Jacelyn Tay

Jacelyn Tay was born on June 12, 1975 in Singapore. She was a prefect in primary school and later became a rugby player.

In 1995, while in her freshman year at the National University of Singapore Arts Faculty, she entered the 4th bi-annual Star Search Competition organised by MediaCorp (Chinese: 新传媒; pinyin: Xīn Chuánméi). She won the female category of the competitions and the top prize of an acting contract.

She soon discovered that she enjoyed acting and decided to quit her studies. The first few years with MediaCorp were tough for her because despite the fact that she was given lead roles in several drama serials, she was very much snubbed by the audiences.

Tay finally got her big break when she replaced Phyllis Quek for the role of He Xiangu in the Singapore TV series "Legends of the Eight Immortals" in 1998. Her popularity soared and as a result for her acting in this series, she received her first Star Award in the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste category.

As one of the leading stars of MediaCorp, Tay's features make her an ideal candidate for both period and contemporary roles. In the period drama, "The Legendary Swordsman" she played one of her more challenging roles as Dongfang Bubai (Chinese: 東方不敗, literally: Invincible East), a highly skilled eunuch swordsman with a feminine flair in an adaptation of the novel "The Smiling, Proud Wander" (笑傲江湖) by Jinyong. An alternative English name for this book is the "State of Divinity".

She has acted in various roles ranging from a girl-next-door, to a member of a hotel staff to a psychiatrist. Tay's screen performances in period dramas were so well-received that she won the coveted award of Taiwan's Most Popular MediaCorp Female Artiste in Star Awards 1999.

Another of Tay's many talents is singing. She recorded a few songs for drama serials in which she was starring, including "Love Me, Love Me Not", which was a radio chart-stopper on Singapore's popular 93.3FM. It was also used as an intermediate song in another of her dramas, "Da jiu dian" (English title: The Hotel). Tay also has a compilation album for MediaCorp Music along with the rest of the MediaCorp artists.

When it seemed that her success had no bounds, a twist of fate took away almost all that she had worked for. She was forced to declare bankruptcy after owing $300,000 to stockbroking firm. This event tarnished her image and made many sponsors shy away from her. Instead of letting this get the better of her, she worked hard to put her finances back in order.

She went on to produce a magazine show, write 2 books and hosted a health and beauty show entitled A New You in 2005.

As of 2006, she became the founder & current chief executive of The Health Club, a medical spa that holds the vision of restoring the body’s natural ability to heal itself and bringing health to greater heights.

Jacelyn is also majoring in a course in Nutrition.

Jacelyn is fluent in many languages including Mandarin, English, Hokkien and Cantonese.

Filmography

• 1995
• Tales Of The Third Kind (第三类剧场)
• 1996
• Tofu Street (豆腐街) - Bai Shuixian
• Triad Justice (飞跃珍珠坊)
• My Destiny With You (缘来是你)
• Tales of the city II (都市奇情II)
• Telemovie: Spirit On Wheels (电视电影:鬼德士)
• Life On The Run (魂断四面佛)
• Living By Night (都是夜归人) - Fan Ziyun
• 1997
• The Choice Partner (错爱今生)
• The Guest People (客家之歌)
• Dreams (七个梦)
• 1998
• Legend Of The Eight Immortals (东游记)- He Xian gu
• 1999
• Are You My Brother? (错体双宝)
• Coupe De Scorpion (天蝎行动)
• 2000
• The Legendary Swordsman (笑傲江湖, "Xiao ao jiang hu") - Dongfang Bubai
• The Voices Within (心灵物语) - Janice
• 2001
• Love Me, Love Me Not (真爱无敌)
• The Hotel (大酒店, "Da jiu dian") - Rainbow
• 2002
• The Wing Of Desire (天使的诱惑)
• The Money Game (金钱本色)
• 2003
• After School （放学后） - Lin Yifang
• Romance De Amour （一加一等于三）
• Love Is Beautiful （美丽家庭）
• 2004
• The Ties That Bind （家财万贯）
• You Are The One (Telecast in February 2005)
• 2005
• Love Concierge （爱的掌门人）- Jiang Ruyi aka Louise

Books

• Makeup For Asian Women (Times Editions - Marshall Cavendish, June 10, 2005) ISBN 981-261-079-0
• Feel Good, Look Good with Jacelyn (Lee Mei Lin, Editor, Times Editions, Singapore, July 1, 2004) ISBN 981-232-816-5

Album

• Love, No Boundaries (2001, Compilation) (<爱,无国界>合辑 : <收获> 单曲)

External links

• Jacelyn Tay's website
• MediaCorp's Celeb Bio for Jacelyn Tay
• Ba Xian Guo Hai: the Eight Immortals Cross the Sea
• Eyes on Jace
• Review of Feel Good, Look Good with Jacelyn
• The Health Club