When Hannah Quinlivan converses in Mandarin, there is an unbridled spontaneity to her disposition. Giggles cleave her sentences, a wrinkle of the nose punctuates, and a cheeky pout tells you to take her quip in jest. Her lively Aussie lilt by comparison, seems to keep these idiosyncrasies under wraps.
It’s a natural fragmentation that psychologists have observed amongst multi-lingual individuals, and such code-switching is in the blood for Quinlivan. The 26-year-old actress grew up in Taiwan, is Chinese-Korean on her maternal side, while her paternal lineage is Australian. “I was quite different from the other kids around me at that time, but it was actually a special experience,” she says. “There’s the good and the bad; it’s good to be different, yet I do feel like you don’t know where you belong because you’re half Asian and half white. But everyone treated me nicely.”
Her multi-cultural heritage has also christened her with three names — the Chinese audience refers to Quinlivan as Kun Ling; she also goes by Jen Wu — and a leg up when it came to her Hollywood crossover last year, after easing into the spotlight with variety shows and supporting roles in local TV dramas back home. She’s the trigger-happy assassin Xia in action flick Skyscraper, an antagonist to its lead Dwayne Johnson who plays the U.S. Marine-turned security-consultant Will Sawyer and speaks of the comfort of being able to embody the role without any language barriers.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2019 من ELLE Singapore.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2019 من ELLE Singapore.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Walking The Walk
MANOLO BLAHNIK remains one of the most covetable names in footwear. Now with more than five decades of history, the brand goes back to its beginnings to celebrate its most timeless silhouettes.
What Dreams May Come
Life as an actress can be an emotional roller coaster. Crazy Rich Asians star CONSTANCE LAU shares the highs, the lows, and everything else in between.
Just A Hint
Conspicuously More Understated Than Their Gem-set Cousins, These Subtle Rainbow-coloured Watches Are No Less Defiant In Their Insistence On Optimism And Style.
A cultural Conversation
With its Made of Makers programme, JAEGER-LECOULTRE has built a community of like-minded creatives who place innovation, craftsmanship and precision at the heart of all they do.
The Inner Lives Of Clothes
Compelling Fashion Doesn't Have To Be Ostentatious Or Overtly Conceptual, But It Does Need A Clear Identity And Character Of Its Own.
Journey to the WEST
Time to slip into some chaps and saddle up. Fashion's biggest brands are taking a turn at the rodeo.
The Mai Effect
Fresh off her cover shoot for ELLE Singapore-draped in head-turning Bvlgari jewels-Davika Hoorne radiates the charm and allure of a woman who's both wildly ambitious and perfectly content in her own skin. Here, the 32-year-old Thai-Belgian star reflects on two decades in the spotlight, and why she's not done dreaming just yet.
in Conversation
Cartier creative director MARIE-LAURE CÉRÈDE delves into the Maison’s haute joaillerie timepieces, while highlighting the importance of creativity and a happy team in her chat with CHARMAINE HO.
SPIRIT OF Samba
ENJOY A RIOTOUS NIGHT OUT WITH YOUR WELL-HEELED FRIENDS AT SUSHISAMBA SINGAPORE. COME FOR THE DRINKS AND STAY FOR THE REVELRYBUT DON'T FORGET TO DRESS THE PART.
OF WOMEN & SINGAPORE
From fashion trends that capture the cultural zeitgeist, to introspective opinion pieces about a life best lived, fashion historian NADYA WANG charts 31 years of ELLE Singapore history through its pages.
