Jeanette Inc.

Jeanette Aw means business, literally. From being an accomplished actress, she has branched out into successful new ventures, with yet another in the pipeline. We catch up with the multi hyphenate on what drives her, and how her comeback from a hiatus is leaving her busier than ever.

- ADORA WONG

Besides being a celebrated actress, Jeanette Aw is also the founder of production company Picturesque Films, a screenwriter, a director, a baker, a painter, and a published author. And all of her ventures have met with some measure of success: She’s snagged 29 local acting awards (a record among local artistes), earned film festival nominations for her screenplay and directorial work for The Last Entry, and held a solo art exhibition in Tokyo. More recently, she made the headlines for her What The Fudge Brownies, which boasts a thousand-long wait list.

Everything she touches turns to gold, and advertisers are quick to recognise that. A quick scroll through her Instagram account with 404,000 followers will show recent partnerships with Lancome and Omega. And she’s an ambassador of the Japanese city of Takasaki, as well as Le Cordon Bleu Dusit in Thailand as a result of her culinary school stint.

And even though this multi-hyphenate took a hiatus from acting to finish her 18-month culinary course, she has no lack of acting opportunities upon her return. She recently wrapped up filming for Quiet Among Disquiet, a China-based drama production. We heard that the director had specifically requested for Jeanette after auditioning more than a hundred actresses. All this just begs the question: How is she so good at everything she does?

YOU ESTABLISHED YOUR PRODUCTION COMPANY PICTURESQUE FILMS IN 2012, AND YOU’RE LOOKING TO OPEN YOUR OWN PATISSERIE. WHY BRANCH OUT?