What's next,
Zoe?
NEXT year, Zoe Tay celebrates her 20th year in show business.
The former model was crowned Mediacorp's first ever Star Search
winner in 1988 and remains the station's Da Jie (Big Sister).
While the last drama serial she starred in was A Million Treasures
in December last year, she remains popular.
She headlines TV Charity shows and is always tasked with getting
the most donations from viewers. She usually succeeds.
She still gets endorsement deals, each pegged to a lucrative
five-figure sums, and she's the darling of women's magazines who
use her on their covers.
Ms. Wang Yan Qing, deputy editor of chinese women's magazine, Citta
Bella, says:" Magazines love to use her as their cover girl because
her eyes talk to you. She is a unique actress who doubles up just
as well as a model."
Tay has graced Citta Belle's cover every August since 2005 because
"she is a national icon", adds Ms. Wang.
Competitors to the throne , such as actresses Ann Kok and Phyllis
Quek, have come and gone, but no one has ever reached her star
status.
Her strongest rival has been Fann Wong, 36, who has since carved a
niche for herself overseas, acting in Hollywood and international
films and releasing albums in Taiwan.
Ever then, Fann is always dubbed No. 2 by the media here with Tay
taking top spot.
Shin Min Daily's entertainment editor Kwan Seck Mui says it boils
down to an alluring star quality. "Since the day she won Star
Search, she has exuded the presence of a star. No one's has ever
been able to succeed her because they don't carry the same presence
as she has," she says.
Ironically, as Singapore's first real star, Tay's status may work
against her in the years to come. An artiste manager, who declines
to be named, says that the actress suffers from the baggage of
being the Queen of Caldecott Hill.
"She can't play heartland 'auntie' roles as convincingly as
veterans such as Xiang Yun or Hong hui Fang because she needs to
maintain her glamarous image. That narrows her scope," he
says.
For an actress who turn 40 next January, snaggin glamorous roles
may be a challenge, he adds.
Ms. Kwan notes that Tay's star has dimmed in recent years. "You
don't see her in many roles any more, partly because of her
pregnancy. She would need a breakthrough somehow."
One way for Mediacorp to use Tay would be to produce a drama serial
specially tailored for the actress, she says.
If that succeeds, the impact would be similar to Hong Kong veteran
actress Nancy Sit, who in 1996 at the age of 41 made a major
comeback with her Auntie Hao role in the long-running drama serial
A Kindred Spirit.
Ms Wang of Citta Bella suggests that Tay host TV Shows with fashion
themes, or take more modeling projects. "People in the industry
love her," she says. "She can fulfil the role of a sophisticated
role model lacking right now."
Whatever role she decides. Tay's fans say she will remain their
hero. As retiree Sim Ah Kim, 65, says: "Every time she is on tv,
I'll watch."
From Sunday Times Lifestyle 05 Aug page 4
