Celest Chong is a Singaporean actress, singer and former cover model.

Education

Career

Chong began her acting career as a secretary in

Eric Khoo Eric Khoo Kim Hai (born 27 March 1965) is a Singaporean film director and producer who is often credited for the revival of the Singapore modern film industry. Early life and education Born on 27 March 1965 in Singapore, Eric Khoo was the younge ...

's ''Stories about Love'' performing a Turkish inspired belly-dance. She also sang the show's theme song, "Sorry, My Love". Later, she moved on to Channel 5's sitcom, ''Making Love'', in which she played a sultry receptionist named Pamela. She later played the character of a child social worker in the Channel 8 television drama, ''You Light Up My Life''. She sang the theme songs for the new show, which were on Singapore's top music charts for four weeks. In 2001, Chong signed with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

and launched a solo album ''Belong to Myself''. In December 2002, her second album ''Celest'', was released in Singapore,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Chong then left MediaCorp and Singapore for Taiwan to work in the Taiwanese entertainment industry where she released her third album, ''Snowflakes'' in 2004. While in Taiwan, she also acted as a reporter in ''C'est La Vie'', starring the Taiwanese actor Lin Yowei. She recorded her fourth album, ''Little Happiness'', in 2006. In 2007, Chong moved to

Guiyang Guiyang; Mandarin pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively as Kweiyang is the capital of Guizhou, Guizhou province in China. It is centrally located within the province, on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, eastern part of the Yun ...

in China to film ''Acalea Blossoms''. Two years later, she again moved back Singapore because of a family emergency. In 2021, Chong acted as Parmoona Cash in the short film ''Moore’s Void''. Her role won her the Best Actress at the inaugural Great Canadian Sci-Fi Film Festival in the same year. Chong has appeared on dozens of magazine covers including ''

Her World ''Her World'' is a monthly English-language magazine published in Singapore targeted at the female professionals reading market. It is also the first English-language women's magazine to be published in Singapore. History The magazine was publi ...

'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'', ''Citta Bella'' and '' FHM''. She has modelled around the world for various print advertisements. She was voted one of the Top 100 most beautiful women in the world by ''FHM'' and The Sexiest Woman in Singapore by International Media with her five Ss - Sunshine Sweet, Smile, Sexy & Song. She was also voted No.1 in the Singapore Most Sexy Women's Survey on ''Citta Bella''.

Personal life

Chong initially moved to Canada in 2012 with her unknown Canadian husband. They had since divorced in 2021. In an interview with ''

Shin Min Daily News ''Shin Min Daily News'' () is a Singapore Chinese-language afternoon newspaper published by SPH Media. The newspaper was founded on 18 March 1967, by Singapore businessman Liang Runzhi (梁潤之) and Hong Kong writer Louis Cha as an offshoot ...

'' on 23 April 2023, Chong revealed that she had been making plans to permanently move back to Singapore in mid-2023, to take care of her elderly relatives. Chong also announced that she would be using the stage name "Celest 斯畾" (Sī Léi) for her future activities, explaining that her birth name '"Celest Chong Zhang Yu Hua" is "too long and awkward". In October 2023, Chong reverted to using her Chinese birth name 张玉华 (Zhāng Yùhuá), citing familiarity reasons.

Filmography

Television series

Film

Discography

Chong's former singing career included being the lead singer in the

all-female band An all-female band is a musical ensemble, musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universa ...

Jungk, produced by

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

in 1998. She also sang "Voice of an Angel" for McLaren. On National Day she sang "Stand Up for Singapore". She was also the lead singer for a song called "Earth Song" regarding environmental awareness. For the film ''Stories About Love'', she sang the title track "Sorry My Love". For the drama series ''You Light Up My Life'', she sang the theme song "Distance" which was No. 1 on the Yes 933 Pop Charts. Chong was voted No. 1 for Most Captivating Voice on

Singapore Press Holdings Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH) was one of Singapore's two state media companies, which published ''The Straits Times'', numerous other newspapers and operated radio, television and digital media. In 2021, the media division was spun ...

, Asiaone.com. After a twelve-year absence from music, Chong released her first English solo single "I Got Him" on 31 August 2018, a heavy reggae-influenced upbeat song written by herself and Omar Martinez. She released a beautiful ballad titled "Masterpiece" on 14 February 2019.

Studio albums

* ''Belong To Myself'' (2001) * ''Celest'' (2002) * ''Snow Flakes'' (2004) * ''Little Happiness'' (2006)

Singles

* "Earth Song" (2000) * "I Got Him" (2018) * "Masterpiece" (2019) * "选择" * "红兰花" * "隐藏"

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Celest 21st-century Singaporean actresses 21st-century Singaporean women singers Living people National University of Singapore alumni Singaporean film actresses Singaporean Mandopop singers Singaporean people of Teochew descent Singaporean television actresses Year of birth missing (living people)