National Treasure

Funny woman, entrepreneur, actress-host and incorrigible foodie: Here’s why the multi-talented Michelle Chong is one of Singapore’s most-beloved figures

- Lisa Twang

Since Michelle Chong became synonymous with the comedic characters she plays on The Noose (mainland Chinese KTV hostess Lulu and Sarong Party Girl Barbarella come to mind), it can be hard to separate the real Michelle from her alter egos. She arrives for our shoot at the st. Regis Singapore’s King Cole suite on a rainy Wednesday, and greets the crew brightly with Barbarella’s signature catchphrase: “Hello every-birdy!”

Michelle is nothing if not candid. Turning 40 this year, she says, feels no different from being 39 – “except I wonder why I still get pimples.” We’re kept entertained as she poses on the couch in her flowing red gown (it’s our National Day issue, after all), hamming it up for the camera by blowing air kisses, pouting and bursting into laughter. “No Lulu, no Barbella!” our photographer Joel implores.

“Oh, I know… you want Lust, Caution,” Michelle replies cheekily, settling into a sexy pose, while her manager snaps photos for her Instagram page (with over 105,000 followers, Michelle is one of the most-followed female celebrities in Singapore).

It’s hard to imagine our local entertainment scene without Michelle, who is undoubtedly one of our most iconic Singaporean talents. Her rise to fame began aptly with talent search Fame awards in 1998, where she emerged a finalist. Effectively bilingual, Michelle went on to host variety programmes and star in both English and Mandarin dramas, such as English Peranakan drama Sayang Sayang, where she won acclaim for playing butcher Beh Li Choo, and Channel 8 drama A Million Treasures. She was also named one of the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes at the 2005 and 2011 Star awards.