"In those days we had to 'get married' in a lot of television shows so I started to hate it because I associated it with work. Once I put on a wedding gown, I feel like I am playing a role, like I am acting. It is only when I am out of my wedding gown that everything feels real. You know?"

It was the scandal that left Andrea De Cruz needing a liver transplant. When the 2002 incident broke, Chen Li Ping was the face of the Slim 10 weight loss pills, which she had also taken to lose weight. To complicate matters, Rayson Tan was the one who sold Andrea De Cruz the pills.

Since then, Chen Li Ping shared that "I don't live in the shadow of it anymore, but my number one condition for taking up this slimming programme is that I will not take any pills."

In February 2023, news emerged that Chen Li Ping and Lin Meijiao were cheated of $273k and $186k respectively. They were tricked by an investment scam that involved foreign currency exchange. The scam, which was an investment scheme to provide Chinese tourists with Singapore currency to spend and gamble here, was done by Chinese national Wu Hong. She had also scammed other people of over $2.1 million.

Following the scam, Chen Li Ping was asked about her attitude towards friendships during an interview for Titoudao: Dawn of a New Stage (2023). "Aiyoh, this is such a sensitive question… Friendship is a very sensitive topic for me... Not particularly because of any incident but it’s been like that since long ago. It’s not easy for me. It’s quite sad lah but it shouldn’t be this way. For the word “friends”, I always say it with inverted commas. But let's not go into details about that."

When further asked about whether she's more wary of making new friends now, this was what Chen Li Ping responded. "No lah. There’s nothing ah. You guys also don’t know [what happened]. It’s all just from the news. It’s not convenient for me to comment. I was told not to talk about this anymore. But it’s okay, it’s all in the past."

On an episode of #JustSwipeLah in 2022, fellow actor Ya Hui shared this little tidbit about Chen Li Ping. "Sometimes, when I go shopping, there will be aunties saying that Chen Li Ping acts very proud whenever she shops there. But I must help her clarify this ‘cos she’s someone who totally can’t multi-task."

"She totally can’t hear what’s being said around her. I’ll tell her that someone is saying 'hello' to her from behind, and only then she will say 'hello hello' back. She's totally unaware."

Speaking of Ya Hui, did you know that Chen Li Ping and her are really good friends? This is despite the 22-year age gap between them. The two first met on Star Search in 2007 where the veteran actress was the mentor to contestant Ya Hui. She eventually placed behind winner Andie Chen.

In May 2023, Chen Li Ping got caught on camera judging her younger stars. She was on the set of The Sky Is Still Blue where co-stars Jernelle Oh, Juin Teh and Sheryl Ang were filming a TikTok challenge. At the corner of the frame was Chen Li Ping, who was seen looking curious, then perplexed before looking troubled. That hilarious scene left many netizens tickled.