Eunice Olsen

Eunice Olsen (born 24 October 1977) is a Singaporean actress, host, communications trainer, producer and business woman. She is recognised for her work in the media across Asia, as a former Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore who served two terms, a renowned speaker/host, and an advocate for women's empowerment.

Eunice Olsen
Born
Eunice Elizabeth Olsen

(1977-10-24) 24 October 1977
Singapore
OccupationActress, host, musician, model, businesswoman
Years active2000–present
Websiteeuniceolsen.com

In 2000, Olsen decided to take part in that year's Miss Singapore Universe pageant. She went on to win the title and was sent to Cyprus, for the Miss Universe pageant.

In November 2004, Olsen was appointed as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) in Singapore by President SR Nathan,[1] making her the youngest nominated NMP at the age of 27[2] from the time this program was implemented by the Singapore government. In 2006, she was conferred the Singapore Youth Award for her dedication to the community, youth work and being an inspirational role model.[3] In 2008, Olsen was the proud recipient of the prestigious ASEAN Youth Award[4] and is a Young Global Leader representing Singapore at the World Economic Forum.[5] In the 2010 Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore, she was one of the Flag bearers for the Singapore Flag.[6] She is currently a Goodwill Ambassador to the Embassy of Sweden.[7]

Since winning Miss Singapore Universe, she's hosted many TV shows for Mediacorp Singapore including Wheel of Fortune,[8] and Rouge, an award nominated women's talk show. She has worked in regional television on AXN's lifestyle show "The Duke" and made her acting debut in "Red Thread", Channel 5's long form English drama, and acted in Chinese drama serials. She also co-produced, researched and acted in the film 3.50 (2013),[9] the first Singapore/Cambodia production, which explores the issue of sex trafficking. In 2019, she presented BECOMING SINGAPORE,[10] the flagship documentary of the bicentennial on Channel News Asia. And in 2020, Eunice recently completed hosting a web documentary series to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China for mango.tv.

In addition to her entertainment work, she is an advocate for women's empowerment, gender equality, sustainability, people with disabilities, the environment, human trafficking and youth at risks.

In 2013, she founded Eunice Olsen Media[11][1] (formerly House of Ou Studios), which focuses on social impact storytelling and through that, helps organisations to strengthen and communicate their brand position in the areas of sustainability. Olsen is a communications and media trainer. She's also the creator or WomenTalk.com, a program that celebrates extraordinary everyday women. In its debut season, it was nominated for an International Emmy Award (Digital Non-Fiction), and more recently awarded an Official Selection for Best Web Series[12] at the Raindance Film Festival.

She has been engaged to speak globally on a wide range of topics from women's empowerment,[13] leadership, resilience, authentic communication and various social issues.[14][15]

Life and career

Childhood and youth

Eunice Olsen was born in Singapore. She is the only child of Alice Yap and Francis Olsen. A Eurasian Singaporean, her mother is Chinese and her father is of Swedish and Portuguese descent, and she communicates fluently in English and Mandarin. At the age of three, her parents enrolled her into Yamaha music school where she developed her love for music and performing. She attended Woodlands Primary School, Singapore, St. Margaret's Secondary School and Anglo-Chinese Junior College. She completed her degree at the National University of Singapore where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy.

Personal life

Eunice is of part Swedish descent. She discovered through a TV programme, "My Roots" that her great great grandfather Oskar Pontus Olsson was born in Röra, Orust in 1862. He became a sailor on ships that travelled back and forth to England. He eventually settled in Malaya around 1885, and lived in Malaya for 55 years. On 28 November 1982, he was naturalized as a British citizen in Singapore, and swore his allegiance to King George V. On his naturalization certificate, his name was Oscar Olsen.

While filming a bicentennial special program "Becoming Singapore", she also learnt that her grandfather from her mother's side, Yap Swee Kang, was an auxiliary fire serviceman volunteer after World War 2.

She has been playing the piano since the age of 3, and worked part-time as a piano teacher in her teenage years. She played the saxophone for her school band in secondary school and junior college.

She practices Muay Thai, enjoys walking nature trails, and playing the piano in her free time.

Miss Singapore Universe

In 2000, Olsen decided to take part in that year's Miss Singapore Universe pageant. She went on to win the title and was sent to Cyprus, for the Miss Universe pageant. Deciding to put her title to good use, she approached the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre and was directed to the Singapore Girl's Home. (formerly Toa Payoh Girl's Home), where she began her journey into volunteerism.

Social Causes

Her work at the Toa Payoh Girl's Home and Andrew and Grace Home spurred her to seek out other opportunities in youth activities. In 2002, she became a member of the advisory council for the People's Association's youth movement T-Net Club (Teens Network Club). She was also a member of the Kebun Baru Youth Executive Committee since 2001. Olsen has also worked with many organisations including the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre and as a Youth Ambassador, Beyond Social Services' BABES program for pregnant teenage mums,[16] Awareness for Cervical Cancer and the Singapore Red Cross, blood program to actively promote the importance of donating blood.[17] She has also been a goodwill ambassador for Worldvision, Habitat for Humanity[18] and the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Singapore.

She created an event All Smiles Day in 2013 as a day of respite for caregivers of the Rare Disorder Society, and has been an ongoing event.

Eunice works with rural communities especially in Cambodia, where she built toilets and improved sanitation for evicted communities, and girls in school. She also co-produced a movie about sex trafficking 3.50, which she also uses for advocacy talks on trafficking.[19]

She also developed a feminine hygiene program Project Precious for education in rural communities. Using video and flip charts, this program has been adapted and used in communities in Cambodia, India, Nepal and the United States.[20]

Eunice is currently a goodwill ambassador for the Embassy of Sweden in Singapore.

Acting & Hosting


Biography
Title Year Role Notes
Wheel of Fortune 2002–2003 Co-Host TV series
A Child's Hope 2003 Dr. Joanne Su[21] TV series
No Place Like Home[22] 2003 Felicia[23] TV series
FRONT 2006–2007 Co-Host[24] TV series
The Arena 2007 Judge TV series
Rouge 2008 Host[25] TV Talk Show
ShowU Are The One 2008 Judge TV series
Fourplay 2008 Host TV series[26]
Sing to the Dawn[27] 2008 Herself, Voice Talent Animated Film (SG)
The Duke 2009 Co-Host TV Talk Show
Red Thread 2009 Carol Chong TV series
Hunting Tales 2010 Grace Short Film (SG)
The Smartemizer[28] 2010 Felicia Short Film (SG)
Before I Was Awesome 2010 Vivi TV series
Beauty First 2011 Host[29] TV series
Red Numbers (红字) 2011 Number 8 (8号的妈咪)[30] Feature Film (SG)
Ghost On Air 2012 Pauline[31] Feature Film (SG)
3.50 2013 Rebecca Wilson[9] Feature Film (Cambodia)
Womentalk TV 2013–Present Host[32] Talk Show
The Last Night Inn 2016 Miriam[33] Feature Film (US)
Becoming Singapore 2019 Host[34] Documentary
70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China 2020 Host Web Documentary Series

Olsen first came into the public eye in 2000 after winning the Miss Singapore Universe pageant. In 2002 she was selected to be the co-host of Singapore's version of the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune.,[35] taking on the role of Vanna White in the Singapore version of the game show. She then went on to co-host 3 seasons of FRONT, an Arts Central production that took an edgy look at the arts scene in Singapore. In 2007, she was a judge on Channel 5's International Emmy Award nominated youth debate program The Arena, and hosted Rouge in 2008, an award nominated talk show that had themes and trends concerning Singaporean women and featured a mix of celebrity interviews and real-life stories.[36] Olsen made her English acting debut on Channel 5's first long form English drama Red Thread[37] and co-hosted an exciting men's magazine lifestyle show on AXN, The Duke.[38] She also went on to star in several feature films in Singapore and the United States.

In August 2013, Eunice founded WomenTalkTV, an online talk show featuring extraordinary women from all over Asia whose stories are inspiring and empowering. It aims to use online media to celebrate and advance the social empowerment of Asian women. WomenTalkTV was also nominated for an International Emmy Award in the Digital Program: Non-Fiction category in 2014. She hosted Channel NewsAsia's Becoming Singapore, the flagship documentary for the Singapore in 2019. And in 2020, Eunice recently completed hosting a web documentary series to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China for mango.tv.[39]

Politics

In November 2004, Olsen was appointed as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) in Singapore. Her main role as an NMP was to highlight issues pertaining to youth and volunteerism. In the course of her term she touched on issues like access to public transport for the disabled, legislation for child sex tourism, enhancing supervisory guidance for Voluntary Welfare Organizations and sex education in schools. In the parliamentary debate on Integrated Resorts in 2005, Olsen called for stronger measures to address social problems of compulsive gambling, including mandating a loss limit for casino patrons and to require the casino operator to provide responsible gambling counselling services.[40] She also called for the captioning of the Channel 5 English news programme. She championed for inclusivity for people with disabilities. Olsen served two terms and remained an NMP until 2009. She did not apply for a third term in parliament.[41]

Advisory Boards

She is an advisor to Space for Humanity, a non-profit organization headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 2017, the goal of the organization is democratizing space and developing solutions to world problems through the increasing of human awareness by experiencing the overview effect. Space for Humanity is developing plans to send diverse citizen astronauts to the edge of space, low earth orbit, the moon, and deep space.[42]

Eunice is currently a member of the National Museum of Singapore's advisory board, and a management committee member of Club HEAL.

Author

Eunice published a children's book “I'm a girl. See what I can be!” in 2018. The book is a series of poems written by Olsen, featuring 10 women from the International Emmy ® Nominated video series, WomenTalk. Inspired by the lives of the extraordinary women she has interviewed, the book features stories of courage and inspiration based on the real life stories of these 10 outstanding women. The book is illustrated by 10 Singaporean artists with autism, and designed by HATCH design. It was successfully crowd funded on Indiegogo, and achieved 125% of the original targeted funds.

I'm a girl. See what I can be!.[43] Singapore: Eunice Olsen Media. 2018. ISBN 978-981-11-7524-4

Training and Consultancy

Eunice developed a Media Training programme called Authentic, hence Effective Communication, which focuses on finding the participants’ authentic voice, making values a part of the communication experience, harnessing strengths and overcoming weaknesses, making every training session a bespoke experience. Eunice's unique philosophy has been cultivated and curated around her illustrious career. Eunice has trained a wide variety of people from senior government officials to CEOs, to post graduate students.

Speaker and Moderator

Olsen has been engaged to speak globally on a wide range of topics from women's empowerment, leadership, resilience, and various social issues. She is a keynote speaker, and has spoken at International events such as the Cartier Women's Awards, the United Nations, LH Forum in France, in educational institutions around the World such as Harvard, and universities in India, various parts of South East Asia including Vietnam, Philippines and Singapore.

Because of her political and social work experience, Eunice is an engaging moderator, having moderated high level executive forums, and high profile individuals such as Helle Thorning Schmidt former Prime Minister of Denmark, and panelists from the Swedish Embassy's Disability Forum.

On 6 May 2020, Eunice moderated an online webinar for Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors without Borders' "Live Chat on COVID-19: How MSF Responds to a Pandemic.

Awards and Accolades[44][45][46]
  • 2000 Miss Singapore Universe
  • 2006 Singapore Youth Award
  • 2008 ASEAN Youth Award
Year Ceremony Category Nominated Work Result
2014 International Emmy Awards Digital Program – Non Fiction WomenTalk TV Nominated
2016 Hollywood Independent Documentary Award Women filmmaker WomenTalk TV Winner[47]
2016 Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival Documentary Short WomenTalk TV Winner[48]
2016 Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival Women filmmaker WomenTalk TV Winner
2016 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards Documentary Short WomenTalk TV Winner
2016 Best Shorts Competition Women filmmaker WomenTalk TV Award of Excellence
2016 Best Shorts Competition Documentary Short WomenTalk TV Award of Excellence
2016 Indiefest Film Awards Documentary Short WomenTalk TV Award of Merit[49]
2016 Raindance Film Festival Web Series WomenTalk TV Official Selection[50]
2016 Best Shorts Competition Humanitarian Award WomenTalk TV Award of Distinction
2017 Best Shorts Competition Women filmmaker WomenTalk TV Award of Merit
2017 Taste Awards Mini Film or Documentary Tripvid Official Selection[51]
2019 Independent Publisher Book Award Independent Spirit Award I'm a Girl. See what I can be! Winner[52]

Brand Ambassador

Eunice has been a brand ambassador to many multi national companies that chose her for what she stands for, the causes she believes in, her work ethic, and what she represents and embodies. A press statement issued by L'Oréal Singapore said she was the perfect choice with her graceful sophistication and perfect marriage of brain, beauty, attitude and style..

2002 Omega[53]

2006 - 2008 Motorola Electronics[54]

2006 -2007 Goldheart Jewelry[55]

2008 Redken[56]

2009 - 2011 Nescafé Gold[57]

2009 - 2011 Shell Petroleum Fuel Save Ambassador[58][59][60][61][62]

2010 BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™)[63]

2011 Cosme Decorte AQMW[64]

2015 Physiogel[65]

2017 L'Oréal Lancome Genefique[66]

2019 The Body Shop[67]

Music

With a grade 8 in practical and theory for piano, Olsen started playing at the age of 3 and teaching at the age of 17. In university, she was part of a hostel band and was president of the Electronic Music Lab at the Centre for the Arts.[68] In 2004, she released an album in South Korea entitled Believe .

Eunice Olsen was part of a duo called 7 States . She was joined by music producer and sound designer Rennie Gomes[69] of Yellowbox. Together, they have written a Christmas song, produced a kids album and scored a short film for one of Singapore's most acclaimed film directors, Royston Tan, titled Anniversary.[70] 7 States has also written a song titled Light which they dedicated to the athletes of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games in 2010.[71] 7 States recently performed, featuring Humaa Rathor, at the “From Singapore With Love” Benefit concert 2011. This was in support of World vision's earthquake relief work in China, Myanmar and Japan.[72] In 2018 she performed at Sunburst: The Business Times - CapitaLand Fundraising Concert where students from School of the Arts (SOTA) and members of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore) (MDAS) come together to perform, united by personal stories of strength and resilience.

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