Huang Biren (born 7 March 1969) is a
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
an actress best known for appearing in numerous
MediaCorp Channel 8
Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Mediacorp, Television Singapura on 31 August 1963 with experimental broadcasts, before going official on 23 November that ye ...
television dramas. She was prominently a full-time
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
artiste from 1988 to 2008, but continues to film on an ad-hoc basis.
Huang left Mediacorp on 30 June 2008, due to the new contract terms offered to her and she also wanted to spend more time with her family, especially her 5-month-old infant girl.
Career
Huang joined the
Singapore Broadcasting Corporation
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
(now
MediaCorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
) in 1988 after completing its Professional Drama Performers' Training course. She was due to study at
Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) is a private university in downtown Honolulu, Makapuʻu and Kāneʻohe, Hawaii. HPU is the largest private university in the central Pacific, most noted for its diverse student body of nearly 5,000 students, re ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
but chose to go into acting when SBC offered her a contract, much to the initial disappointment of her parents.
Having been in the industry for 10 years, Huang won her first ''Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes'' award in Star Awards 1997. In 1998, Huang went on to star in the hit Chinese drama series ''
Stand By Me'', which recorded rocketing viewership ratings (defeating the high-profile series ''
Return of the Condor Heroes
''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', also called ''The Giant Eagle and Its Companion'', is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the second part of the ''Condor Trilogy'' and was preceded by ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and follow ...
''), despite very little promotion done prior to the drama's telecast. She played a patient and caring wife of a
paraplegic
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
(played by
Xie Shaoguang
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
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, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates ...
), which won her the Best Actress Award at the 1998
Star Awards
The Star Awards (Chinese: 红星大奖) are awards for artistic and technical merit in the media organisation Mediacorp of Singapore where Mediacorp recognises entertainers under their employment for outstanding performances of the year.
The ...
. She was also the first Singaporean actress to receive a Best Actress nomination in the 1998
Asian Television Awards
The Asian Television Awards (launched in 1996), is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards comprises 56 categories across news, documentarie ...
for ''Stand By Me''. Her performance in this drama had touched the hearts of many audience – since then, she has become a household name for numerous
Singaporeans
Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to Singaporean nationality law, citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multiracialism, multi-ethnic, multiculturalism, multi-cultural an ...
.
Other award-winning lead roles other than the one in ''Stand By Me'' include ''Kelian'', where she played an old-fashioned and cowardly woman who was always being abused by her mother in ''
Beautiful Connection
Beautiful Connection () is a Singaporean Chinese family drama serial. It was telecast in 2002. The show earned many nominations for the Star Awards including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best TV Drama, Best Theme Song, Best Di ...
'' (2002), and ''Lucky'', where she played a gambling addict in ''
My Lucky Charm
My Lucky Charm 情来运转 is a 25 episode Chinese drama shown on MediaCorp Channel 8
Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Mediacorp, Television Singapura on ...
'' (2005).
She,
Ivy Lee
Ivy Ledbetter Lee (July 16, 1877 – November 9, 1934) was an American publicity expert and a founder of modern public relations. Lee is best known for his public relations work with the Rockefeller Family.
His first major client was the Penns ...
and
Chen Liping
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, body_discovered =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinat ...
are the only actresses to be crowned Best Actress three times at the in-house
Star Awards
The Star Awards (Chinese: 红星大奖) are awards for artistic and technical merit in the media organisation Mediacorp of Singapore where Mediacorp recognises entertainers under their employment for outstanding performances of the year.
The ...
.
In 2003, Biren was nominated for the ''Best Drama Performance by an Actress'' award in the Asian Television Awards for her role in ''A Child's Hope''. In the same year, Huang was listed in ''People at The Peak – The Who's Who of Singapore''. Her name was once again listed in the second edition of the book, which was published in 2006. The books were sold globally.
Since 2005, Biren has filmed an average of only one serial per year, compared to three drama series per year between 2002 and 2004. Rumours circulated that she feigned illness so that she need not take up roles that did not cast her in good light. Biren came out strongly against these rumours and attributed the drop in drama serials filmed to an
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
attack she suffered after filming ''
The Undisclosed
The Undisclosed () is an action-thriller suspense drama produced by Mediacorp TV Channel 8. The drama made its debut on 3 April 2006 in Singapore, and ended its run on 28 April 2006.
This is the first drama Li Nanxing acted in after his divorce w ...
'', granting her medical leave for a period of a year.
Another reason cited by the local media was the media merger which took place in December 2004, which led to less dramas produced as competition from
SPH MediaWorks
SPH MediaWorks Ltd () was a free-to-air terrestrial television broadcaster in Singapore that operated two television channels: Channel U (Singaporean TV channel), Channel U and Channel i (Singaporean TV channel), Channel i. It merged with the ci ...
ceased to exist.
Biren did not film any serials in Year 2006. The suspense thriller ''The Undisclosed'', which was telecast in 2006, was filmed in 2005. Instead, she ventured into hosting or appeared as a guest in various variety shows. Though her drama serials reduced significantly, Biren was still able to maintain her popularity levels, as attested by her popularity award wins at the Star Awards ceremonies.
In June 2007, Biren was chosen as one of the 10 TV mentors for the
Star Search 2007
Star Search 2007 is the 9th installment of ''Star Search''. It marked the return of the talent-search program. From May 2007, Star Search 2007 travelled to China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore in its search for new talents.
Auditions
Eager to be ...
Reality Talent Show contestants. In the same year, she was again nominated for the ''Best Actress'' award in the
Asian Television Awards
The Asian Television Awards (launched in 1996), is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards comprises 56 categories across news, documentarie ...
(ATA) and
Star Awards 2007
Star Awards 2007 () was a television award ceremony held in Singapore. It is part of the annual Star Awards organised by MediaCorp for MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It was the first ''Star Awards'' ceremony to be broadcast in two weeks putting emphasis ...
for her role as a fat, naggy and fierce housewife in ''
Mars VS Venus
''Mars vs Venus'' (Simplified Chinese: 幸福双人床) is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecast on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It made its debut on 1 May 2007 and ended its run on 28 May 2007. It was screen ...
''. Though she did not manage to clinch both of the awards, she was tipped the hot favourite to win by many media, audience and industry watchers. After she lost the ATA ''Best Actress'' award to Filipino actress
Gina Pareño
Gina Pareño (; born Geraldine Acthley; October 20, 1947) is a Filipina actress.
Early life
Pareño was born to a German American father and a Filipina mother.
Career
She started her career in the 1960s as an extra in several films and then lat ...
, Biren spoke to reporters from
Channel News Asia
CNA (stylised as cna), which is an acronym derived from its previous name, Channel NewsAsia, is a Singaporean multinational news channel owned by the country's national public broadcaster Mediacorp. It broadcasts free-to-air domestically in Sin ...
:
A nomination out of so many countries – you're talking about the whole of Asia – is already something to be proud of. So, I think it's already something that I feel is a great achievement.
In the ''
Star Awards 25th Anniversary Show'', Biren won the coveted ''My Favourite Actress Award'', defeating hot favourites
Zoe Tay
Zoe Tay (; born 10 January 1968) is a Singaporean actress and former model. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Caldecott Hill" and "Ah Jie" (Top Actress) by the local media since the rise of her popularity in the 1990s. She is one of th ...
and
Fann Wong
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, body_discovered =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinat ...
. She was the first female artiste to win this prestigious award, which was given out in commemoration of 25 Years of drama productions.
An interview conducted by ''8 Days'' magazine in November 2007 stated that Huang had been the lead actress in seven of the eleven dramas with the annual highest viewership since 1997. (''8 Days reference: 7 Nov'')
Departure from MediaCorp
On 4 August 2008,
MediaCorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
released news that Huang has left the TV station on 30 June 2008. The main reasons for her leaving were disagreements with MediaCorp over the new contract terms offered to her; and she also wanted to spend more time with her family, especially her 5-month-old infant girl. She was last seen on television as a MediaCorp artiste on 11 July 2008, when she co-hosted an episode of ''Glamour Mum and the Dude'' alongside
Bryan Wong
Bryan Wong Lok Kiang (, born on 30 January 1971) is a Singaporean television host and actor.
Career
Wong began his career as a child actor in 1981 and featured in several popular children's programmes on SBC. He began performing modelling ...
. Huang was quoted as saying this to reporters,
I thought about it (whether to renew her contract) even when I was (about to sleep) in bed... But when the time came to make the decision, I had to be firm.'' (Reference: The New Paper)''
Her decision to leave this industry was seen as a huge loss to
MediaCorp Channel 8
Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Mediacorp, Television Singapura on 31 August 1963 with experimental broadcasts, before going official on 23 November that ye ...
by both the audience and the TV station, as her drama serials have consistently achieved high viewership ratings and her acting skills were recognised by many. After the news was released, forums were abuzz with numerous discussions about this issue, and many questioned if Biren would still be able to receive the coveted ''All Time Favourite Award'' (an award given out in accumulation for winning the Top 10 award 10 times). Paul Chan, MediaCorp's Vice-President for Branding and Promotions, answered the query by saying that the company has not decided if Biren will be awarded as meetings with the Star Awards 2009 Committee have not been held yet. MediaCorp does not rule out future collaborations with her on a project basis.
Huang was initially offered a role in the 2008 MediaCorp mega-blockbuster drama series,
The Little Nyonya
''The Little Nyonya'' ( zh, c= ) is a 2008 drama serial on Singapore's free-to-air MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It stars Jeanette Aw, Qi Yuwu, Dai Xiangyu, Lin Meijiao, Pan Lingling, Cynthia Koh, Pierre Png, Joanne Peh, Desmond Sim, Eelyn Kok, Andi ...
. As she decided not to renew her contract, the role was offered to
Xiang Yun
Chen Cuichang (born 27 October 1961), better known by her stage name Xiang Yun, is a Singaporean actress & television host.
She is commonly referred to as MediaCorp's first "Ah Jie" (Senior actress) for being among the first locally trained arti ...
instead.
On 31 October 2008, MediaCorp confirmed Huang would be receiving the coveted ''
All-Time Favourite Artiste Award'' at the Star Awards 2009.
On 1 November 2008, Huang answered her supporters' queries if she would make a comeback, through telling reporters she has rejected some invitations from the TV Station to film dramas on a project basis. Biren was quoted as telling ''Shin Min Daily'',
If I were to come back, the most important conditions are (quality of) the script, role, how much time is needed for filming, and my husband's support. Money isn't a problem.
Huang was featured in the
Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establishe ...
Life! Monday Interview published on 3 November 2008. In the interview, she talked about life in her younger days, career, family and chances of making a comeback. In the interview, she mentioned that she is "already fielding offers from production houses as well as theatre companies, though she has not accepted any yet", as she has to take care of her two children.
On 20 January 2009, Huang made a public appearance where she attended the gala premiere of local movie
Love Matters
''Love Matters'' () is a Singaporean comedy film written and directed by Jack Neo and Gilbert Chan, and produced by Neo Studios, MM Studios & Grand Brilliance
Plot
Love Matters revolves around three main protagonists – 52-year-old Tan Bo Seng, ...
.
Huang was awarded the ''All Time Favourite Artiste Award'' at the
Star Awards 2009
Star Awards 2009 (Chinese: 红星大奖 2009) was a television award ceremony held in Singapore. It was part of the annual Star Awards organised by MediaCorp for its Chinese language division ( Channel 8 and Channel U). The awards took place at 2 ...
ceremony held on 26 April 2009. The award was presented to her by Singapore's President,
Sellapan Ramanathan
Sellapan Ramanathan (; 3 July 1924 – 22 August 2016),. often known as S. R. Nathan, was a Singaporean politician who served as the sixth president of Singapore between 1999 and 2011. He was also the longest-serving president in Singapore's hi ...
. ''(Click on the reference link to see her receiving the coveted award at the ceremony)''
After leaving the industry, Huang continued to take up numerous endorsement engagements. These include being a spokesperson for
OCBC Bank
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Limited (), often known as OCBC Bank (), is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in OCBC Centre, Singapore. OCBC Bank was born out of the Great Depression thr ...
's SmartSenior Programme. She filmed a TV advertisement for the bank, which also featured her mother.
In January 2010, she filmed a one-minute TV advertisement for
L'Oréal Paris
L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ...
Revitalift Face Cream. In the same year, she also endorsed Ginvera Grorich Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. A television commercial was filmed and advertisements were also published in numerous print media. Biren was then appointed ambassador of slimming company ''BeauteHub'' in February 2011.
Huang made a public appearance at the annual
Star Awards
The Star Awards (Chinese: 红星大奖) are awards for artistic and technical merit in the media organisation Mediacorp of Singapore where Mediacorp recognises entertainers under their employment for outstanding performances of the year.
The ...
2011 ceremony (Show 1) as guest presenter on 17 April 2011.
In June 2011, Huang was interviewed by ''LiveWell'' magazine. She said it was her dream to film a movie and she has plans to do so in the future if there is a chance.Her last drama with
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
was
Mars VS Venus
''Mars vs Venus'' (Simplified Chinese: 幸福双人床) is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecast on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It made its debut on 1 May 2007 and ended its run on 28 May 2007. It was screen ...
.
Huang announced plans to return to television when she attended the
Star Awards 2012
Star Awards 2012 (Chinese: 红星大奖 2012) was a double television award ceremony held in Singapore. It is part of the annual Star Awards organised by MediaCorp for the two free-to-air channels, MediaCorp Channel 8 and MediaCorp Channel U. '' ...
award ceremony as award presenter alongside Member of Parliament
Baey Yam Keng
Baey Yam Keng ( zh, s=马炎庆, p=Mǎ Yánqìng; born 31 August 1970) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment since ...
. She revealed that discussions with MediaCorp are underway and she might star in a drama in 2013.
Return to entertainment industry
In an interview with local magazine ''i-Weekly'' in March 2013, Huang revealed that MediaCorp will continue to represent her in terms of artiste management and sourcing for ad hoc jobs which are of a more flexible nature.
After a six-year hiatus, she was slated to star in the TV station's 2013 mega-blockbuster year end series ''The Journey: A Voyage'' alongside
Li Nanxing
Jonathan Lee Nam Heng (born 7 November 1964), better known as Li Nanxing (), is a Singaporean actor and was named as 'Ah-Ge' (大哥, "big brother") of Caldecott Hill. He is also a film director and producer.
Li has acted in many Chinese-lang ...
,
Jeanette Aw
Jeanette Aw Ee-Ping (born 28 June 1979), better known by her stage name Ou Xuan (), is a Singaporean actress, filmmaker, businesswoman and writer. Aw was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006, after which she achieved wide ...
and
Elvin Ng
Elvin Ng Choon Siong (; born 23 December 1980) is a Singaporean actor and former model.
Early life
Ng attended Jurong Primary School, Catholic High School and National Junior College. He graduated with an honours degree in English literatu ...
. Her return to drama was much anticipated by the audience, but she had to turn down the lead role just weeks before filming commenced because a painful 10 cm cyst had grown in her kidney. She underwent surgery in April 2013 and required time to recuperate. She described her decision to pull out of the series as "regrettable" but she felt her state of health was most important, and filming in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Tangshan, China
Tangshan () is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in the central area of the Boha ...
might affect her scheduled medical follow-ups.
Carole Lin
Carole Lin () is a Singaporean actress. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1995 to 2009.
Career
Lin joined MediaCorp after taking part in Star Search Singapore 1995. She shot to fame for her role in ''The Price of Peace'' an ...
has since taken on the role.
On 23 March 2014, Huang mentioned she has since made a full recovery from the surgery and will be making a television comeback in the second half of the year. However, she declined to provide details as discussions with the TV station were still ongoing. On 31 March 2014,
MediaCorp TV Channel 8
Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Television Singapura on 31 August 1963 with experimental broadcasts, before going official on 23 November that year. The ch ...
announced on its official Facebook page that Biren will be making a comeback with two dramas in the works. Huang will star as a supportive wife of a down-and-out man opposite
Thomas Ong
Thomas Ong Thian Chai (, born 1 February 1969) is a Singaporean actor, television host and businessman who films on an ad-hoc basis. An irregular employee of MediaCorp, he has joined and left the company several times to concentrate on other p ...
in the serial ''Three Wishes'' which is slated to air in October 2014. She will then play the titular character in 2015 drama ''Tiger Mum'', a disciplinarian figure who gels the family together.
Audience response to Huang's comeback has been largely favourable, with the viewership of her comeback drama ''
Three Wishes'' breaking the 1 million mark on its debut episode, a phenomenon rarely seen for local dramas. The captivating storyline, coupled with audience strong anticipation towards Huang's return, were cited as contributory factors towards the drama's strong showing. The finale episode attracted more than 1.1 million viewers, with ratings peaking at a record-breaking high of 1,134,000 viewers – propelling the drama to clinch ''Top Rated Drama'' for Year 2014.
On 30 December 2014, it was revealed that she will star alongside Zoe Tay,
Rui En
Loh Rui En (born 29 January 1981), better known by her stage name Rui En (瑞恩), is a Singaporean actress and was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006. She was under contract of MediaCorp and managed under Hype Records ...
,
Jeanette Aw
Jeanette Aw Ee-Ping (born 28 June 1979), better known by her stage name Ou Xuan (), is a Singaporean actress, filmmaker, businesswoman and writer. Aw was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006, after which she achieved wide ...
,
Li Nanxing
Jonathan Lee Nam Heng (born 7 November 1964), better known as Li Nanxing (), is a Singaporean actor and was named as 'Ah-Ge' (大哥, "big brother") of Caldecott Hill. He is also a film director and producer.
Li has acted in many Chinese-lang ...
and
Qi Yuwu
Qi Yuwu (; born 28 November 1976) is a Chinese actor based in Singapore. He is a permanent resident of Singapore and a contracted artiste under Beijing Enlight Media Group.
Early life and career
Qi studied at Guangzhou Physical Education Ins ...
in MediaCorp Channel 8's 2015 year-end mega blockbuster series, ''
The Dream Makers II
The Dream Makers II (Chinese: 志在四方II, often abbreviated as ZZSF2) is a 32-episode Singaporean drama produced and telecast on Mediacorp Channel 8. The show served as the year-end blockbuster for Channel 8 in 2015. The show aired at 9pm on ...
''. The serial would be her first collaboration with Tay in 27 years.
Both of Huang's 2015 drama serials,
Tiger Mum
''Tiger Mum'' (Chinese: 虎妈来了) is a Singaporean family drama produced and telecast on MediaCorp Channel 8. The drama began production in November 2014. The series ran from 9 April to 6 May 2015. The show aired at 9pm on weekdays and had ...
and The Dream Makers ll clinched the ''Top Rated Drama'' and ''Best Drama Serial'' awards respectively at the
Star Awards 2016
Star Awards 2016 (also SA2016, Chinese: 红星大奖2016) is a double television award ceremony which is held in Singapore. It is part of the annual Star Awards organised by Mediacorp for free-to-air channels Channels 8 and U.
This was the firs ...
ceremony held on 24 April 2016.
Personal life
Often nicknamed ''Ling'' by relatives, Huang has one older sister and one younger brother. She studied at
Mayflower Primary School
Ang Mo Kio is a planning area and residential town situated in the North-East of Singapore. Located approximately north of the Downtown Core district, Ang Mo Kio is the 3rd most populated planning area in the North-East Region and ranks 8th i ...
and
Mayflower Secondary School
Mayflower Secondary School is a co-educational government secondary school in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore founded in 1981.
History
Mayflower Secondary School began in 1981 with Wan Hussein as the pioneering principal. On 15 July 1983, the school was ...
, where she developed a keen interest in
oratorical
Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
and storytelling contests. She then completed her
GCE Advanced Level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
examinations at
Ang Mo Kio Secondary School
Ang Mo Kio Secondary School (AMKSS) is a co-educational government secondary school in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore, offering education for Secondary 1 to Secondary 5. Students at AMKSS are known as AMKsians.
History
The school was the first school to ...
(Pre-U Centre).
In 1996, Huang married Adrian Quek, a Senior Assistant Commissioner of the
Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human, wea ...
, after dating him for two years. The couple have a son born on 10 March 2000. On 30 July 2007, Huang announced that she was two months pregnant with her second child, a girl due in March 2008. On 6 March 2008, Huang gave birth to her second child, one day before her own birthday at
Thomson Medical Centre
Thomson Medical Centre Limited ( Abbreviation: TMC) is a 190-bed private hospital located at Thomson Road in Singapore. The hospital specialises in gynaecology and in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Thomson Medical Centre runs a 24-hour outpatient fa ...
. The birth was described by Huang as extremely smooth.
On 9 February 2009, Huang's father died due to a
viral infection
A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells.
Structural Characteristics
Basic structural characteristics, s ...
at the age of 67.
On 29 September 2009, during the wedding ceremony of MediaCorp artistes
Fann Wong
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, body_discovered =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinat ...
and
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
where she was one of the invited guests, Huang told reporters she was two-and-a-half months pregnant with her third child. The pregnancy was unplanned and the baby is expected to be born in April 2010. In February 2010, Huang commented that her third pregnancy was a tough one when she was interviewed by ''
The New Paper
''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper in tabloid form. It was originally published as a "noon paper", but since 2016 has been published daily as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards.
History
First launched on 26 July 1988, ...
''. She had an extreme case of severe morning sickness where she had to take medication to prevent herself from throwing up in the first trimester. Huang also feels more tired compared to her second pregnancy mainly because taking care of Janessa (her second child) takes up a lot of her energy. She gave birth to her baby girl, Janelle, on 29 April 2010.
Huang is the aunt of Singapore National fencing athlete,
Jet Ng.
Huang lists
Chen Hanwei
Tan Hung Wee (born 29 August 1969), better known by his Chinese stage name Chen Han Wei (), is a Malaysian actor based in Singapore.
Early life
Chen Han Wei grew up in Kampung Ungku Mohsin, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Adopted since birth, Hanwei ...
,
Zoe Tay
Zoe Tay (; born 10 January 1968) is a Singaporean actress and former model. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Caldecott Hill" and "Ah Jie" (Top Actress) by the local media since the rise of her popularity in the 1990s. She is one of th ...
,
Pan Lingling
Phua Leng Leng (born 25 June 1970), better known as Pan Lingling, is a Singaporean actress.
Career
Pan entered the entertainment industry in 1988 after graduating from the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation's 8th Drama Artiste Training Course ...
and ex-actress Magdeline Chu as her closest friends in the industry. She also revealed she feels most at ease while working with ex-actor
Xie Shaoguang
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, body_discovered =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates ...
because they have very good chemistry on screen, though they seldom keep in contact in private.
Addressed affectionately as ‘'Biren-jie'’ (碧仁姐) by numerous artistes of the younger generation, Huang is also widely seen as a role model to artistes such as
Jeanette Aw
Jeanette Aw Ee-Ping (born 28 June 1979), better known by her stage name Ou Xuan (), is a Singaporean actress, filmmaker, businesswoman and writer. Aw was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006, after which she achieved wide ...
,
Felicia Chin
Felicia Chin Foong Ling (; born 24 October 1984), who was also once known by her Chinese stage name Chen Jing Xuan () from 2008 to 2013 is a Singaporean actress was named as one of the Seven Princesses of Mediacorp in 2006. In 2013, she decide ...
,
Zhang Yao Dong
Zhang Yaodong (, born Teoh Yeow Tong on 17 December 1977) is a Malaysian actor based in Singapore.
Career
Zhang entered the entertainment industry after finishing first runner-up in the Malaysian edition of talent-search contest Star Search ...
,
Zhou Ying and
Ya Hui
Ya Hui (; born Koh Yah Hwee; 18 May 1987) is a Singaporean actress.
Early life
Ya Hui was born on 18 May 1987 in Singapore. She was educated at Manjusri Secondary School and Serangoon Junior College. She joined the Dance Team for her Co-Curri ...
, among many others. Aw described Huang as her favourite local actress and admires her professionalism; Chin respects Huang for her vast experience and acting skills; Zhang and Zhou both regard her as a mentor while Ya Hui lists Huang as one of her inspirations.
Face of Beauty
Filmography
Television
Variety shows
Discography
Compilation album
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Huang Biren fun's forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Biren
Living people
1969 births
Singaporean television personalities
Singaporean television actresses
Singaporean people of Hokkien descent
Singaporean Roman Catholics
20th-century Singaporean actresses
21st-century Singaporean actresses