The Zoe in Me
Zoe Tay Hui Gek (simplified Chinese: 郑惠玉; pinyin: Zhèng Huìyù; born 10 January 1968) is a Singaporean actress in MediaCorp and previously a model. She is known as the Queen (Ah jie) of Caldecott Hill.[1]
She is also known as Lady with a Thousand-Faces.
Zoe’s Early life
Zoe Tay was born to farming parents, their second-youngest child. During her childhood, her family lived in Lim Chu Kang. She entered the now defunct Kay Hua Primary School and later Yuan Ching Secondary School for her secondary education. A tomboy in her youth, she enjoyed football, climbing trees, and bicycle racing.[3]
Tay became a model at the age of sixteen. She was first groomed at IMP International and David Gan in 1986. During her modeling stint, she became the 1987 Model of the Year. In 1988, she joined the first bi-annual talent-search competition, Star Search which was organised by Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (now MediaCorp) and emerged as the first Star Search champion.
Recent years
Zoe Tay (who is married to Lieutenant Colonel Philip Chionh,[6] a career fighter pilot in the Republic of Singapore Air Force & RSAF Black Knights) gave birth to her first baby, a boy named Brayden, on 24 February 2005 at Thomson Medical Centre. During her pregnancy, Tay shifted her career focus from acting in films and serials, and hosted several educational programs aimed at pregnant women.
In early December 2005, she had her first situation-comedy role since her pregnancy, Lady of Leisure, opposite Singaporean actor, Edmund Chen. In this serial (broadcast on 29 April 2006), she portrayed a fashionable and modern woman who was once a magazine editor. Her last drama to date was A Million Treasures (百万宝), which was the 3rd highest viewership drama in 2006.
In October 2007, Zoe’s 2nd child, also a boy, was born. The birth of her second baby Ashton was generally kept low-profile as compared to the birth of her first baby.
Though Zoe was tipped a hot favourite to win the My Favourite Actress award in the recent Star Awards 25th Anniversary Drama Show held on 9 December 2007, she lost the coveted award to fellow colleague and good friend Huang Biren. Although Zoe did not win the award, she took it easy, saying that Huang Biren deserved the award through her recent years of good drama serials. Despite this, Zoe still managed to win 3 other important awards during Star Awards 25th Anniversary Drama Show. These awards are ‘Top 5 Most Memorable Characters (Bobo in Pretty Faces)’, ‘Top 5 Most Popular On-screen partner (with Li Nanxing)’ and the ‘Screen Sweetheart of the 90s’. “The Unbeatables”, which she starred in was voted as ‘Top 5 most popular drama’ too.
In 2009, Tay is set to star in The Ultimatum, opposite former rival Fann Wong and actor Li Nanxing.