What has former actress Ivy Lee been up to?

In the year 1993, the same year she graduated with a Diploma in Biomedical from Singapore Polytechnic. Behind her in the then-biannual talent search competition were Lina Ng and Eugenia Lee. Ivy Lee also clinched the Most Photogenic win.

Since her win, Ivy Lee went on to sign with TCS (the Television Corporation of Singapore, now Mediacorp) and began her journey as an actress. Under her belt are three Best Actress wins for her portrayal in Angel's Dream (2000), Double Happiness (2004) and Family Matters (2006). She was also awarded the Best Newcomer at the 1994 Star Awards.

Other notable shows that Ivy Lee has played include Stepping Out (1999), Beyond the Axis of Truth (2001) and House of Joy (2006).

Ivy Lee married Hong Kong director Raymond Choy. Together, the couple has four kids - eldest daughter Mikki, twin sons Nik and Dash and youngest daughter Leah.

In July 2023, both sons returned to Singapore with Ivy Lee as they were set to serve national service.

In 2009, Ivy Lee, who was then a recognised top actress, bade goodbye to showbiz. She migrated to Hong Kong a year later with the kids so that the family can closer to her husband Raymond Choy, who was working in China.

Despite living in Hong Kong then, Ivy Lee would come back to Singapore and get together with her friends.

Then in March 2020, Lianhe Zaobao reported that Ivy Lee had relocated to London two years prior. The reason for the move was to take care of and accompany her children, who were there for studies.

Remember when we said that Ivy Lee would regularly fly back to Singapore and meet up with her friends? Well, many of these said friends are her fellow celebrities that include Chen Hanwei, Hong Huifang, Yvonne Lim and Zheng Geping, among many others. Zheng Geping had also revealed that Ivy Lee would head over to his house for these gatherings every time she returns.

Sharon Au had also once met up with Ivy Lee in Paris for dinner too.

Speaking of Hong Huifang, the veteran actress is actually closer to Ivy Lee and her family than we might expect. That is because she is the godmother to Ivy Lee's twin sons Dash and Nik. Hong Huifang regularly keeps in touch with her godsons through text messages and phone calls too.

On a 2021 episode of the talk show The Inner Circle, Qi Yuwu shared that Ivy Lee took issue with the way he acted while they filmed Beyond the Axis of Truth II (2005). The director came up to Qi Yuwu and said, "Ivy said that you didn’t look at her while saying your lines and that there was no communication." He clarified, "Actually, I avoided eye contact on purpose ‘cos I was playing a scientist who behaves strangely. You never know what he is thinking and he hardly makes eye contact."

When asked why Qi Yuwu didn't inform Ivy Lee of his decision, he shared that "perhaps the way we do things is just different."

"I will always respect my co-star’s way of working. If I encountered someone who did not look at me when I was talking to them, I would never go up to them and say, ‘Hey, why don’t you look at me when you talk?’ That’s not the way I would do it. Instead, I would play along and use this ‘no eye contact method’ of acting with them."