Jeanette Aw refuses to be defined by a single act

Most actors would have a story or two to share about the challenges of the craft. For local actor Jeanette Aw, the question proved unexpectedly difficult.

The shift in tone is palpable. Prior to this, the 46-year-old was breezing through our conversation about her 25-year acting journey.

It’s hard to think of a reply, she says after a long minute. “I’ve got really good roles because of executive producers who believed in me, and scriptwriters who had faith in me.”

She pauses briefly, then elaborates: “At the end of the day, it’s really about how you perform. Nothing will ever be able to override how hard you work and how well you work.”

For Jeanette, a strong work ethic is non-negotiable. “You build on your own work ethic, and you build on substance. If you’ve got it, no one can take it away,” she says.

“Challenges make you stronger. And I think that I have this strength in me that no one has been able to knock down, which is something that I’m very proud of,” she adds, a small smile playing on her lips.

She recalls how, earlier in her career, she overheard a disparaging remark from an industry veteran. They said she was “too pretty to win acting awards”. That comment lingered.

“Is my capability based on how I look? And if you think I look good, does that mean I’m less of an actor?” she muses. But instead of feeling discouraged, it became fuel – pushing her to prove her range and depth.

To understand this resolve, it helps to return to her childhood. Jeanette describes herself as a “very independent child”.

“When I was in primary school, I wanted to join some co-curricular activities. I asked my Dad, ‘What’s gymnastics?’ And he said, ‘Go find out for yourself. If you really want to join, make sure you see it through to the end,’” she recounts.

She joined the gymnastics team at the age of eight, and even went on to compete as part of the school’s gymnastics team till her graduation.

That instinct to see things through has shaped who she is today. It has influenced how she sees challenges – not as setbacks, but as something to face and conquer.

“Since I was a child, my parents have always given me the space to explore. They’ve never forced me into anything,” she shares.

“If I wanted to do something, they would support me. I always had a safe space to grow, to fall down, and to learn. And I know that they will always be there.”

Comeback kid

Today, Jeanette remains one of the most sought-after actors in local showbiz, despite stepping away from full-time acting in 2017. Since then, she has returned to the screen on her own terms, taking on roles that she feels could expand her range as an actor.

Last year, she reprised the role of Yueniang in Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story to much fanfare, despite her minimal screen time. She recounts with a laugh: “I had to pre-empt people that it’s just a guest appearance.”

Most recently, she leads the thriller Highway to Somewhere opposite Romeo Tan. The series, which ends its run this month, follows a couple – played by Jeanette and Romeo – who embark on a road trip to Malaysia in an attempt to repair a fraying 15-year marriage, while navigating the complexities of modern parenting. It’s her first leading role in seven years – “quite a nice feeling”, Jeanette describes – and one she found especially enjoyable, shaped by a shift in how she now approaches her craft.

As someone with very high expectations of herself, she candidly shares that she once projected those expectations onto her co-stars. Her intention was simple: to ensure that everyone brought their A-game, so they can deliver their best performance.

“Unknowingly, I stressed a lot of my co-stars out, and they were very scared of me,” she admits.

“I go on set, I play my role, but I’m not happy because I feel frustrated,” she continues. “Then I stress everyone around me, and it affects their performance as well.”

Over time, however, conversations with fellow actors led her to recognise that each person approaches the craft differently, and not always in ways that align with her own.

Upon reflection, she recognised the need for change. Jeanette confesses that she is much gentler with her co-stars these days, no longer imposing her expectations, and becoming more attuned to whether they are open to receiving her input.

A storied career

When the conversation turns to her acting career, Jeanette is quick to name the roles that have stayed with audiences over the years, such as Mo Jingjing in Holland V (2003) and Yueniang in The Little Nyonya (2008).

Of the latter, she speaks with particular affection: “I really appreciate that I have something so iconic for people to remember me by.” The actor has previously said that she’s comfortable if people only recognise her as Yueniang from The Little Nyonya, despite her many other accomplishments – as filmmaker, producer, director and businesswoman, just to name a few.

Yet, by her own admission, Yueniang became a benchmark that was “hard to surpass”. Jeanette was determined to not be defined by her most popular roles, and sought to offer viewers something different with each appearance on-screen.

It took some time, but her role as Zhao Fei Er in The Dream Makers (2013) marked a turning point. Her performance in the blockbuster drama earned critical acclaim and cemented her status as an actor. She later reprised the role in The Dream Makers II (2015), which led to her first Best Actress win at the Star Awards in 2016.

“I’ve been very fortunate to get such amazing characters to play, and to have that room to grow,” Jeanette reflects. “Even though people really love The Little Nyonya, I take comfort in the fact that they still see me as an actor who’s able to evolve.”

Beyond the screen

That willingness to evolve would eventually extend beyond acting itself. At a certain point, Jeanette began to feel that she had reached a plateau, and found herself looking towards what might come next.

Stepping away from full-time acting to pursue a diploma at Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo in 2017 came as a surprise to many. For Jeanette, however, she knew that she wouldn’t be acting indefinitely, and had already made the decision early on in her career to exit at her peak.

“For me, it was when I finally got my Best Actress award, and it just so happened that there were a lot of things that came together. My contracts were all coming to an end. I wanted to do something else. I wanted to pursue another dream that I had,” she says of her decision.

“I felt that, well, what would be your best time [to leave]? It’s when people still remember and love you.”

Jeanette completed her course at the end of 2019 and went on to launch her bakery, Once Upon a Time, two years later. In its early days, business was brisk, with items selling out quickly. When I mention my own failed attempts to get my hands on her pastries, she laughs, assuring me that I should be fine now.

Recently, Jeanette reopened her bakery in Geylang – our conversation takes place in a studio tucked just behind it – following the closure of her Hamilton Road outlet last December. The bakery is doing well, she says, despite the wave of F&B closures last year.

Her creative pursuits extend beyond the kitchen. In 2017, she wrote, produced and directed The Last Entry, a short inspired by her godmother’s struggles with Alzheimer’s. Produced under her own company, Picturesque Films, it went on to earn a nomination at the Tokyo Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in 2018.

She later filmed Senses in Takasaki, Japan, in December 2018 with a local crew, starring as Xuan, a blind woman who embarks on a solo journey guided by her heart.

In November 2019, Jeanette presented an exhibition at Tokyo’s Ginza 6, in conjunction with the Japanese republication of her picture book Sol’s World: Somebody to Love.

A year ago, she ventured into new territory – at least for her – launching her Youtube series JA Unscripted, which offers viewers a candid glimpse into her life as she tries new experiences and speaks with people around her, from co-stars to her makeup artist, and even her dentist.

A new era

The series had lingered as an idea for some time before taking shape. As with much of her work, it came together when the timing felt right – the collaborators she had in mind were available, and the rest followed with natural ease.

With JA Unscripted, Jeanette offers a more unfiltered version of herself. “Being in this industry for over 20 years, people rarely see how I am in real life. It’s always through a character or through interviews. They won’t see my daily interactions with people or how I react,” she explains. This idea also gained momentum following the warm response to Creme de la Creme, a baking competition she judged and hosted alongside Fann Wong.

“That was something people really liked. They were like, oh, we’ve never seen her like this before,” she says. When asked why she might have seemed more guarded in the past, she gently clarifies that she was not guarded, but introverted. “I don’t really like to make small talk, and I don’t really know how to start conversations,” she admits.

JA Unscripted has helped shift that. Through conversations with her guests, Jeanette has grown more curious about others, and more reflective in turn – something she says has made her a better, happier person.

There are, however, boundaries she maintains. Friends and family remain off-limits. It was a line she drew early in her career after a friend she brought to an event was harshly criticised by a fashion blog.

“I felt so bad because I put her through that when she didn’t need to go through it [as someone outside the industry]. Yes, I’m a topic, and people like to talk about celebrities, but that does not give you the right to criticise my friends. So that’s when I drew a line,” she explains.

Unsurprisingly, her parents have become the most enthusiastic viewers of her latest chapter. They keep up with every episode of JA Unscripted, she says with a laugh, adding that they have been her biggest supporters from day one.

With that foundation of support, a through line begins to emerge. Across her many ventures – from her pastry business to film-making to her Youtube series – what stands out is a willingness to step into the unknown.

As she puts it earlier, challenges are something to be surmounted. For her, they are where the most meaningful discoveries happen.

“There are things you will find out about yourself when you attempt different things, and you will realise that you’re a lot stronger than you think you are,” she says. “One thing about me is that when life strikes me a blow, I will always want to come back stronger.”

And, for all the paths she has taken, Jeanette remains grounded, unchanged at her core. Now, she finds herself in a place of contentment – with the freedom to choose what comes next.

PHOTOGRAPHY Joel Low
CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING Lena Kamarudin
ART DIRECTION Ray Ticsay
MAKEUP Shaun Lee using Sisley
HAIR Ryan Yap/Passion Hair Salon
MANICURE Rebecca Zhuang/Fluttery Tips