Michele Samantha Yi Wen Lean ) (born 1 September 1982) known professionally as Michele Lean is a Malaysian television presenter, writer, actress, and commercial talent. From 2007 – 2010 she was a television presenter on

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

(

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

)( 中国中央电视台), hosting

CCTV-9 CCTV-9 is a television channel operated by Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), broadcasting documentaries in Mandarin Chinese. It shared the name with CCTV's English language documentary channel until 31 December 2016, when ...

's Travelogue and Center Stage. She is a

Malaysian citizen Malaysian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Malaysia. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force on 27 August 1957. All persons born in Ma ...

and

Australian permanent resident Australian permanent residents are residents of Australia who hold a permanent visa but are not citizens of Australia. A holder of a permanent visa may remain in Australia indefinitely. A 5-year initial travel facility, which corresponds to the ...

who currently resides in Beijing, China.

Early life

Lean is of

Malaysian Chinese Malaysian Chinese (; Malay: ''Orang Cina Malaysia''), alternatively Chinese Malaysians, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese descent. They form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority constituting 22.4% of the Malaysian po ...

descent with Tahitiian lineage from the maternal side of her family. She is also of

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language * Iban people Given name Cycling * Iban Iriondo (born 1984) * Iban Mayo (born 1977) * Iban Mayoz (born 1981) Football * ...

heritage and grew up in Kuala Lumpur,

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. She is the eldest of three children.

Education

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communications from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, before moving to China in 2007. She trained in acting at the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, t ...

in New York.

Media career

While in university, she was the editor-in-chief of the (now defunct) Melbourne-based lifestyle publication Veeza magazine, a subsidiary of Out4Fame Publications. She has previously interned at the

CNN International Asia Pacific CNN International Asia Pacific is the Asia-Pacific edition of the CNN International pay-TV cable network. The feed originates from Hong Kong and Indonesia. CNN International Asia Pacific officially launched on 1 August 1989. From 1997 until 2 ...

office, the

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

online department and

The Sun (Malaysia) ''The Sun'' (branded as ''theSun'') is Malaysia's first national free daily newspaper in tabloid form. Available from Mondays to Fridays except on public holiday, with a target audience of white-collar workers and urban youth. It is publishe ...

newspaper in Malaysia. In Australia, she is represented by China Arts Management in

. In July 2007, Lean was recruited by

's international-language channel

, to host their flagship travel program,

Travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

and later hosted

's music variety show Center Stage. She also briefly hosted

's daily current affairs program

Culture Express ''Culture Express'' is an English-language program broadcast on CCTV News, a Chinese state television State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or i ...

. Her debut broadcast for

was filmed in Xinjiang. She appeared on 3-episodes of the award-winning ethnic minority series, 'Ethnic Odyssey', the first of

's programs to be released on DVD in China. During the Beijing Olympics, she hosted Episode 1 (Central Beijing) and Episode 4 (East Beijing) on Travelogue's Being Beijing series and mini-series, two special programs highlighting the sights, nightlife and culinary delights of Beijing city for Olympic visitors. The series aired throughout the duration of the Beijing Olympics and is also available on DVD throughout China. In 2011, Lean hosted a special two-episode series in Beijing for

CCTV-10 CCTV-10 is the science and education focused channel of the China Central Television (CCTV) network in the People's Republic of China. Its schedule includes mostly local and imported documentaries, as well as educational studio productions. Pr ...

's 'Outlook English' program, in Mandarin and English. She was later invited by 'Outlook English' to sit on the guest judging panel of

's 'Star of Outlook 2011' competition, an annual nationwide English-speaking contest. She was selected to host 'Carnival China Style 2011', a major annual Chinese New Year gala, in a month-long tour of the United States with the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Association. The tour was received in 8 different cities including,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, San Francisco and Los Angeles. She continues to co-operate with the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Association in hopes of linking the cultures of her home countries (Malaysia and Australia) and China's.

Acting

Lean appears in the director's cut of the 2011 Chinese remake of

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film earned mixed reviews from critics but wa ...

'我知女人心', alongside

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

. The film was directed by Chen Da Ming She is the lead actress in 'Red Room', winner of the 2011 48 Hour Film Contest's Beijing Audience Award, written and directed by Nelson Quan.

Press

She has appeared in numerous media publications in Australia, Malaysia and China. Notably, in January 2008, where she was interviewed for her style in Vogue China. In 2009 & 2010, she appeared in the luxury and society publication Icon Magazine 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 ...

Others

She is an avid scuba diver and is a certified PADI Advanced Open Water diver. Lean is the recipient of The Culinary Trust 2012 -2013 scholarship to Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa.

References

External links

Alive Not Dead profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lean, Michele 1982 births Living people People from Kuala Lumpur Chinese television presenters Chinese women television presenters 21st-century Chinese women writers 21st-century Chinese writers Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of French Polynesian descent 21st-century Malaysian women writers University of Melbourne alumni New York Film Academy alumni People educated at Island School