Vivian Lai
Vivian Lai Yi-ling (born 18 December 1976) is a Taiwanese-born Singaporean actress, television host and businesswoman.
Vivian Lai | |
|---|---|
 Lai at the Star Awards 2017 | |
| Born | 18 December 1976 |
| Nationality | Taiwanese |
| Citizenship | Singaporean |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1999-present |
| Spouse |
Alain Ong (m. 2001) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Star Search 1999 : Overall Female Champion Star Awards 2015 : All-Time Favourite Artiste & Star Awards for YES 933 Best Speech |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 賴怡伶 |
| Simplified Chinese | 赖怡伶 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lài Yílíng |
| Jyutping | Laai6 Ji4 Ling4 |
Life and career
Born in Taiwan, Lai migrated to Singapore with her Taiwanese family when she was still a student. She joined Star Search Singapore 1999 and was the winner in the Singapore edition and the overall champion in the female contestants' category.[1]
Lai started out as an actress, making her debut in Knotty Liaisons, and won good reviews. She eventually diversified into hosting and has hosted various kinds of programmes ranging from food reviews to travelogues. In 2012, after numerous nominations, she won her first professional award, the Best Supporting Actress award, at the Star Awards 2012 for her role as a Chinese immigrant in Love Thy Neighbour.
At the Star Awards 2015, Lai received the All-Time Favourite Artiste with Jeanette Aw after winning the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award in 2001, 2003-2004, 2007-2014.
Lai is also the brand ambassador for Pokka beverages, Kirei Kirei soap, Samsung electrical appliances and Osim massage.[2]
Personal life
Lai is married to Alain Ong and the couple have two daughters, Vera and Ariel.[3] Alain Ong is the CEO of Pokka International and Deputy Group CEO of Pokka Corporation which Lai has been brand ambassador for multiple years from around 2008. This has thus attracted its fair share of controversy, amid allegations of conflict of interest which in 2012, she was paid S$1 million to continue endorsing the brand.[4]
In September 2018, her husband, Ong, was suspended from his posts by Pokka Corporation following an internal audit and would later take up a new appointment offered by Kimly, which he was a non-executive director of Kimly.[5] Lai's contract as an ambassador was terminated in the following month, despite claims by Mediacorp that her contract would remain unchanged.[6]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Money No Enough 2 | Zhou Yanyan |
| 2009 | Where Got Ghost? |
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Knotty Liaisons | Jiaxuan | |
| Adam's Company | Elaine | ||
| Dare To Strike | |||
| 2001 | Looking For Stars | Piggy | |
| The Hotel | Lai Meiling | ||
| Three Women and A Half | Xiaoping | ||
| 2002 | Bukit Ho Swee | Wang Qing | |
| Kopi-O II | Shuyun | ||
| The Unbeatables III | Dong Meiyao | ||
| 2003 | Holland V | Mo Rourou | |
| 2004 | Double Happiness | Luo Jiaqian | |
| Double Happiness II | Luo Jiaqian | ||
| 2005 | Love at 0°C | Liu Siqi | |
| 2006 | Time to Heal | ||
| 2007 | Live Again | Jenny | |
| Making Miracles | Xu Xiuyuan | ||
| The Homecoming | Qianyi | ||
| 2008 | Just in Singapore | Jinyan | |
| Love Blossoms II | Fan Fan | ||
| 2011 | Be Happy | Mable | |
| Love Thy Neighbour | Shanshan | ||
| 2014 | World at Your Feet | Mo Lihua | |
| 2015 | Super Senior | Ivy Ji Shanzhong | |
| 2016 | The Queen | Zeng Jing | [7] |
| 2019 | My One In A Million (我的万里挑一) | Vivian Lai | |
| The Good Fight (致胜出击) | Rourou | ||
| A World of Difference (都市狂想) | Rui En | ||
| 2021 | Soul Old Yet So Young (心里住着老灵魂) | Cindy Yen | |
| The Heartland Hero | Lexi |
Variety shows
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Property Classified | |
| 2007 | On the Beat II | |
| My Beautiful Life | ||
| Star Awards Post-Show Party | ||
| 2008 | The NTUC Show | |
| Lunar New Year Eve Celebration | ||
| Dialect Delights | ||
| Bioskin Dreams Come True II | ||
| On the Beat III | ||
| Amuse Me | ||
| DIY My Home | ||
| 2009 | My House Husband's Journal 小男人周记 | |
| Amuse U | ||
| 2010 | You Are The Man | |
| 2011 | Sizzling Woks 3 | |
| Ladies Nite | ||
| Home Makeover 2 | ||
| 2012 | My Fair Ladies | |
| Silver Carnival | ||
| Simply Exquisite | ||
| Dessert Time | ||
| 2013 | Say It! | |
| Laughing Out Loud | ||
| 2014 | Eat and Be Merry | |
| Black Rose 2 | ||
| Style: Check-In 4 | Guest Host | |
| Say It! 2 | ||
| Style: Check-In 5 | ||
| Ladies Nite 3 | ||
| 2015 | Hey Chef! | |
| Hey Gorgeous 2015 | ||
| The Successor | ||
| 2016 | Touch Screen Cuisine | |
| What's In The Fridge? | ||
| 2017 | A Gift for Mum | |
| 2019 | The Destined One | Guest Matchmaker |
Discography
Compilation albums
| Year | English title | Mandarin title |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 12 | 新传媒群星金龙接财神 |
| 2018 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 18 | 新传媒群星阿狗狗过好年 |
| 2019 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 19 | 新传媒群星猪饱饱欢乐迎肥年 |
| 2020 | MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 20 | 裕鼠鼠纳福迎春了 |
Accolades
References
- "Female Star Search Finalist Vivian Lai (right) who won the Female Star Search prize during the All-Asian Star Search grand final held in Television Corporation of Singapore TV Theatre". National Archives of Singapore. Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. 25 April 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Awkward age? Not for 'aunty' Lai". The New Paper. 2 December 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- Ong, Sandra. "Vivian Lai Gives Birth". theAsianParent Singapore. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Vivian Lai, Alain Ong, and Pokka Corporation through the years". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- Tan, Angela (1 December 2018). "Seller of Asian Story to Kimly had links to Pokka". The Business Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- hermesauto (28 September 2018). "Pokka CEO Alain Ong suspended in management reshuffle". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- "刘子绚招认新恋情 徐彬和谢韵仪演床戏直冒汗". Archived from the original on 6 February 2016.
External links
- Archived Bio on MediaCorp TV website