Sora Ma (born 22 January 1984) is a

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an actress. She was a full-time

Mediacorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state media, state-owned media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the investment arm of the Government of Singapore—it owns and operates television channels, radio, and digital media properties. ...

artiste till 2017. Ma is also a qualified

pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". Pilates uses a combination of around 50 repetitive e ...

instructor and the founder of charity organisation ''Heartworks SG''.

Early life

Ma's parents are divorced and has an older brother. She was mostly brought up by her grandparents in Sungei Petani,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

, Malaysia. Ma studied at Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University College and graduated from

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, specialising in management and marketing. Prior to joining ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

'', she did some modelling work and was as a

financial planner A financial planner or personal financial planner is a qualified financial advisor. Practicing in full service personal finance, they advise clients on investments, insurance, tax, retirement and estate planning. As a general rule, a financial p ...

Career

A former commerce graduate, model and beauty queen, Ma was offered a contract by

MediaCorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state media, state-owned media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the investment arm of the Government of Singapore—it owns and operates television channels, radio, and digital media properties. ...

after reaching the top 5 in '' Star Search 2010''. Ma has a fan club called ''Sorarity''. In 2012, Ma scored her first acting nomination for her role in ''

Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour may also refer to: Film * Love Thy Neighbor (1940 film), ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940 film), an American film * Love Thy Neighbour (1967 film), ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1967 film), a Danish-German comedy fil ...

''. She was nominated at the

Asian Television Awards The Asian Television Awards, founded in 1996, is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, it comprises 56 categories across news, documentaries and curre ...

2014 for her role in '' C.L.I.F. 3''. In October 2014, Ma, with Felicia Chin, open a

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...

-themed cafe, The Mama Shop, in

Chinatown, Singapore Chinatown is a subzone and ethnic enclave located within the Outram, Singapore, Outram district in the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of Singapore. This area encompasses five precincts in Singapore: Kreta Ayer, Ann Siang/Club Street, ...

. The cafe closed in August 2015. In 2017, Ma received her first

Star Awards for Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes The Star Awards for Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes is an award presented annually at the Star Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1994. In 2023, the Most Popular Rising Stars award was introduced for artistes who have been in the ...

nomination and won the award in the same year. On 31 December , Ma announced in an instagram post that she would be leaving Mediacorp. In 2018, Ma set up a production company, Socius Realm. In 2022, Ma joined Singapore media company 8028 Holdings. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the drama ''This Land is Mine'' at the Asia Contents Awards.

Personal life

In June 2021, Ma announced that she is engaged to her boyfriend, only known as 'Mr R', of eight years. She registered her marriage later in October and held a wedding banquet in Singapore on 24 July 2022. In August 2023, chairman of the Singapore Artistes Association,

Marcus Chin Marcus Chin On Kang (born 22 September 1953) is a Singaporean host, actor, comedian, singer, radio DJ, and businessman. Career Chin joined the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation during the 1970s. During the 1990s, he was mainly known for star ...

, revealed that Ma and her charity organisation ''Heartworks SG'' donated to Chin's personal fundraising movement for

getai Getai () refers to boisterous live stage performances typically held during the Ghost Festival in the seventh lunar month and on the birthdays of Chinese deities. These shows typically last from 7.30pm to after 10pm and are commonly organised ...

singer Angie Lau's medical treatment. Chin said that his artiste friends requested to donate anonymously but he decided to list all the donors in a Facebook livestream for transparency and to avoid speculations. In March 2024, Ma announced her pregnancy and her child was conceived through

in vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an ovum, egg is combined with spermatozoon, sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the Ovulation cycle, ovulatory process, then removing ...

. In August, she gave birth to a son, Skye. In December, Ma revealed that her husband 'Mr R' died unexpectedly around June before the birth of their child. Ma became a Singaporean citizen on 22 January 2025.

Filmography

Television series

Films

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Profile
on xin.msn.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Sora Living people Malaysian television actresses Singaporean television actresses Curtin University alumni People from Kedah Malaysian people of Chinese descent Financial planners 21st-century Malaysian actresses 1984 births 21st-century Singaporean actresses Malaysian expatriates in Singapore Pilates instructors Malaysian philanthropists Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards winners