Acting
Tay did not enjoy acting in the early part of her career, desiring to become a production assistant instead. But in 1991, she was given a role in Crime and Passion as a simple village girl who was torn between two men. It was through this role that she found herself appreciating the life of an actress. Her first television serial was My Fair Ladies, broadcast in 1988, in which she appeared with other winners from Star Search, Jazreel Low and Aileen Tan.
Tay played many characters in several period and contemporary dramas. In 1990, she became the first local star to be featured in Lux commercials. After being the Lux girl, further product endorsements came to her, making her a favourite star in Singapore's entertainment industry.
Her breakthrough came in 1991 when she was cast as a materialistic and malicious woman in the television series Pretty Faces. She set a record when over a million viewers tuning in for the episode where her character, Bobo, was raped. The role won her many accolades and critical compliments. It was nominated as one of the most memorable roles in the Star Awards in 2003.
In 1993 Tay performed with Li Nanxing in The Unbeatables, a television drama that focused on gambling. At her peak, there was widespread agreement in the media industry that putting Tay's picture on the cover would revive the plummeting sales of any magazine.
Tay has maintained a consistent placement among the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes in the annual Star Awards, an award ceremony for television personalities, since its inception in 1994. She also clinched the Best Actress Award in Star Awards 1996 for her performance in Golden Pillow. Her portrayal of a modern career woman in Home Affairs also earned her a nomination for Best Leading Actress at the Asian Television Awards 2000.
In the 1998 Star Awards, she was awarded the Special Achievement Award for her illustrious career and contribution to the local media scene for the past 10 years. She gave an emotional speech, in which she wept when she thanked her father who had just died not long before the ceremony. In the same year, she released her first solo album to commemorate her 10th year in show business.
Tay was voted in the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artists for the tenth consecutive year in 2003. Hence, in the 2004 Star Awards, she was awarded the All Time Favourite Artiste, together with Li Nanxing and Chew Chor Meng. This award was awarded to artistes who have been able to get into the Top 10 most popular actress/actors for 10 times. Tay is the first actress to achieve this prestigious award.
Tay is also the first local female artist to launch a coffee table book, Zoe's Pictorial, in 1995, which portrayed her in a variety of poses, including sexy, demurely alluring, or glamorous and stylish.
In 2007, i-weekly magazine listed the Top 9 drama serials with the highest viewership over 25 years (not to be confused with the annual viewership list in which Huang Biren achieved 7 top viewership drama serials out of 11). 5 out of the 9 drama serials had Tay as the lead actress.
Read more about this topic: Zoe Tay
Famous quotes containing the word acting:
“If we ever do end up acting just like rats or Pavlov’s dogs, it will be largely because behaviorism has conditioned us to do so.”
—Richard Dean Rosen (b. 1949)
“Often, when there is a conflict between parent and child, at its very hub is an expectation that the child should be acting differently. Sometimes these expectations run counter what is known about children’s growth. They stem from remembering oneself, but usually at a slightly older age.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)
“Acting is not about dressing up. Acting is about stripping bare. The whole essence of learning lines is to forget them so you can make them sound like you thought of them that instant.”
—Glenda Jackson (b. 1937)