10 things you didn't know about Jesseca Liu

A former model and runner-up in a beauty contest, Jesseca Liu's foray into Singaporean television began after she was talent-scouted by Mediacorp producers in 2004. Shortly after, she played He Yixuan in the famous sports-themed idol drama The Champion (2004).

The most iconic scene of that series? When a group of them had to run through Orchard Road in only their bikinis.

Jesseca Liu's career trajectory went only uphill thereafter. In 2005, she had a notable portrayal of Vietnamese bride Ruan Mian Mian in Portrait of Home that propelled her further. She took on her first lead role in Rhapsody In Blue a year later.

Since then, she partook in many iconic shows such as Kinship (2007), The Oath (2012), Hero (2017), Crouching Tiger Hidden Ghost (2022) and Soul Detective (2023).

Alongside Rui En, Jeanette Aw, Joanne Peh, Felicia Chin, Fiona Xie and Dawn Yeoh, Jesseca Liu was named one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in the mid-2000s. They were a group of bankable actresses pipped to be the next ah jies at the national broadcaster.

Her fame was affirmed with 10 Star Awards' Top 10 Most Popular Female Artists wins. She will be awarded the All-Time Favourite Artiste trophy at the 2024 ceremony.

Popularity aside, Jesseca Liu’s acting has also been affirmed multiple times. She won Best Newcomer and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Portrait of Home (2005) while garnering multiple Best Actress nominations throughout her career.

Besides acting, Jesseca Liu has dabbled in behind-the-scenes production work. Her script for Who Killed The Lead? was made into a miniseries in 2014. She starred in the show too, opposite Elvin Ng who plays a detective investigating the murder of Jesseca Liu’s character.

“In the past, when I acted in the creations of others, my understanding of my roles was different. This time, I was completely familiar with the script, I knew how to perform this character. No matter what point the director started from, I was able to understand what he said.”

Who Killed The Lead? was later awarded the Best Digital Fiction & Non-Fiction Series at the 2014 Asian Television Awards.

In 2010, Jesseca Liu made headlines after she announced that she was parting ways with Mediacorp. Her reason for doing so was to have more freedom and time to manage her schedule and her family’s businesses back in Malaysia.

Five years later, Jesseca Liu went back to Mediacorp and began winning the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes again.

In 2017, Jesseca Liu tied the knot with fellow actor Jeremy Chan. They had started dating two years prior and had to go public after they were spotted on a date in Chinatown. For the couple, the height and age difference - she’s taller and slightly older - was never an issue.

In interviews, Jesseca Liu stated that she likes Jeremy Chan because he complements where she lacks and makes her laugh daily.

Her PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, stemmed from an incident when she was 18. She was in the car with friends and the driver was a friend’s boyfriend. “But he fell asleep at the wheel and the whole car was about to veer into a field on the side of the road. Then he suddenly jolted awake and sharply spun the steering wheel to guide the car back on the road, causing the car to flip. The car flipped several times and landed upside down on the opposite lane. We passed out after that but I vividly remember everything that happened before that.”

While they all fortunately survived the accident, it did leave a scar on Jesseca Liu’s psyche. “I couldn't ride fast cars. As soon as a vehicle goes fast, I would break out in cold sweat and feel anxious to the point of wanting to vomit. I still experience that from time to time, especially when the driver is someone I'm unfamiliar with.”

On a holiday in Bali with her husband Jeremy Chan, the couple almost got into an accident too. He didn’t realise he was stepping on the brakes and “when I loosened my grip on the brake, the bike flew forward. I only remember both my legs swinging in the air… Jesseca nearly flew off the bike!”

The confluence of fame and the Internet unfortunately attracts scammers who impersonate to earn a quick buck. In 2020, Jesseca Liu had to warn her followers of fake Facebook and Instagram accounts that were using her name to scam fans. “Everyone, take note! This is not my Facebook and Instagram account. Please don’t get scammed! There have been so many impersonators lately!”

“There have been many accounts created under my name, but this is the first time that it involves money. As a fan of Desmond Tan was recently scammed of a lot of money, I was worried that my fans would be scammed too.

In a 2022 interview, Jesseca Liu expressed the culture shock she faced when she experienced her first lunar seventh month in Singapore. "It was only when I came to Singapore to work that I realised Singaporeans actually pray during the seventh month and burn joss papers. No one in my hometown (Langkawi) did anything like that — I've never seen that before."

"In the past, when I see people praying and burning joss paper, it's when someone has passed away. The possibility that an entire street could be filled with people praying never crossed my mind.

To think Singaporeans are so traditional. It's to the point where almost every household would be praying — it was an eye-opening experience for me."

Some of you might remember the 2008 drama Beach.Ball.Babes. Like The Champion, it featured a scene where the female leads had to run in public wearing only their bikinis - this time in Tiong Bahru Market. In 2022, Jesseca Liu spoke of the experience, "When we went in, nobody knew we were filming. They were caught off guard when they saw 12 girls wearing bikinis in the market." Her answer was in response to a question on what filming experience she would not want to go through again.