By Elisa Chia, TODAY
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/202781/1/.htmlEvery so often, a determined messenger attempts to dethrone the Queen. The Queen of Caldecott Hill, Zoe Tay, that is.
"Aiyah, that will never stop," the 38-year-old told TODAY last week, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. "I know because I've been in the industry for so long.
They give you the title one day, and the next day, they're waiting for you to fall."
It's been 18 years since the former top model won the first Star Search talent quest in 1988, thus launching her acting career. Today, she is well-established as Singapore's best-loved actress.
Zoe's enormous popularity makes her a hot favourite among casting directors and producers and helps draw high ratings for every drama serial she stars in.
Her midas touch extends beyond television. Magazines that have Zoe on their covers tend to sell like hotcakes. The same goes for the products she endorses.
"When did the media start calling me the Queen? I can't recall. What I do remember is that when they first started, I was, like 'Why call me that?'
"I was so not used to it. I could feel the goosebumps when they called me that. And I've had to work very, very hard to live up to the name."
Over the years, her reign has been challenged by a long list of eager successors-inwaiting.
And whenever the ratings on her small-screen outings dip, critics jump at the chance to wonder openly if her drawing power is on the wane.
More recently, Zoe made headlines for her unscheduled appearance on December's Star Awards, which triggered a number of critical reports in the media.
Some even seized the opportunity to take a broad swipe at the actress, claiming that the roles for her were drying up and that she was using her baby to land commercials.
"In the earlier years, such criticism frustrated me a lot. I mean, how should I address that? They're putting pressure on me and I'm still working so hard - I don't even have time to rest or sleep."
But rest she did, particularly in the past two years when she took on fewer projects.
But she said matter-offactly that it was because she was expecting her first child.
"Am I still the Queen? It doesn't matter, really. If you think it's over, it's over. If you think it's not, it just remains. You can't control such things."
QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS
If Zoe sounded nonchalant in conversation with TODAY, she said the reason is that learned the hard way not to take the criticism to heart.
"There are so many things I've learned over the years. For instance, when a show was not doing well, people would point fingers and compare it to the previous shows I've done. I'd get upset. I'm not the main issue, you know.
"But after some time, I just learned not to take it to heart. The truth is," she said, "You always try to tell people the facts, but sometimes they just don't want to listen."
Then there was the rumour in the early 90s that - "That I was a kept woman?" she interjected good-naturedly before this reporter could finish asking the question.
"I didn't do it. I'm not ashamed. Singapore is so small. If I had really done it, there's no way I could have escaped. And because I'm a public figure, people could have challenged me if I had done it."
Of the rich businessman in question, she said with a chuckle: "I've really never met him. I don't even know what he looks like. "To this day, it's a mystery how that rumour got started. It's so funny. I wished, however, that I owned those things that people said I did."
Like that luxurious apartment she supposedly shared with "him"?
She nodded, saying: "I was living with my mum and dad in an HDB flat for over 10 years. I lived there until I got married. I'm not ashamed of it. That's my parents' house."
Zoe, the daughter of a Lim Chu Kang pig farmer, has been earning a salary since she was a teenager, when she became a model.
A turning point came in 1988 when her father - disapproving of her modelling career - suggested she take part in Star Search.
"He thought an acting career was more stable in terms of income and working hours. He thought, lah - he thought," she said, a mega-watt smile lighting up her face. "I think Xiang Yun and (Huang) Wen Yong portrayed a very good image to him. During that time, they were the ah ge and ah jie. And they were always very well-mannered and got a lot of positive press from the media."
Taking the advice of her father - who died in 1998 - she quietly picked up a registration form. It wasn't until the press reported that she was one of the finalists, however, that her family found out.
"My father's words meant a lot to me Â… But I didn't tell my parents because I had no confidence that I could win. I've always had stage fright. I can't tell a story on stage - I get speechless. Even in modelling, you could ask me to do the catwalk but don't ask me to act. I just couldn't!"
The rest is well-documented history. Zoe shone during the finals and received the top award from then-First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Besides bagging a three-year contract, she also won $100,000 worth of prizes, including a car. She let her father use the car until she earned her driving licence the next year. But that led to her first run-in with the rumour-mongers.
"At that time, my dad always drove me to work. So people would be saying behind my back: 'Eh, Zoe is with an old man'," she said, tossing her head back and laughing.
TALK TO THE HAND
Even with all the gossip that has swirled around her - she remains the only Singapore star to have a pop song named after her, never mind that it poked fun at her - Zoe's approach is to dismiss the talk with a laugh.
"It's not crucial for me to answer it. But sometimes, it's important to the people around you, your family and your closest friends. But all this bad press only made me stronger."
She continued: "Now, when I hear a rumour, especially about an artiste, I don't judge. Because it happened to me before. I was the victim.
"When you rise too fast, there's a lot of pressure and you don't know how to handle it."
She has also stopped reading articles about herself. "I don't read them, especially if they're not true. What for? You argue, no point. You try to explain, you can't do it.
So just don't read it. Ignore it. Why make it a bad day for yourself?"
These days, all eyes are on Zoe's upcoming sitcom The Perfect Wife, which debuts on April 29 on MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It marks her first acting project in almost two years.
Is she worried about its ratings?
She replied matter-of-factly: "It's not that it doesn't matter, but right now, it doesn't work that way any more.
"It doesn't mean who's hot or who's good will definitely get viewers and ratings because TV-watching patterns have changed. There are too many things to distract viewers.
They no longer just watch programmes at the telecast time. They record it or they watch it online.
"It's not fair to judge one's popularity based on ratings."
And of course, Zoe is well aware of the new faces in Singapore show business. Asked to name some actresses who she reckons could go on to enjoy careers as enduring as hers and Xiang Yun's, she quickly replied: "Fiona Xie, Felicia Chin, Jesseca Liu, Dawn Yeoh ..."
"You don't have to go on record to say if you work hard or not. I mean, everyone is working hard. Even Xiang Yun is working very hard. Take my word for it. Everyone wants to do their best in a role and be appreciated."TODAY/ra
