Age is just a number

What does your age mean to you? Is it a mere numeral, a yearly reminder of the passage of time, or a guide to how well you ought to live your life? Her World speaks to Singapore women from their 20s to 80s, and delves into how they feel about age and ageing. These are their stories.

- CHELSIA TAN, LETTY SEAH, LENA KAMARUDIN, ADORA WONG & ZARA ZHUANG

TAN KHENG HUA 59 ACTRESS & PRODUCER

At 59, actress Tan Kheng Hua is at one of most exciting moments of her life. Not only has she successfully landed new roles in Hollywood, her daughter, Lim Shi-An, has also blossomed into a talented young creative. Here, Kheng Hua discusses the life lessons she's learnt, her relationship with Shi-An, as well as her thoughts about ageing gracefully.

It's like a horse gave birth to a deer! jokes Tan Kheng Hua as she peers at the laptop where images of her daughter, Lim Shi-An, ethereal and enigmatic in a dusky pink Prada dress, are flashing across the screen during our photoshoot for this story.

As Shi-An - her daughter with ex-husband, actor Lim Yu-Bengposes with her head turned ever so slightly towards the camera, Kheng Hua beams with pride.

The petite and slender 59-yearold exclaims with infectious enthusiasm: She looks like an elf! We are a family of elves, as opposed to orcs, humans, dwarfs or hobbits. It's been over 24 years since the mother-and-daughter duo appeared together in the pages of Her World. Speaking animatedly with us on set in an airy studio tucked away in Geylang, Kheng Hua recalls an article that she wrote for the magazine back then, which featured an accompanying spread of both her and Shi-An.

We shot these beautiful photographs of me and Shi-An as a little baby. I was wearing this gorgeous gown, and I was holding this baby, and then she peed on the set because we had to take off her diaper! she laughs, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

“I also remember that as I was writing that article, I cried, because you know how you get involved with your emotions.”