Fiona Xie

Fiona Xie (谢婉谕, Xie Wanyu; born 24 January 1982) is a Singaporean actress, variety show host, and was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 2001 to 2009. Xie left Mediacorp in 2009, citing personal reasons. Xie became one of the first Singaporean actresses to break into Hollywood, playing Kitty Pong in the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians. Xie is slated to play a major role in its sequel China Rich Girlfriend based on the 2015 international best-selling novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan.[1]

Fiona Xie
谢宛谕
Xie in Run Chicken Run, 2018 short film
Born (1982-01-24) 24 January 1982
Singapore
NationalitySingaporean
Alma materSt. Hilda's Secondary School
Temasek Polytechnic
OccupationActress, host
Years active2000–present
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese謝宛諭
Simplified Chinese谢宛谕
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Xie.

Career

Xie was spotted by a talent scout at the age of 15 while studying in St. Hilda's Secondary School. She modelled for numerous print and television commercials in Singapore and Hong Kong before joining MediaCorp as a full-time artiste in 2001.

Xie made her acting debut as a nurse in the Channel 5 drama Growing Up. Her convincing acting landed her one of her most recognisable roles in the Channel 8 sitcom My Genie. She won "Best Newcomer" at the Star Awards 2001 after joining the entertainment industry for just over a year.

Of late, Xie has become known for her talents as a bilingual variety show hostess, in particular of the long-running series City Beat. She has since hosted other variety shows, such as the photography-based Say Cheez for Channel 8, and introducing celebrities' favourite hawker foods in Coffee Talk and Hawker Woks for Channel 5. She also hosted the travel show Weekend Escapade together with Ben Yeo.

In 2004, Xie ran with Jeanette Aw, Joyce Chao and Felicia Chin, dressed only in bikinis, along Orchard Road for the Channel 8 drama The Champion.

In 2005, Xie was voted as sexiest woman for the "FHM Top 100 Sexiest Women Singapore" list, even though she had never posed for FHM before. She continued to be ranked among the Top 10 for the FHM lists in the next 3 years.

In 2006, Xie attempted her first villain role as a spoilt diamond heiress in the Channel 8 drama An Enchanted Life, starring alongside Yvonne Lim and Pierre Png. In December 2006, Xie was identified as one of the most promising young actresses in the Singapore entertainment industry by leading local entertainment magazine I-Weekly.

In 2007, Xie took part in the second season of the Singapore edition of Deal or No Deal, where her winnings would go to a selected charity organisation. The episode aired on 22 November 2007.

Xie appeared in her second film project, Rule #1, directed by Kelvin Tong. The film also starred Hong Kong actors Ekin Cheng and Shawn Yue, and debuted in Singapore and Malaysia on 13 March 2008.

Xie starred in a MediaCorp Channel 8 drama Just in Singapore, which was telecast in March 2008. She played a kind-hearted tomboy who sells chicken wings at bazaars and sings getai during the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Xie starred in a Channel 5 sitcom titled Calefare, which starred Gurmit Singh, Benjamin Heng, Mastura Ahmad and Vadi PVSS. She played a calafare (a Singaporean slang term for a background actor or extra) named Joleen Wee, a wannabe singer who actually cannot sing, and often spouts phrases like "eyes wide open", "laugh out loud" and so on.

Xie was originally slated to star in MediaCorp Channel 8's 2009 blockbuster drama, Together. She would have played the second female lead role, one of the meatiest roles that she would have ever received in her career. It was announced on 15 July 2009 that she pulled out of the series due to private matters. This move hogged the news headlines once again, which was perceived to be a sudden disappearance and publicity stunt. Although the exact reason behind her pulling out of the series was never revealed, several colleagues hinted to the media that Xie had expressed discomfort in taking up this role before filming commenced. Eelyn Kok eventually replaced Xie in Together.

Xie went on to play the lead role in her third film Fist of Dragon, also a Singaporean production.

Xie left the entertainment industry in 2009, citing personal reasons. Thereafter she travelled extensively across the globe, living in cities including Hong Kong, New York City, Shanghai and most recently Tokyo.[2] On 2 September 2009, Channel NewsAsia carried news reports that Xie had quit MediaCorp,[3] but this was later disputed by another news article.[4]

On 6 December 2009, Xie was the main feature for top-selling magazines 8 Days and I-weekly. In the interview, she confirmed that she was indeed leaving MediaCorp and revealed her reasons. In an interview with MediaCorp's artiste management unit, the TV station expressed optimism in working with Xie in the future. Her last drama with Mediacorp was Serves You Right!

She then hosted a variety show, Lodge with Me (我行我宿), which aired in May 2010, alongside Felicia Chin, Rui En, and Zhou Ying.

After a 7 year hiatus, she returned to Singapore to film Left Behind, a MediaCorp series slated to be released in August 2016. Xie plays a psychiatrist in her new drama, which she says the role's tribulations is a personal reflection of her own life in recent years.[5] In various media interviews, Xie was cited as saying she wanted to spend more time with her family, especially with one of her cousins who was critically ill, as one major reason for returning to Singapore.[6]

Xie costarred in the Warner Bros. film Crazy Rich Asians, starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding. The film was her Hollywood debut.[7]

She worked once on both the English-language Channel 5 and Chinese-language Channel 8 and was once popularly referred to as the head princess of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp because of her immense popularity in the industry with Rui En, Jeanette Aw, Felicia Chin, Jesseca Liu, Joanne Peh & Dawn Yeoh. She also endorsed products such as Gong Cha's juices and OSIM's massage devices.

In 2018, Xie made a comeback on Mandarin television. Xie starred alongside Elvin Ng, Zhang Yaodong, Tong Bingyu, and Dawn Yeoh in Gifted, a crime thriller filmed in Malaysia. She plays an accomplished businesswoman who is also “a very powerful, very scary lady who will go to great lengths to make sure that she gets what she wants”.

Filmography

Films
YearTitleRole
2018 Crazy Rich Asians Kitty Pong
2012The Golden Couple (金童玉女)Jackie Dai
2011Fist of Dragon (龙拳)Lily
2008Rule No. 1（第一戒）
2005PS. I Luv U（天...使我爱你）
2001One Leg Kicking (一脚踢)Gwen

Chinese Dramas
YearTitleRoleNotes
2018Gifted
天之骄子		Ma Xinrou
马心柔
2009Just in Singapore
一房半厅一水缸		Lin Xiu Ming
林秀明
2007Happily Ever After
凡间新仙人		Lu Yue/Chang Er
2006An Enchanted Life
钻石情缘		Zhang Meiya
张美雅
2005Love Concierge
爱的掌门人		Jiang Ruxin
蒋如心
  • Female co-lead
2004The Champion
任我遨游		Lu Kaixin
陆凯欣
  • 1/4 of female co-leads
Room in My Heart
真心蜜语		Happy
开心
  • Female co-lead
2003Home in Toa Payoh
家在大巴窑		Yuan Shuhuai
袁淑怀
2002My Genie 2
我爱精灵2		Genie 0385985
  • 1st female lead
2001The Hotel
大酒店		Fiona
  • Supporting
My Genie
我爱精灵		Genie 0385985
  • 1st female lead
2000A War Diary
战争日记		Rita
  • Supporting
Growing Up
成长岁月		Shirley Ho
  • Supporting

English Drama
YearTitleRole
2018 No Catalogue Dominic
2016Left Behind[8]Jennifer Leong
2009Serves You Right!Faith Foo Li
2008Sense of Home: ShanghaiLinda
CalefareJoleen Wee
2007Maggi & Me (Season 2)Maggi
2006Maggi & MeMaggi
2000Phua Chu Kang Pte LtdMrs Lopez

Variety
YearTitleRole
2010Lodge with Me (我行我宿)Host
Korea episodes
Farewell programme
Funtastic (太自由)Host
2009Singapore Flavours (万里香)Host
Princesses & The Prince (当公主遇上王子)Guest Appearance
On the Beat 3 (都是大发现3)Guest-Host
I want a holiday (玩游世界)Herself
2008Lonely Planet Bluelist: Best In AsiaHost
U Are The One (唯我独尊) Host
Don't Forget the LyricsHerself
2007Hey! Gorgeous (校花校草追赶跑)Host
Seemingly Singapore (风行一时代)Host
Campus Superstar (校园SuperStar 2)Host
2006Insiders' Australia (动感澳游)Host
Weekend Escapade (周末万岁)Host
Coffee Talk and Hawker Woks 3Host
Coffee Talk and Hawker Woks 2Host
2005Pretty Woman (想·得·美）Host
Say Cheez (好摄2人组)Host
Coffee Talk and Hawker WoksHost
2003City Beat (城人杂志)Co-host
2002City Beat (城人杂志)Co-host
Innocent Moments (小小儿戏）Host
2001PSC Night (普威之夜)Co-host
City Beat (城人杂志)Co-host

Accolades
Star Awards – Hosting Awards
YearCeremonyCategoryNominated workResult
20017th Star Awards CeremonyBest NewcomerMy GenieWon
7th Star Awards CeremonyBest Comedy PerformerMy GenieNominated
7th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 10
20028th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 20
20039th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 20
200410th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 20
200511th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 20
200612th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 10
200713th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 20
200914th Star Awards CeremonyTop 10 Most Popular Female ArtistesN/ATop 20
The Asian Awards
20199th The Asian AwardsOutstanding Achievement in CinemaCrazy Rich AsiansWon[9]
gollark: I would increase good things while reducing bad things.
gollark: My political ideology - me as supreme eternal dictator for life - is the correct one. Others are not.
gollark: Suuuuuure.
gollark: Property damage is mean, though.
gollark: Only cool™ ones.

References
  1. "Fiona Xie to play a bigger role in Crazy Rich Asians sequel". AsiaOne. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  2. "Fiona Xie on her return to local TV". TODAY Online. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  3. "Princess Fiona leaves the Hill". Channel NewsAsia. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  4. Chouyen, Chen (3 September 2009). 谢宛谕没辞职　新节目考虑用她当主持 [Fiona Xie did not quit. New show is considering to use her as host.] (in Chinese). Lianhe Wanbao (United Nightly). Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  5. "'I was so afraid of coming back': Actress Fiona Xie". Channel NewsAsia. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. "A bittersweet return for Fiona Xie". The Straits Times. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  7. "'Crazy Rich Asians' Adds Awkwafina". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  8. "Fiona Xie to make acting comeback in August". Toggle. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  9. "Outstanding Achievement in Cinema – CRAZY RICH ASIANS". The Asian Awards. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.