Star Search 2001 Champ Michelle Liow Makes Acting Comeback In The US After Moving There With Family When She Left Mediacorp
Surprise! Star Search 2001 winner Michelle Liow, 46, is back in showbiz.
Back then, the Malaysian actress was said to resemble both Zoe Tay and Fann Wong, who were Singapore’s two biggest stars at that time. Would she be able to follow in their footsteps, many wondered.
Michelle went on to star in dramas like The Reunion (2001) and An Ode to Life (2004) but struggled to make a name for herself.
She left Mediacorp in 2005 and then moved to America with her family, eventually fading out of the spotlight.
Michelle had a chat with local Chinese media outlet Shin Min Daily News recently, where she revealed that she’s been active as an actress in America for the past two years.
Maybe this picture will jog your memory. That's Michelle (right) with Tony Leung (left), back when she took on hosting duties at Mediacorp.
“I have to thank Crazy Rich Asians, it revolutionised the way actors of Asian descent were perceived [in America],” she shared. Michelle also let on that before her return to acting, she worked on getting her Masters degree in fashion merchandising, as well as running her business, which is “related to marketing”.
Speaking about her biggest achievement, Michelle shared that a short film that she starred in, Please Translate, won her the Best Emerging Actress award at the Coven Film Festival in 2019.
“It gave me a lot of encouragement,” she shared.
Michelle's costumes were specially flown in from China.
Apart from that, Michelle’s latest project is the 2022 docudrama, Why the Nativity?.
The 80-minute film explains and explores more about the birth of Jesus, and has since amassed 16 million views on YouTube.
In the docudrama, Michelle plays Queen Lin, the Queen of the Han Dynasty who travelled to Bethlehem with the king and their daughter to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Michelle revealed that as there wasn’t much dialogue in the film, she had to pay extra attention to her posture and body language, to ensue that she carried her character well.
“It took about two to three hours just to get the make-up and outfit of my character right, but I didn’t find it tough at all. On the contrary, as filming went on, I became even more excited, and focused on my role. We filmed for a couple of weeks, and when I returned home after that, I [was so tired] I collapsed,” Michelle said.
Michelle of all trades. She's done a stage play too.
The actress has also appeared in an original Asian American play White Sky Falling Dragon, where she played May, a young Chinese American who is soft spoken, strong as steel and courageous.
Michelle laughed that she gave out her first “on-stage kiss” eight times for the play, and that she was thankful that her partner, whom she declined to share more about, was understanding about her kiss scenes.
She’s also appeared in a Chinese independent film, where she played "a woman with violent tendencies”, which gave rise to her desire to appear in an action film one day.
She's practically glowing.
As of now, it seems like Michelle’s got her plate full for the upcoming year. She will be appearing in a production that’s jointly helmed by Asian American filmmaking group Wong Fu Productions and Hong Kong’s TVB.
While Michelle’s unable to share more about the six-episode drama for now, she did reveal that she’ll be speaking in English for her role. Exciting indeed.
A trip down memory lane. Michelle and fellow Star Search 2001 champ Shi Bin (left) gracing the cover of 8 Days.
Photos: Michelle Liow/Instagram, Michelle Liow/Facebook
Rewatch The Reunion on meWATCH here, or catch the first episode embedded below.
