Michelle Chong (born 22 April 1977) is a Singaporean actress, comedian, host, filmmaker, digital content producer and businesswoman. She left Mediacorp in 2011 to set up the media agency Left Profile and production house Huat Films. To date, she has produced, written and directed 3 mainstream films, the first of which, Already Famous, was chosen as Singapore’s entry for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 2013. Chong is known for her versatility and comedic performances in satire shows such as The Noose and more recently for her online personas "Ah Lian", "Venus Seow" and "Emily 爱美丽", etc., from The Michelle Chong Channel on YouTube.

Early life

Chong studied in CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School, Dunman High School and Victoria Junior College where she took drama as a subject. Her drama teacher recommended her to Bates College, a top liberal arts college in Maine, USA where she studied theatre for a year. She also subsequently studied in the National University of Singapore.

Career

She was voted by FHM readers as one of the world's top 30 sexiest women in 2002 and 2003. Chong won the Elle Actress of the Year Award (2008) and the Asian Television Awards' (ATV) Best Comedy Performance (Highly Commended) Award (2008) for her portrayal of Beh Li Choo, a butcher in the popular Peranakan dramedy, Sayang Sayang. Chong is also known for portraying a celebrity maid, Leticia Bongnino. In 2011, Chong took seven months of sabbatical leave to set up her own film company, Huat Films, and produced her first film as director, screenwriter and actress: Already Famous starred her, Taiwanese singer Alien Huang as well as other local celebrities who were cameo appearances in the film. In 2012, Chong started artiste management agency Left Profile, which manages her, Pornsak and Lee Teng. Already Famous was selected as the Singaporean entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.

Filmography

Variety show

Film

Television series

Theatre

Awards and nominations