Fann Wong is a Singapore-born actress-singer-model of Chinese origin. Born on January 27, 1971, she derived her artiste name from a combination of her father's surname, Fann, and her mother's surname, Wong.
With GCE 'A' Levels and a diploma in fashion merchandising from La Salle International Academy, Fann Wong entered the showbiz industry at the age of 16. She was crowned champion of a beauty contest in Singapore and stayed in the modeling circuit between 1990 and 1994, occasionally flying to Taiwan to film product endorsements.
In 1994, she was discovered in Taipei by a Singapore TV producer who invited her back to Singapore to act in a drama serial, Dreams Come True. Fann Wong's natural acting talent was discovered in the show, and this led to her career transition as a television actress based in Singapore.
A slew of television projects soon after, including her third and award-winning serial, Chronicle of Life, raised her profile, status, and popularity such that she became a top name in Singapore by 1995.
In 1996, Fann Wong released her first solo Mandarin pop album, 'Fanntasy', in Singapore. However, due to a contractual problem between MediaCorp and a Taiwanese artiste management agency, Fann Wong was suspended for half a year. During that period, she attended vocal and drama classes in Shanghai.
After her suspension period, Fann Wong went over to Taiwan and released a repackaged version of her album, titled 'I Live Alone', which was an immense success in the Taiwanese music market.
In 1998, Fann Wong's gongfu TV drama, The Return of the Condor Heroes, was a runaway success in Taiwan and China, immensely increasing her popularity in the region and certifying her as a credible actress in the Chinese-speaking world.
At the same time, the release of her very commercially successful second solo album, 'Shopping', won her many fans in the region, including the award-winning Hongkong director, Derek Tung-Sing Yee, who noticed her 'Shopping' MTV on Channel V in Hongkong and invited her to star in her first big-screen Hongkong movie, an art film titled The Truth About Jane and Sam.
Her breakthrough role as a delinquent teenager who finally made good introduced her to Hongkong movie audiences and won her a prestigious nomination for the Best New Performer Award at the Hongkong Film Awards.
The success of the movie led to another Hongkong feminist movie titled When I Fall in Love... with Both, in which Fann Wong had a starring role opposite Michelle Reis and Teresa Lee. In these two years, she also found time to continue her prolific singing career, releasing soundtracks to all her movies and TV serials as well as dueting with the British boyband, 911, in the English classic, 'Private Number'.
In 2000, Fann Wong became the first Singaporean to stage a large-scale concert, 'My Story - Fann Wong In Concert', at Singapore's Indoor Stadium. It was a major media focus and a sell-out gig.
Later in the year, Fann Wong returned to her modeling origins again when she was invited to Hongkong to do an artistic pictorial helmed by renowned award-winning Hongkong conceptualists William Chang and Wing Shya. The pictorial, titled 'In +he Mood', found a ready market in Asia.
It was noticed that made-in-Singapore serials like Out to Win and Looking for Stars won Fann Wong the most critical acclaim and viewership ratings, so in 2001, her focus switched back to being a television actress, with 4 drama serials and one Taiwanese web movie in 2001 alone.
She worked with renowned Taiwanese producer Pei-Pei Yang in a blockbuster Taiwanese serial, Legend of the Snake Spirits, which showcased her versatility in acting. This serial raised Fann Wong's profile and popularity in Taiwan and later in the year, Fann Wong was invited as a guest presenter for Taiwan's most prestigious movie award event, the Golden Horse Awards.
In early 2002, she also appeared in the Ka-Fai Wai-produced China-Singapore collaboration, Brotherhood. During this period, Fann Wong diversified her career portfolio by actively hosting travelogue shows such as Travel Hunt: Japan and Fann Adventure.
In 2003, she appeared alongside international stars Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson on cinema screens worldwide in her first Hollywood film, Shanghai Knights, which gave her career an international boost.
