Lin Mei Jiao: The veteran actress who happens to also be Chantalle Ng's mother

Before Mediacorp, the company was known as Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS). And even before that in the 1980s to mid-1990s, it was named the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. That was the time when Lin Mei Jiao first dipped her feet into showbiz. Her earliest acting credits date back to 1985 in Coffee Shop, Home Is Where Love Is, Young Heroes, Son Of Pulau Ubin and Takeover.

Lin Mei Jiao steadfastly worked to hone her craft and career, scoring multiple acting nominations over her earlier years including the Star Awards' Best Supporting Actress for Three Women and A Half (2001) and Best Actress for Hainan Kopi Tales (2000).

As Lin Mei Jiao continued to act through the 2000s and 2010s, she saw new heights in her professional development.

A role she played that many of us might still remember was as the villain Guihua who oppressed Jeanette Aw in the top-rated drama The Little Nyonya (2008). She was even up for a Best Supporting Actress win because of that role, but unfortunately lost out to fellow castmates Ng Hui and Xiang Yun.

Then in 2013, Lin Mei Jiao finally won her first Star Awards' Best Supporting Actress trophy for Game Plan (2012). She had been nominated for the category seven times prior. Her acting chops were once again affirmed in 2019 with the Best Supporting Actress win for Fifty & Fabulous (2018).

In 2022, Lin Mei Jiao scooped up her third Star Awards' Best Supporting Actress trophy and her 11th nomination overall. It was for her portrayal of Pan Xiuqin in the popular drama My Star Bride, which also starred her daughter Chantalle Ng who played the main female lead.

At a backstage interview post-award, Lin Mei Jiao didn't forget to dedicate her win to her late mother who had passed away a year prior. "Actually, I want to dedicate this award to my mum… Yeah. She used to watch all my shows! So if I went up on stage, she would definitely be watching. And she would be very happy for me."

When asked if she had anything to say to her mum about the win, she replied, "I’ll say, ‘Ma… Yesterday I went on stage… Did you see me?"

In 1991, Lin Mei Jiao got married to fellow actor Huang Yiliang. Four years later, the pair welcomed Chantalle Ng to the family, making it a household of three. While we don't know the nature of the relationship between Lin Mei Jiao and Huang Yiliang, we can surmise that it went south as they split in 1997 when Chantalle Ng was a few months old.

When asked in 2017 about the relationship, this was what Lin Mei Jiao said, "Sometimes, when you no longer have feelings for someone and you can no longer live with the person anymore, it’s very tough to continue the relationship. To me, it’s better to just sever all ties and have a clean break. I think my courage came from my baby. I wanted to protect her and give her a better and healthier environment to grow up in and that was why I could do it. Of course, it’s unfair to him [Huang Yiliang] if I put it this way, so I don’t really want to talk about the past anymore. It’s something I want to forget and I see it as clearing out rubbish from my life."

In 2021, the trio made headlines after Chantalle Ng recounted a beating by Huang Yiliang that was so bad that she had to be hospitalised for a week. He shot back, stating that Lin Mei Jiao had some responsibility, too, as it was her idea for him to be the 'bad cop' while she was the 'good cop'.

Raising Chantalle Ng alone as a single mother, it is perhaps inevitable that Lin Mei Jiao felt working mum guilt as she still had to work to put food on the table. In a 2021 post to commemorate her daughter's birthday, the veteran actress recounted this heartfelt memory she had when Chantalle Ng was nine.

"You said that every evening, you’d follow your tuition teacher to feed the cats and that they’re all your friends. After hearing that, Mama felt very guilty. Guilty that I couldn’t spend more time with you. My heart ached [for you] and I was filled with sorrow. I felt sorry that you were so young and yet so sensible. You didn’t feel unhappy ‘cos Mama was busy, instead, you chose to live every day to its fullest."

Despite the difficulties of being a single parent, it is no secret that Lin Mei Jiao and Chantalle Ng have one of the strongest mother-daughter bonds we've seen. It is so strong that the two have always shared a room for the past 28 years until Chantalle Ng made the decision in July 2023 to finally move into her own bedroom.

"Fun fact: I've been sharing the same room as my mum for the past 28 years. It's been a habit to chitchat before we go to bed.

Recently I feel like my late hours are starting to disturb her sleep and I've decided to move into my own bedroom!!

I am so excited to decorate my own space and go for furniture shopping."

As kids, we sometimes find our parents embarrassing, especially when they reveal things we shared with them. Lin Mei Jiao did the same to Chantalle Ng when she revealed to the press that her daughter had a crush on fellow actor Elvin Ng when she was younger. "Chantalle always tagged along for filming when she was younger, and once, when I was working with Elvin [Ng] for a drama, she told me that she really liked Elvin. She was like, “Wah, Elvin so handsome."

Chantalle Ng later responded to the revelation, "Cos if it's a joke, it's fine. But if it's real, and somebody lets your secret out, it's really super embarrassing. I was super embarrassed."

Lin Mei Jiao concluded by saying, "But it's okay lah 'cos it was when you were younger and more innocent."

You don't always know who you can trust when it comes to money and investments. Lin Mei Jiao and Chen Liping learnt that lesson the hard way after the duo got scammed of $186k and $273k respectively. The scam was carried out by Chinese national Wu Hong between 2016 and 2019 as she offered fake investments to provide Chinese tourists with local currency to spend and gamble at casinos here. Both Lin Mei Jiao and Chen Liping trusted the friend who introduced them to Wu Hong, but little did they know they were all duped.

In a March 2022 interview, Zoe Tay talked about the time she got slapped by Lin Mei Jiao. It was when they were working together for a scene in the 1991 drama Pretty Faces where Zoe Tay was still a newbie. She added that it was the only time she got slapped by another actress.

"I remember the feeling of pain that I couldn't control. The tears just kept flowing. I was so frustrated that after filming the scene, I actually took my bag and went off. She (Mei Jiao) didn't even know that I was angry with her but I shouldn't be since it was an accident."

In a 2021 story, Lin Mei Jiao revealed that many people, including herself, aren't as aware of skincare as we are now. "Back when I was young, not many people knew how to take care of their skin. There definitely wasn’t as much awareness about skincare or as many products available as there are now. I simply washed my face, and that was it for my skincare routine."

"I remember only ever using one product, which was a multipurpose face cream that was very popular back then. It was only when wrinkles and pigmentation started appearing in my late 30s that I realised the need to care for my skin."

Now, Lin Mei Jiao is more savvy with beauty routine. Facial cleanser, toner, serum, moisturiser and sunscreen are in her skincare routine. She uses gua sha to give herself a facial massage.

"People tend to focus more on what’s superficial. I agree that what’s on the outside is important, but what’s inside is just as important too. Our health, diet and mood are also factors that can impact how we look. Besides using quality skincare products, it’s equally important to eat healthily and take measures to relieve stress and keep yourself happy too."