Xiang Yun & Yixin embody a duality across generations

Chen Yixin has made a colourful career out of quietly embracing all her interests all at once. She is a versatile actor, with roles in Chinese production All That Glitters (2023) and Netflix’s Mr Midnight: Beware The Monsters (2022). She is also a cool It girl who has collaborated with the likes of Chanel and Dior Beauty, and the entrepreneur behind beachwear label Beike.

When she’s not on set, the multi-hyphenate leans into content creation, experimenting with lo-fi videos, stylised photo shoots, and a deliberately undone aesthetic that resonates deeply with Gen Z.

“I love to work,” Yixin admits. “I’ve been very lucky that in this generation, content creation can be a source of income, even if it’s not a very orthodox career choice.”

We are chatting while seated in front of a bathroom mirror in a suite at the Pan Pacific Singapore as she is having her hair and makeup done. Multitasking, clearly, is second nature to the 26-year-old.

Still, content creation comes at a cost. Between long hours on set and late nights editing on her phone – splicing, cutting, selecting music and refining her visuals – her work rarely stops.

Yixin’s social media presence is vibey yet personal, an authentic reflection of what fame looks like on her own terms. It is also her way of carving out an identity distinct from her celebrity parents, Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun. Her creator-led path stands in stark contrast to their more traditional acting careers.

“With how fast the [entertainment] industry is moving, I started to realise that I can have my own set of experiences, apart from my parents’ experiences,” she says thoughtfully. “It’s no longer a cookie-cutter type of industry, and I know I can achieve what I want in my own way.”

She pauses, then adds: “I appreciate that the industry celebrates your individuality. You’re not limited to the territory you’re born in, and that helps and empowers me to just be myself.”

Growing up in the spotlight

The process of becoming, however, was no walk in the park. As the youngest in the Chen clan, Yixin recalls feeling vulnerable in her early teens. Classmates – and even strangers – seemed to know everything about her parents and brother Chen Xi, 35.

“It was strange because I didn’t know their parents, yet they knew so much about mine,” she explains. “It wasn’t like I’d made the decision to become a public figure back then, so I was very confused.”

There was also the added pressure of being a “model kid”, and an unspoken reputation to live up to as Edmund and Xiang Yun’s daughter, Yixin reveals.

“I realised I was dealing with complex feelings, because I blamed myself a lot for not being good enough,” she says pensively. “If I failed, or didn’t study hard enough, the comments would be ‘Do they (Edmund and Xiang Yun) not teach their daughter well?’ It made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough to please the public.”

Yixin has since spoken openly about developing depression and anxiety as a child, shaped by bullying, social isolation and the weight of public scrutiny.

“That feeling of insufficiency and insecurity is a feeling I wouldn’t know how to process when I was younger,” Yixin says matter-of-factly. “Kids need guidance, instead of feeling lonely if an adult trivialises their feelings.”

She adds: “People need to acknowledge that despite your age, you feel what you feel, and mental health should not be stigmatised – nor sensationalised. For me, I try not to make it look like everything has to be perfect, or that burning yourself out is cool. I share the polished stuff, but I also try not to pretend that the in between doesn’t exist.”

Coming of age

Things started looking up for Yixin when she entered Singapore Polytechnic, pursuing a Diploma in Applied Drama and Psychology. She describes that experience as pivotal when she met like-minded people who broadened her views on performing arts.

Compared to the rigidity of secondary school, being in polytechnic offered a sense of freedom to figure out who she was and what appealed to her. Being there gave her a glimpse into what her future could look like.

Naturally, Yixin also gives credit to her parents for the head start she’s been given in her field. “I’ve been very privileged to have a foot in the door before I could even make up my mind,” she acknowledges.

She is immensely grateful for the way that her parents have raised her. “I’ve been very lucky that my parents are both very present in my life. They are emotionally in touch, so I’ve always been able to converse with them about how I feel. Even though they are on the traditional side, they understand mental health.”

Love in motion

A mother never stops worrying about her children. That old adage still rings true as we emerge on set with both Yixin and Xiang Yun. “Have you eaten?” Xiang Yun whispers to her daughter in a tender moment. Yixin nods and pats her mother’s hand assuredly.

Throughout the duration of the cover shoot, the 64-year-old veteran artiste moves between quiet pride and gentle concern, showcasing beautifully the vast spectrum of emotions that come hand in hand with motherhood. She beams as Yixin nails a pose, while moments later chides her to “eat more”.

“The worries are different now,” Xiang Yun says with a soft smile, referring to Yixin and Chen Xi, who is an actor-artist. “My son just got married, so I hope he can find the balance and happiness between his art and his family – that’s our wish for him.”

The family is flying to Fukuoka after our shoot to attend Chen Xi and his Japanese wife Mami’s wedding ceremony at the historic Munakata Taisha Shrine. The couple held their solemnisation and tea ceremony in Singapore last year.

“As for Yixin, she is very diligent, and is the kind of person who doesn’t stop working till the job is done. Sometimes, I see her working late into the night until 4 or 5am. We know that her creative ideas often come to her at those hours, but we still worry about her and hope she stays healthy,” she sighs.

“All we can do is be there whenever she needs us. We’re more than willing to be the ones who appear right when she needs help or care.”

The original “Ah Jie”

Xiang Yun grew up in a humble household as the eldest of five children, shouldering responsibility early on when she started work as a seamstress in a factory at the age of 16 in order to support her family.

At 19, she stepped into show business, joining the then-Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (now Mediacorp) as part of its pioneering batch of locally trained artistes, and began her career in children’s dramas in 1980. What followed was a four-decade trajectory that would see her become one of the industry’s enduring icons.

Often dubbed Singapore’s original “Ah Jie”, Xiang Yun is known for inhabiting emotionally layered roles, such as in the landmark blockbuster series The Awakening (1984) and the original The Little Nyonya (2008).

The award-winning thespian became a first-time mother in 1991, when she gave birth to Chen Xi at 29. At the time, her work was few and far between, as she only filmed a couple of short, episodic dramas a year.

Having that flexibility allowed her to spend precious time with her new baby. However, that season only lasted five years, before she started landing bigger, long-form roles. When Yixin was born in 2000, just shy of Xiang Yun’s 39th birthday, she no longer had the same amount of free time she had with Chen Xi.

Of time and space

Xiang Yun only started cutting back on work in recent years, a decision she made due to the stress and fatigue she was feeling.

“Time has gone by so quickly, and suddenly, I’ve arrived at this older stage in life. Now, I feel like I want to slow down. I can still act and host shows, which feels like a very good balance,” she muses.

Her voice turns slightly hoarse as we broach this subject, as she admits that her greatest regret is not having enough time with her children.

While the consummate actress is grateful for family holidays and being able to prioritise sending her children to and from school, she admits that deep down, she’d always wanted to be the type of mother who could dedicate time to running a household effortlessly.

“I’ve always had this dream since I was young,” she reflects. “After work, I would go home and my children would be waiting. I’d cook a hot meal, and we’d sit down together to eat. But when I started working, it wasn’t possible anymore, and we mostly bought food from outside for dinners.”

Her macaroni soup, however, is hugely fulfilling and a signature dish in her household. Being Teochew, her cooking method is surprisingly simple. She uses chicken drumsticks to boil the soup slowly, letting it simmer until the broth is fragrant, before adding a sprinkling of salt and fresh aromatics.

Despite being a parent for over three decades, Xiang Yun is modest when discussing the perils of parenthood.

She reveals Chen Xi’s teenage years to be one of the toughest seasons of parenting. He would withdraw completely, and simply wouldn’t speak during their car rides together. However, things changed when he went to university, and he started sending her “I love you, Mum” messages.

From then on, Xiang Yun realised that giving her children the space they needed was key. “Those experiences taught me a lot. As parents, we need to be patient, and simply stay beside our children.”

Passing the baton

For the video portion of our interview, the mother-daughter duo are playing a game on how well they know each other in a comfortable mishmash of English and Mandarin. There is open teasing, laughter and mistakes made along the way. It is evident that they share a relationship built on mutual respect and admiration.

“Being a young artiste now is very hard, and requires a lot of bravery. Mum admires you very much,” Xiang Yun says to Yixin. “I think this generation requires a strong, unique personality to stand out and connect with the public through social media.”

She compares it to being a celebrity in the past, where they had little interaction with fans – the only way people could connect with them was through snail mail. As a result, their personal lives and opinions were mostly kept under wraps.

Circling back to our earlier conversation, Yixin had countered that her mother beat all odds for a woman of her generation. “There were a lot of situations where my mum would have wanted to give up, but she didn’t,” she says. “For example, it was hard back then to be in a public relationship with a fellow actor, and later, falling pregnant. She taught me that hard work will always be recognised.”

At home, Xiang Yun is seen as the “strict parent”, but it’s a label that she doesn’t mind, as she believes that it is crucial for one parent to assume that role. Having structure and instilling values in children is important, she adds, emphasising that respect, honesty and integrity are non-negotiables for her.

“I want to guide them, but not too tightly. The thing is, their dad is very loving. Sometimes, I finally get them to sit down to do their homework, and then he comes in and says ‘Break time!’ and takes them all away – to draw, to watch television or to ride their bicycles,” she laughs, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “Because of that, I’ve become stricter over time. So the kids always say ‘Dad is fun; Mum is strict.’”

“I think I’ll be a strict mum,” Yixin says nonchalantly. Perhaps that is legacy and affirmation enough that Xiang Yun’s role as a mother is a job well done.

PHOTOGRAPHY Reuben Foong
CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING Lena Kamarudin
ART DIRECTION Ray Ticsay
HAIR Ken Hong/Evolve Salon (Yixin), Calvin Gan/Hairloom (Xiang Yun)
MAKEUP Shaun Lee, using Hermes Beauty (Yixin), Andy Lee, using Armani Beauty (Xiang Yun)
FASHION ASSISTANCE Charis Gan
LOCATION Stags Head Steakhouse