UrbanWire

(J)acing It

With 2004 marking Jacelyn Tay's ninth year in showbiz, we are finally seeing more the actress in other areas. A travelogue and new book are slated in coming months for Caldecott Hill's "icy queen", but UrbanWire is pleased to leave the encounter without any frostbite.

By Mylene Tong • UrbanWire
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You know her as the university student who won the 1995 Star Search competition despite having an eye infection (she eventually chose acting over completing her arts and social science degree), the actress who *gasp!* was proclaimed bankrupt (due to losses in stock investments in 2000), and the A-lister who does not generate as much gossip or controversy as Fann Wong, Zoe Tay or even Ann Kok. Yes, that's Jacelyn Tay for you. The icy, cool, collected and serious celebrity, who may not attract as much coverage as her colleagues in MediaCorp TV.

However, she is very prolific among the A-list. Unlike her counterparts from Mediacorp, Zoe (who does 1 drama per year), and Fann (who will probably be shooting at least 1 movie a year), Jacelyn has been working non stop, churning out 1 drama serial after another, and was best remembered for

her period roles like He Xian Gu in The Legend of The 8 Immortals, the androgynous Dong Fang Bu Bai in The Legendary Swordsman throughout her 9 years in this business. Last year, she also won accolades for portraying a tomboy, Hu Dan Chun in The Wing of Desire. But for now, she doesn't want to talk about approaching her 10th year in showbiz next year, Jacelyn cheekily tells this
reporter to "Talk about the 9th year first!"

Once upon a Tay
Health freak through and through
I believe in Feng Shui
Sitcom dreams
Around the world in Jacelyn's way

Once upon a Tay
Professing that she doesn't feel that it's been 9 years since her Star Search win, Jacelyn reveals that there are many other things she has yet to have tried doing. Hence, she feels that she has "a lot to look forward to in the next few years". Fans would certainly love to see more of her, in other arenas such as singing, hosting or endorsing more products.

Her Star Search peers have moved on to do different things. Phyllis Quek breaking into the Asian market by acting in Taiwanese dramas and starring alongside Heavenly King Aaron Kwok in the movie 2000 AD, while Ix Shen (the male winner) and Lina Ng have defected to Mediaworks, Jacelyn, in contrast, has been pretty much the same, except having risen up the ranks. Quietly concentrating on her career on Channel 8, the 1.7m tall beauty hardly made any headlines save for the news of her breakup with fellow artiste Terence Cao and her bankruptcy in 2000.

But things are about to change, from being the face of slimming centre Jean Yip, to sharing the same float with international movie star and Kung Fu extraordinaire Jackie Chan in this year's Chingay procession and a new book slated for a April release, Jacelyn is now set to assume her place as an Ah Jie in the audiences' hearts. [^top]

Health freak through and through
If Jacelyn is hoping to finally set a precedent for her fellow Mediacorp colleagues, her book on beauty and slimming might just be it. Slated for an April release, one can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with her Jean Yip endorsements. However, Jacelyn said that this idea of putting together beauty and health secrets, including a section of what she and other celebrities do to slim down in a book was conceived a few years back. But she only started thinking about it seriously last year. The svelte 29-year-old discloses her search for slimming methods and keeping fit has been an ongoing one, ever since she entered showbiz.

Her passion towards slimming can be traced in an interview with 8Days last June where she said, "Once you've gotten used to my diet, you can't even finish one plate of char kway teow. You wouldn't want to". Such tenacity produced results, and Jacelyn turned heads in a low cut, cleavage showing orange Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) dress and pink see-through number when she was named 1 of the top 10 most popular female artistes at last year's Star Awards . And it wasn't only the guys who were staring; Matilda Tao, Taiwan's top variety show host, with her less endowed figure, also gawked at Jacelyn's fabulous figure in the same event back in 2001 when they met.

While one might wonder about the risks of being underweight, one thing's for sure, Jacelyn is going places with her new sexier image. [^top]

I believe in Feng Shui
For a modern woman of the 21st century, Jacelyn is surprisingly, into Feng Shui and horoscopes. Calling her just a believer would be an understatement. After getting Jacelyn to comment on her fortune prediction for the year of the monkey, she talked at length about the "animals" in the Chinese horoscope that are touted to have a bountiful 2004. If you want to know, they are the rabbit (which she is), snake and ox.

Despite her keen interest in geomancy, Jacelyn has not reached the stage of being a fanatic. She explains that carrying or wearing stones isn't a superstitious thing, as they absorb the "vibrations all around" and helps one to retain their "qi" (personal aura). She adds that one can feel that "things are smoother" and have a "peace of mind" upon applying some Feng Shui techniques/elements in his life. A small electrical water fountain (or water feature) can be found in Jacelyn's room. She also attests to the effectiveness of wind chimes. Now, fans of Jacelyn, we're sure you know what to get her for her birthday this year. [^top]

Sitcom dreams
Without a doubt, Jacelyn is one of the effectively bilingual artistes at Mediacorp; she is articulate and does not possess any accent that would set your teeth on edge. Why haven't we seen her in any Channel 5 productions then? Even Mark Lee has crossed over in a reformed Ah Beng role in Police and Thief and prior to that, Sharon Au paired up with Gurmit Singh in Br4thers. Well, Jacelyn told UrbanWire that she is busy with Channel 8 dramas but she does not rule out the possibility of crossing over to Channel 5 to do an English production. Visibly amused when she said this, Jacelyn grinned widely and let slip that she would like to be involved in a sitcom. She quips, "I know I don't look like [it], but I can be [funny]". She lists Gurmit as a partner she hopes to work with, foreseeing that she'll "just enjoy life and laugh" when working with him.

With an impish twinkle in her eye, Jacelyn is convinced that even her fans are clueless about her comedic abilities, "They don't know how funny I am." and although she may not show it at normal times, she can be quite "gila" (crazy in Malay).

Best Comedy Performance by an Actress award in the Asian Television Awards, anybody?[^top]

Around the world in Jacelyn's way
If you can't wait for Jacelyn to display her madcap ways on a sitcom, stay glued for her upcoming travelogue programme. She was working on Valentine's Day instead of clocking in the timesheet this time for a Channel 8 drama. On the contrary, Jacelyn joined the ranks of Zoe in Wonders Of The World and Fann in Fann Adventure to have her very own travelogue series.

Jacelyn will uncover unconventional and ulu (isolated) places that tourists don't know about in South Africa, Nepal and Japan. This trip will see Jacelyn bypassing the commercialised tourist attractions to spend time "explore[ing] the beauty of nature".

She also gave us a taste of how the celebrity life works when we asked her what her preparations were for this trip. "Nothing! I'm just going to wear jeans and something easy to move around [with]" as she professed that she "[doesn't] really know what is going to happen". Well, we're sure Jacelyn is more than ready to conquer those countries if she is really the seasoned traveller she claims to be. Still, she managed to pass the test of quick packing, claming to finish in less than half an hour.

Like Jacelyn said, "there is a lot to look forward to in the next few years," and we are sure fans don't have to wait for so long. With a new book, a new travel programme and flighty thoughts of doing a comedy, there's certainly enough to talk about this year, Jacelyn. [^top]