Renee Li-Yen Lim (born ) is an Australian
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
,
television presenter and
medical doctor. She is best known for her roles as Constable Jung Lim in ''
East West 101
''East West 101'' was a drama series airing on the SBS network. The series was produced and created by Steven Knapman and Kris Wyld, the team behind other drama series such as '' Wildside'' and ''White Collar Blue''. It ran from 2007–2011, ...
'', Mae in ''
Please Like Me
''Please Like Me'' is an Australian television comedy-drama series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is now available on Ne ...
'' and her recurring role as Vivienne Hart in ''
The Secret Daughter''.
Early life and education
Lim was born in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
to
Chinese-Malaysian parents
who had migrated from Malaysia to Australia in the 1970s. When she was five years old, her parents divorced.
Lim was primarily raised by her single father.
Her mother moved to Malaysia
and remarried, with a
Peranakan
The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...
man. Lim would often travel to Malaysia, where she had family other than her mother, to visit her mother.
Lim's father later also remarried, and had a son with his new wife when she was 12 years old.
Lim graduated as the dux of her high school
Hampton Senior High School.
Few from Lim's high school pursued tertiary studies, and she had initially intended to "be a doctor on weekdays, a lawyer on weekends, an actor on the holidays and a dancer at night".
At 17 years old, Lim moved to
Sydney,
New South Wales
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, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
to commence
medical studies at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
, graduating with a
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 2001.
In 2000, Lim co-directed the
University of New South Wales Medical Revue, ''American Booty'' (an homage to the 1999 film ''
American Beauty''), alongside Keith Lim and Jason Appleby. Also during her university studies, Lim co-authored two academic articles.
Career
Medical career
Lim is a physician, mostly working in part-time, locum posts in
emergency medicine,
geriatrics
Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...
, and
palliative care
Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...
departments,
and a clinical lecturer at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
's Northern Clinical School. She is the Director of Programs at the Pam McLean Centre, an organisation that develops communication training for medical professionals.
Lim considered leaving medical practice altogether to focus on acting; however, she realised that she "love
it", adding that "acting is now my job opposed to my hobby".
Entertainment career
As an actor, Lim made ten guest appearances on the Australian hospital drama ''
All Saints'' as Suzi Lau, and appeared as a regular cast member on
SBS's police drama ''
East West 101
''East West 101'' was a drama series airing on the SBS network. The series was produced and created by Steven Knapman and Kris Wyld, the team behind other drama series such as '' Wildside'' and ''White Collar Blue''. It ran from 2007–2011, ...
'' as Jung Lim. Lim played Mae, the younger Thai girlfriend of Josh's father, in ''
Please Like Me
''Please Like Me'' is an Australian television comedy-drama series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is now available on Ne ...
'', and starred in ''Forget Me Not'' in 2014,
and in ''
The Secret Daughter'',
''Wonderland'' and ''
Pulse
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...
'' in 2016.
As a presenter she has appeared on the
ABC's ''Ask The Doctors'', and on ''Food Investigators'' and ''Destination Flavour''.
Lim creates content for Nay In The Life, a multi-platform project that combines video, theatre and written content centred around well-being and personal development.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Renee
Actresses from Perth, Western Australia
Actresses from Sydney
Australian film actresses
21st-century Australian medical doctors
Australian people of Chinese descent
Australian people of Malaysian descent
Australian television actresses
Australian television presenters
Living people
University of New South Wales Medical School alumni
1970s births
Australian women television presenters
Australian actresses of Asian descent