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Early days: TV stardom in Singapore Fann Woon Fong created her stage name Fann Wong by combining her parents' surnames (Fann and Wong, respectively). Born to middle-class parents in Singapore, Fann shared a hectic childhood with three siblings (an elder sister and a younger brother and sister). At the tender age of 16, she won a beauty contest organised by Her World, a Singapore fashion magazine. She started a very successful modelling career in Singapore, and sustained it by basing herself in Taiwan for more modelling work. One of her earliest successes was a highly memorable Taiwan-shot Oil of Ulan (now Olay) TVC, which was aired in Taiwan and Singapore. In 1994, while modelling in Taiwan, she was discovered by a Singapore TV producer who cast her in a Singapore drama series titled Dreams Come True. Fann soon starred in two more Singapore TV series, The Challenger and Chronicle of Life, which brought her critical accolades and popularity in Singapore. Her role in Chronicle of Life won her the Best Actress Award and the Best Newcomer Award in Singapore's 1995 Star Awards, an impressive feat considering that she had only been in the Singapore TV industry for only a year. In 1996, her role in The Unbroken Cycle won her her first regional nomination at the Asian Television Awards. She continued to star in an impressive array of drama serials, including A Romance in Shanghai (produced in Shanghai), Wild Orchids (filmed in Sydney) and Brave New World (filmed in Amsterdam and Belgium). In late 1996, Fann released her first Mandarin pop album Fanntasy in Singapore, which contained a duet with Taiwanese singer Jeff Chang. This album, retitled I Live Alone and repackaged with two additional songs for the Taiwanese market, won 4 IFPI platinum sales awards in Taiwan and was the start of Fann's luminous regional success. [edit] Late 90s: ascendance of regional popularity In mid-1998, the simultaneous release of her definitive hit gongfu drama Return of the Condor Heroes, and her second album, Shopping (album), further increased her exposure and popularity in Taiwan and China. She was so popular that when the famed Hong Kong director Derek Yee caught Fann in her Shopping MTV on Channel V in Hong Kong, he flew to Singapore to cast her as the lead actress in the Hong Kong art movie The Truth About Jane and Sam. This gritty wild-child role won her a Best New Performer nomination at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. In 1999, Fann released her third album Missing You, recorded Private Number with British boyband 911 and performed Moments of Magic, Singapore's official millennium song. These musical successes resulted in her being the first Singapore artiste to stage a solo paying concert ("My Story" - Fann Wong In Concert) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2000. That same year, she released her fourth Mandarin album, No Problem. Over the next several years Fann began to focus on acting for TV and film, with varied work such as a feminist Hong Kong film titled When I Fall in Love...With Both, a romantic Singapore TV series Looking For Stars, and an action-packed Taiwanese period series titled Madam White Snake. During this time she also began hosting travelogue shows, including Travel Hunt: Japan and Fann Adventure (filmed in South Africa and Malaysia). [edit] 2003: Hollywood In 2002, she scored a coup when she became the first Singaporean actress to score a major role in a Hollywood production, Shanghai Knights, directed by David Dobkin. When she appeared in her first Hollywood role Chon Lin alongside international stars Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson in early 2003, she received accolades in the Asian and Western media, and was subsequently nominated under the Best Fight category in MTV Movie Awards 2003. In 2004, she won the Singapore Street Festival's Best International Artiste Award. [edit] Recent years In 2004, Fann continued work on China gongfu dramas such as Moon Fairy and My Fair Lady which gradually consolidated her presence as the top Singaporean actress in China. Amidst this, she still had time to shoot a Singapore serial on the SARS virus, Always On My Mind, which won her a Best Actress nomination in the 2004 Star Awards. In mid-2004, Fann snagged her second English-language lead role in the German-Singapore telemovie, House of Harmony, opposite German-based English actor Philippe Brenninkmeyer and Hong Kong actress Maggie Q. In April 2005, Fann was invited to the Cannes MIPTV Media Market where she promoted House of Harmony and discussed possible collaborations with European industry professionals. House of Harmony was telecast in Germany and Austria in October 2005 to a viewership of over 15 million. That same year, she also took on a lead role in a Taiwanese romance film, Dragon Eye Congee, which was nominated for 5 categories at the inaugural 2005 Asian Festival of First Films (AFFF) in Singapore. In Singapore, Fann is well-known for her talent in illustrating comics. In late 2004, she published a comic book, Girl Illustrated, featuring articles, illustrations and exclusive photos of her on the Prague set of Shanghai Knights. In June 2005, Fann released her first Mandarin compilation album, In Love With You, after a hiatus of 5 years. In August 2005, Fann was the first Singaporean star to do a voiceover recording for Singapore's first 3D animation film, Zodiac, The Race Begins. Fann has made substantial inroads into the regional and international entertainment scene in 2005, with appearances at the 2005 Taiwan Golden Horse Awards, China's Huabiao Film Awards, Shanghai's 8th International Film Festival, the Mont Blanc Greta Garbo Retrospective Party in Shanghai, as well as the launch of exclusive landed property in Beijing titled 'A Force In Asia To Create The Future'. Outside of Asia, she also attended Christian Dior's Fall Couture event at Paris in July 2005. [edit] Fan base Fann is considered a well-respected industry professional in her home country Singapore. She is arguably the only Singaporean actress who has managed to sustain exposure through a consistent body of work in the Greater Asian showbiz arena. It is precisely this overseas success that has made her a de facto representative of the Singapore entertainment industry across Asia. The Chinese media regard her as '新加坡首席女星' (Singapore's top female star), while in Singapore, she is termed an '阿姐' ('Ah Jie', literally translated as 'Big Sister', a term of affection to mean a female celebrity highly respected in the local entertainment scene). She has a sizeable fan base in Singapore, China, Taiwan and much of Southeast Asia - including Vietnam, where she performed at a concert in 2004. Her duet with British pop group 911, and performances in Shanghai Knights and House of Harmony have boosted her presence back in Asia, where she has garnered an increasing number of meaty roles in co-productions with China film and television companies. Despite her burgeoning overseas success, however, she still remains a committed member of the fledgling Singapore film industry, lending her support to local film productions such as Zodiac, The Race Begins and Jack Neo's Just Follow Law.
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