Lina Ng: What you need to know about the award-winning actress and lion mum

Those who grew up watching local television in the 1990s would definitely find Lina Ng a familiar face. After all, the actress was most prolific during that period when she starred in dramas such as Legend of the White Hair Brides (1996), The Price of Peace (1997), The Silver Lining (1997) and Right Frequency (1998-2000). Subsequently, Lina Ng went on a hiatus and only resurfaced in the recent few years. Keep reading to find out more about the Singaporean actress, from her start, why she went on a break and is a "lion mum" and more.

Lina Ng’s childhood wish fulfilled when son enters med school

Lina’s second son, Joel, is now a medical student at NUS’ Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. For Lina, who once dreamed of being a doctor herself, it felt like a full-circle ‘white coat moment’ when Joel let her slip on a lab coat to live out that childhood wish.

She got her start from Star Search

Like many notable actors in Singapore, Lina Ng got her showbiz start through the talent competition Star Search. She competed in the 1993 iteration and was placed first runner-up behind champion and former actress Ivy Lee.

Prior to the competition, Lina Ng worked part-time while studying in Pre-U. She modelled and won a competition to be featured as the cover girl of the February 1990 edition of a teenage magazine.

And has since become an award-winning actress

According to her Wikipedia profile, Lina Ng is said to be the “first and only actress” to win both an Asian Academy Creative Award and an Asian Television Award. She clinched the Best Actress in a Supporting Role for both awards for her playing the role of housekeeper Ah Yok in Last Madame (2020).

With Star Awards, Lina Ng has been nominated for multiple Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards.

Yet she isn’t under pressure to win a popularity award

Despite being nominated and taking home a couple of Star Awards‘ Top 5/10 Most Popular Female Artistes trophies, Lina Ng professed that she currently isn’t in a rush to win them. “I’m happy to be nominated but I have no expectations about getting into the Top 10 at all, and I love it!”

When she was younger, on the other hand, Lina Ng admitted that she did feel pressure to win the coveted award.

She left acting for a bit

Lina Ng was most active shortly after Star Search in the 1990s and 2000. Her career then took a backburner when she left Mediacorp for MediaWorks before it closed in 2003.

She then started returning to the front of cameras in the late 2000s before diving into more projects in recent years such as Lion Mums 2 (2017), Last Madame (2019), Your World in Mine (2022) and more.

She got married in 2004

During her hiatus, Lina Ng kept busy caring for her family. She got married in 2004 to former national bowler Mike Lam and the couple subsequently had three children together.

When asked in 2017 about her decision to become a stay-home mother after leaving acting, this was what Lina Ng had to say:

“It was definitely hard because it was not planned. It took me about two years to accept that I was slowing down my pace of life. I had to be comfortable with not getting any attention, and telling people that I was no longer an artist.

I am not embarrassed about what happened. I am proud I am a stay-at-home mother. I know that whatever time I spend with my children will go to building their confidence. Forgoing my full-time acting career for them is not a loss.”

She has her own difficulties with parenting

In August 2022, Lina Ng and her son Joel Lam appeared on A Night Under The Stars hosted by Darren Lim with the appearance of his son Jairus. In the episode, Lina Ng opened up about some of her struggles as a mother and parent. “Parents need to be strong for their children, I think that’s the tough part of being a parent.”

Connecting with her sons was one of the struggles she faced but she admits that it is difficult to describe the problems in words. “Being a mother is tough, but it’s not a kind of suffering. As a mother, there are difficulties that are hard to put into words.”

She’s a lion mum

In a press interview for Lion Mums 3 in 2019, Lina Ng admits to being a real-life lion mum. “Yes, every mother would be a lion mum to her kids at a certain point. And also to their husbands sometimes ‘cos they can act like kids too. I was a lion mum to my kids when they were much younger ‘cos they were unable to make the right decisions by themselves.”

She went on to add that there are three stages to her parenting style. “The first one would be the lion mum stage, where I just tell them what to do. You have to be the lion mum to guide them. Now that they’re growing up, we’ve come to the second stage where I will suggest and lead them. The last stage would be me suggesting and then they make their own choices. My first two kids are in secondary school now, and I have an 8-year-old who I have to tell what to do. Of course, I will explain to him the reason behind my suggestions lah.”

Lina Ng then went on to state that lion mums have a fiercer bark than their bite. “I had a really bad temper when I was young, but if you look at people with such “lion mum” character, they are actually quite soft-hearted inside. They can really scold you and punish you, and then they’ll regret what they did like crazy. They will do everything to mend back the relationship, and the sayang-ing will be more than the scolding itself.”

She doesn’t believe in sparing the rod

Consequently, it shouldn’t be surprising that Lina Ng doesn’t believe in sparing the rod. In an earlier press interview for Lion Mums 2, Lina Ng revealed that she is like her character Chae Lian.

“Chae Lian uses the cane. I, too, believe in not sparing the rod. There has to be a kind of punishment that you have to instil ― especially in boys ― so that they’ll know the seriousness of certain mistakes that they make. I don’t use the cane unnecessarily. I would give them three warnings, and if they still break those rules, I will have to use the cane. There are certain values, like respect and not telling lies ― these are things we hold very close to in our family.”

She echoed the same sentiment in another interview the same year. “Spare the rod, spoil the child. I do cane my kids but I don’t abuse them. I give them warnings and second chances when they make mistakes. However, I’d punish them if they tell lies; lying goes against our family values. When my second son was in Primary Two, he lied repeatedly and it was something I couldn’t tolerate. I gave him a few strokes of the cane. He’s the most mischievous but also the most affectionate. He loves to hug and kiss me all the time.”

She’s open to talking about sex with her children

Lina Ng’s candid and straightforward approach to parenting can also be seen in how she broaches another difficult subject: sex education.

“I’m similar to Chae Lian in the sense that I’m very involved in my children’s lives. I have three boys and they need a certain level of discipline; I’m there to take care of them so that they won’t be slack. However, I’m neither an elitist nor a know-it-all. I’m a very silly and goofy mum in real life. I like to joke around with my kids, and I encourage them to tell me all their problems. You know, children go through sex education in school when they are in Primary 5 or 6. I’m the type of mum who would tell them to ask me questions if they are curious about [the topic]. I’m open-minded like that and I feel that [sex] is nothing to be embarrassed about. If we make sex a taboo subject, it makes the whole thing very unnatural when it’s just part and parcel of life.”

“We have already started talking about sex education because they learn about it in Primary 5 in school. Actually, I asked their dad to talk to them first because all these things, boys, right? I’m not embarrassed to talk to them, but I felt maybe it’s not so appropriate. So, I asked their dad if he would like to do that. We asked them, hey, are you all interested to know about all the different sex parts, and we can all talk about this together. We also said, if you are ever interested to know how sex happens, let us know. Don’t do it behind our backs and watch stuff on the Internet ― we can switch it on and watch together. Then, I can tell you what is going on, rather than you watching on your own sneakily, and feeling that you may be doing something wrong.”

She was once labelled an “easy girl”

In a 2023 interview, Lina Ng revealed her feelings about being labelled an “easy girl” when she was younger. “I was more playful when young – I used to go clubbing, (but) who didn’t drink alcohol or swear a little in their youth? I admit I did such things, but I was not a bad girl.”

She added that she felt hurt when she heard those rumours but her support system was there for her in these difficult times. “Fortunately, I have good friends around me, and my husband chose to believe in me. This is particularly important – people who believe in you will give you the strength to overcome all of this.”