Fiona Xie

Fiona Xie (謝婉諭, Xie Wanyu; born 24 January 1982) is a Singaporean actress and host who was previously contracted under MediaCorp as a full-time artiste. She worked on both the English-language Channel 5 and Chinese-language Channel 8 and was once popularly referred to as the head princess of MediaCorp's first "7 Princesses" (七公主) because of her immense popularity in the industry with Rui En , Jeanette Aw , Felicia Chin , Jesseca Liu , Joanne Peh & Dawn Yeoh. She also endorsed products such as Marigold's fruit juices and OSIM's massage devices.

Xie left the entertainment industry in 2009, citing personal reasons. Thereafter she travelled extensively across the globe, living in cities including Hong Kong, New York City, Shanghai and most recently Tokyo. ^[1]

After a 7 year hiatus, she returned to Singapore to film Left Behind, a MediaCorp series slated to be released in August 2016. Xie plays a psychiatrist in her new drama, which she says the role's tribulations is a personal reflection of her own life in recent years. ^[2] In various media interviews, Xie was cited as saying she wanted to spend more time with her family, especially with one of her cousins who was critically ill, as one major reason for returning to Singapore. ^[3]

Career

Xie was spotted by a talent scout at the age of 15 while was studying in St. Hilda's Secondary School. She modelled for numerous print and television commercials in Singapore and Hong Kong before joining MediaCorp as a full-time artiste in 2001.

Xie made her acting debut as a nurse in the Channel 5 drama Growing Up. Her convincing acting landed her one of her most recognisable roles in the Channel 8 sitcom My Genie. She won "Best Newcomer" at the Star Awards 2001 after joining the entertainment industry for just over a year.

Of late, Xie has become known for her talents as a bilingual variety show hostess, in particular of the long-running series City Beat. She has since hosted other variety shows, such as the photography-based Say Cheez for Channel 8, and introducing celebrities' favourite hawker foods in Coffee Talk and Hawker Woks for Channel 5. She also hosted the travel show Weekend Escapade together with Ben Yeo.

In 2004, Xie ran with Jeanette Aw, Joyce Chao and Felicia Chin, dressed only in bikinis, along Orchard Road for the Channel 8 drama The Champion.

In 2005, Xie was voted as sexiest woman for the "FHM Top 100 Sexiest Women Singapore" list, even though she had never posed for FHM before. She continued to be ranked among the Top 10 for the FHM lists in the next 3 years.

In 2006, Xie attempted her first villain role as a spoilt diamond heiress in the Channel 8 drama An Enchanted Life, starring alongside Yvonne Lim and Pierre Png. In December 2006, Xie was identified as one of the most promising young actresses in the Singapore entertainment industry by leading local entertainment magazine I-Weekly and was hence labelled as one of the "Seven Princesses".

In 2007, Xie took part in the second season of the Singapore edition of Deal or No Deal, where her winnings would go to a selected charity organisation. The episode aired on 22 November 2007.

Xie appeared in her second film project, Rule #1, directed by Kelvin Tong. The film also starred Hong Kong actors Ekin Cheng and Shawn Yue, and debuted in Singapore and Malaysia on 13 March 2008.

Xie starred in a MediaCorp Channel 8 drama Just in Singapore, which was telecast in March 2008. She played a kind-hearted tomboy who sells chicken wings at bazaars and sings getai during the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Xie starred in a Channel 5 sitcom titled Calefare, which starred Gurmit Singh, Benjamin Heng, Mastura Ahmad and Vadi PVSS. She played a calafare (a Singaporean slang term for a background actor or extra) named Joleen Wee, a wannabe singer who actually cannot sing, and often spouts phrases like "eyes wide open", "laugh out loud" and so on.

Xie was originally slated to star in MediaCorp Channel 8's 2009 blockbuster drama, Together. She would have played the second female lead role, one of the meatiest roles that she would have ever received in her career. It was announced on 15 July 2009 that she pulled out of the series due to private matters. This move hogged the news headlines once again, which was perceived to be a sudden disappearance and publicity stunt. Although the exact reason behind her pulling out of the series was never revealed, several colleagues hinted to the media that Xie had expressed discomfort in taking up this role before filming commenced. Eelyn Kok eventually replaced Xie in Together.

Xie went on to play the lead role in her third film Fist of Dragon, also a Singaporean production.

On 2 September 2009, Channel News Asia carried news reports that Xie had quit MediaCorp,^[4] but this was later disputed by another news article.^[5]

She then hosted a variety show, Lodge with Me (我行我宿), which aired in May 2010, alongside Felicia Chin, Rui En, and Zhou Ying.

On 6 December 2009, Xie was the main feature for top-selling magazines 8 Days and I-weekly. In the interview, she confirmed that she was indeed leaving MediaCorp and revealed her reasons. In an interview with MediaCorp's artiste management unit, the TV station expressed optimism in working with Xie in the future.

Accolades

Filmography

Films

Drama

Variety

External links

• Fiona Xie at the Internet Movie Database
• Fiona Xie's Official Facebook Page

References

1. ↑ "Fiona Xie on her return to local TV". TODAY Online. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
2. ↑ "'I was so afraid of coming back': Actress Fiona Xie". Channel NewsAsia. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
3. ↑ "A bittersweet return for Fiona Xie". The Straits Times. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
4. ↑ "Princess Fiona leaves the Hill". Channel NewsAsia. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
5. ↑ Chouyen, Chen (3 September 2009). "谢宛谕没辞职　新节目考虑用她当主持 (Translation: Fiona Xie did not quit. New show is considering to use her as host.)" (in Chinese). Lianhe Wanbao (United Nightly). Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
6. ↑ "Fiona Xie to make acting comeback in August". Toggle. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.