Celest Chong

Celest Chong (born 25 December 1979), who also goes by the mononym Celest,[1] is a Singaporean actress, singer and former cover model who was based in Canada from 2010 to 2023. Chong relocated back to Singapore in September 2023.[2]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chong.
Celest Chong
Born (1979-12-25) 25 December 1979
Singapore
Education
Alma materNational University of Singapore
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • model
Years active2000–present
Spouse
Unknown
​
​
(m. 2012; div. 2021)​
Musical career
GenresPop
Instrument(s)Vocals
Websitewww.celestmusic.com
Birth name
Traditional Chinese張玉華
Simplified Chinese张玉华
Hanyu PinyinZhāng Yùhuá
Stage name
Traditional Chinese斯畾
Simplified Chinese斯畾
Hanyu PinyinSī Léi

Education

Chong studied at Yishun Junior College.[3]

Career

Chong began her acting career as a secretary in Eric Khoo's Stories about Love performing a Turkish inspired belly-dance. She also sang the show's theme song, "Sorry, My Love".[4] Later, she moved on to Channel 5's sitcom, Making Love, in which she played a sultry receptionist named Pamela. She later played the character of a child social worker in the Channel 8 television drama, You Light Up My Life. She sang the theme songs for the new show, which were on Singapore's top music charts for four weeks.

In 2001, Chong signed with Universal Music and launched a solo album Belong to Myself. In December 2002, her second album Celest, was released in Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Chong then left MediaCorp and Singapore for Taiwan to work in the Taiwanese entertainment industry where she released her third album, Snowflakes in 2004. While in Taiwan, she also acted as a reporter in C'est La Vie, starring the Taiwanese actor Lin Youwei. She recorded her fourth album, Little Happiness, in 2006.[5]

In 2007, Chong moved to Guiyang in China to film Acalea Blossoms. Two years later, she again moved back Singapore because of a family emergency.[6]

Chong has appeared on dozens of magazine covers including Her World, Vogue, Elle, Citta Bella and FHM. She has modelled[7] around the world for various print advertisements. She was voted one of the Top 100 most beautiful women in the world by FHM and The Sexiest Woman in Singapore by International Media with her five Ss - Sunshine Sweet, Smile, Sexy & Song. She was also voted No.1 in the Singapore Most Sexy Women's Survey on Citta Bella.

Personal life

Chong left Singapore in 2012 and moved to Canada with her Canadian husband.[8] They had since divorced.[8]

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News on 23 April 2023, Chong revealed that she had been making plans to permanently move back to Singapore in mid-2023, to take care of her elderly relatives. Chong also announced that she would be using the stage name "Celest 斯畾" (Sī Léi) for her future activities, explaining that her birth name '"Celest Chong Zhang Yu Hua" is "too long and awkward".[9]

Filmography

Television series
YearTitleRoleNotesRef
2000 Making Love
2001 You Light Up My Life [8]
All's Well, Ends Well
2002 Stories About Love
Feel 100%
2003 Together Whenever
2004 Hi-Fly (升空高飞) Tina [10]
Zero Zhang Xinlin
2005 The Proud Twins Princess Taka [10]
2006 Love Young Man (爱上小男人) Wen Bixian [10]
2007 Dui Juan Hua Kai
2008 Crime Busters x 2 Margaret
2009 Red Thread [8]
Your Hand in Mine Bai Shuixian [8]
2018 Titans Guest appearance [8]
2019 The Umbrella Academy Guest appearance [8]

Film
YearTitleRoleNotesRef
2015 The Man in the Shadows Olivia
2018 Moore’s Void Parmoona Cash Won Best Actress at the Great Canadian Sci-Fi Film Festival [8]

Discography

Chong's former singing career included being the lead singer in the all-female band Jungk, produced by Malcolm McLaren in 1998.[11] She also sang "Voice of an Angel" for McLaren. On National Day she sang "Stand Up for Singapore". She was also the lead singer for a song called "Earth Song" regarding environmental awareness. For the film Stories About Love, she sang the title track "Sorry My Love". For the drama series You Light Up My Life, she sang the theme song "Distance" which was No. 1 on the Yes 933 Pop Charts. Chong was voted No. 1 for Most Captivating Voice on Singapore Press Holdings, Asiaone.com.

After a twelve-year absence from music, Chong released her first English solo single "I Got Him" on 31 August 2018, a heavy reggae-influenced upbeat song written by herself and Omar Martinez. She released a beautiful ballad titled "Masterpiece" on 14 February 2019.

Studio albums
  • Belong To Myself (2001)
  • Celest (2002)
  • Snow Flakes (2004)
  • Little Happiness (2006)

Singles
  • "Earth Song" (2000)
  • "I Got Him" (2018)
  • "Masterpiece" (2019)

References
  1. "Singer-actress Celest Chong plans to move back to Singapore after 13 years in Toronto | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  2. "'Do you want a shortcut?' Celest Chong back in Singapore, recalls being offered alternate path to success in the past". AsiaOne. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. "这里是否留下你的光辉岁月？ | 早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  4. "Celest Chong shows off her dark side". MediaCorp. Archived from the original on 22 October 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  5. "Back in the limelight". DivaAsia. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  6. "Beauty unmasked". DivaAsia. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  7. "Celest Chong's sexy Burning Man outfits". The New Paper. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  8. "Celest Chong Is Single Again After Divorcing Her Canadian Husband; Says Women Don't Need A Man To Be Considered "Worthy"". 8 Days. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  9. "旅居加拿大逾13年 张玉华将回新定居 | 早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  10. "晚报独家专访引关注 张玉华离婚消息登热搜 | 早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Chinese (Singapore)). Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  11. "USA: THE LATEST GIRL BAND, JUNGK, SET TO STORM THE CHARTS". reuters.screenocean.com. 17 February 1998. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
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