Tasha Low on the beauty of wisdom and resilience with age

The second of our four-part cover story series for Her World’s July issue, Emerald Hill’s rising stars find common ground in their personal ambitions – where self-belief, authenticity and due diligence are their secrets to success. Read more about Zhang Ze Tong, Tyler Ten and the trio together.

Slow days are healing and necessary for the soul, and it is in this liminal space that Tasha Low is living in at the moment. She has just returned from a work trip to Korea, where she recorded two new English singles to be released this year. Apart from that, she has simply been recharging before her next production (in which she plays a teacher) begins in July, and is thoroughly enjoying her well-deserved downtime.

“I’m doing very well,” Tasha says, flashing me a warm smile. “I’m trying to spend more time with my friends and family, because as actors, we don’t get that privilege of being with our loved ones very often. Once we are on a project, we are away for three to four months.”

The 31-year-old actor moved into a new home in August last year as it was getting too crowded in her family home. “My older brother had kids,” she explains wryly. While doing her own household chores is never fun – changing the sheets is her most disliked chore – moving out has drawn her closer to her mother, who often comes over to swim, or have wine and cheese with her. 

The other two loves of her life? Her beloved cats, Luna, a Maine Coon-Norwegian Forest mix, and Pumpkin, a ginger community kitten. She rescued the cats off the streets towards the end of last year as they were very sick, took them to the vet, and could not bear to release them again. I spy on her religiously checking in on them throughout the day, via her home’s surveillance camera linked to her phone.

Tasha was born into a family of ballroom dancers, and her great-grandfather, Low Poh San, is often credited as the man who introduced ballroom dancing to Singapore. Her late grandfather, Sunny Low, was also the undisputed king of dance on these shores in the 1950s.

She thinks running around her parents’ dance studio as a young child and watching her parents teach dance ignited her passion for performing. “I’ve seen pictures of myself dancing when I was three or four years old,” Tasha says, adding that she always knew she wanted to be in entertainment. “But my first memory of dancing would be me performing with my dad at the age of five at a Dinner and Dance. It was pretty fun.”

Life in the dance circuit was not a total bed of roses though. It was also a time in her life when she was dealing with body image issues. She calls herself “a bit obese” at one point of her childhood, which influenced her feelings toward ballroom and latin dancing. 

“I have pictures to show you later,” Tasha says convincingly, eyeing my disbelieving face. “Being in flashy, tight-fitting outfits was not something I was comfortable with.” 

Hence, confidence was an issue growing up, Tasha reveals. It is all strangely hard to process, as I stare at the beautiful, long-limbed actor in front of me, with riveting doe-like eyes and a luminous complexion that would be the envy of many. “It still affects the inner child in me. I still feel like I don’t have much confidence, but that’s ok. I am now more comfortable in my own skin and people around me accept me for who I am,” she affirms.

As if to drop another bombshell on me, Tasha reveals that ageing sits particularly well with her. “I love getting older,” she states with a flourish. “Of course, my appearance, body shape and metabolism might change, but I’m wiser and care less about what people think of me.”

A lesson in resilience

Lest we forget, Tasha had a whole other life in Korea for a good eight years before she returned to Singapore to join Mediacorp. At the tender age of 17, she left our shores to undergo intensive auditions and training for two years, for the opportunity to debut with Singaporean-South Korean girl group Skarf – alongside fellow Mediacorp actress and Emerald Hill co-star Ferlyn Wong. Tasha ended up spearheading the group as their lead member, dancer, rapper and vocalist.

When the group disbanded in 2014, Tasha remained in Korea to continue K-pop idol training with another company. But the straw that eventually broke the camel’s back was taking part in a competition called Idol School in 2018. “Think 40 girls in a classroom setting, and we all compete to be in the top nine to debut in a girl group,” she explains. “I was 24 years old. At the time, my age meant I was too old to be in a K-pop group already. I thought, ‘This is my last shot and I am going to give it my best.’”

She continues pensively: “But halfway throughout the competition, a lot of the girls found out that it was rigged – even though there was meant to be a voting system. It brought me to a very dark place. I lost a lot of confidence, and my self-worth was at an all-time low. It made me feel like no matter how hard I worked, I could never have made it.

Prosecutors later demanded prison terms for the executive producers of Idol School for manipulating the voting results on the show. That episode led Tasha to reach out to her friends in Singapore, who encouraged her to come home. She was hesitant at first, largely due to her father’s sudden passing in 2013. While she had made it back to Singapore in time to see him, she never got to say her final goodbye. After that incident, she wanted to make her time in Korea count for something.

But hindsight is a powerful tool. “Looking back, I think I did a great job chasing my dreams and not giving up. I’ve learnt to be stronger and more resilient, and that’s shaped me to become who I am today. I have to thank the journey that I’ve had.”

When worlds collide

Upon returning to Singapore, Tasha worked in sales for a Korean wholesale food company (selling kimchi, among other ingredients). It took her nine months to realise that sales wasn’t her thing, and she decided to give acting a shot. She debuted with The Diam Diam Era in 2020, and then The Diam Diam Era Two in 2021. Emerald Hill, however, was to be her biggest acting role to date, and it was one she was determined to get. 

When she and her good friend, actor Chantalle Ng, heard about the auditions for Emerald Hill, they decided to go for classes to prepare themselves. “When I first heard the good news [that I got the role], Chantalle was beside me, so we went into a random room, and just jumped and screamed,” she exclaims. “We were so honoured and excited to be part of this production.”

A scene she will forever hold close to her was the one on the rooftop with Chantalle and Ze Tong in the last episode. Zhang Anna (Xinniang’s cousin and Emerald Hill’s most evil villain) had taken Zuye – who was suffering from temporary memory loss and in a wheelchair – up to a hospital rooftop, in an attempt to kill him.

“It was a very difficult scene to shoot. We were under the sun for so many hours, and it was a very emotional scene – being the last face-off between Xinniang and Anna,” Tasha contemplates. “When Chantalle was saying her lines, I was not looking at Anna – it was Chantalle, and she was about to give up. She was laughing, she was tearing, and I felt the pain in my heart, so I couldn’t help but tear as well. The emotions I felt were very real, and it’s because we are so close.”

She also shares an affinity with Jesseca Liu, who plays her mother in Emerald Hill. “She gives me a lot of love off set, calls me ‘bao bei’ (treasure) or ‘nu er’ (daughter) and always hugs me. We still go out for meals together and I really love working with her.”

Tasha, who comes from a Peranakan family like Xinniang, pauses while thinking of how best to describe and draw parallels with her feisty lead character. “She is someone I look up to as a hero. She is unapologetically herself, and she stands for what she believes in. She goes for her dreams, which is something a lot of people are afraid to do,” she surmises.

“We are both brave like that,” Tasha adds, of her own determination to chase down her dreams. “I would like to try producing or directing a show someday.” She thinks working on being true to herself is real fulfilment. “I love to people-watch and observe their raw side. I think it’s beautiful, but many people don’t know that, so they try to put up a facade. But you only live once, so be yourself.”

PHOTOGRAPHY: REUBEN FOONG, ASSISTED BY: DANIEL WEST
CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING: LENA KAMARUDIN, ASSISTED BY: ANIS NABILAH AZLEE & MANDY TAN
ART DIRECTION: RAY TICSAY
HAIR: RYAN YAP/PASSION HAIR SALON
MAKEUP: KIMBERLEY CHEE, USING DIOR BEAUTY
LOCATION: MADAME FAN AT NCO CLUB & SABAR MENANTI NASI PADANG