Celest Chong
Encyclopedia
Celest Chong is an actress and singer,as well as former cover model.
Celest Chong is the youngest child of four other daughters. Celest’s mother was from an orchid flower family and her dad was a blacksmith. She started working at the age of twelve at a bookstore, packing boxes.
Celest won her first singing competition at the age of eight at her school, singing Nobody’s Child. Ever since she fell in love with singing, becoming a wedding singer with a pianist.
She wrote her first song at age eleven about a Chow Yun-fat
movie that had touched her deeply.
Celest started stage acting when she was thirteen and was President of her school’s drama club, which she had founded. She acted, wrote and directed some of the plays she did at school.
Before post-secondary
school, Celest volunteered to help and tutor disabled children through an organization called Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore
Celest went on to university at the National University of Singapore
, majoring in English and Economics.
at the age of fourteen and began her career as a model. Later she joined Malcolm McLaren's now defunct girl-band, Jungk.
Celest began her acting as a secretary in Eric Khoo
's Stories about Love performing a Turkish inspired belly-dance. She also sang the show’s theme song
, Sorry, My Love. Later she moved on to Channel 5's sitcom, Making Love, where she played a sultry receptionist named Pamela.
Celest also started acting when she played the character of a child social work
er in the MediaCorp
Channel 8
TV drama series, You Light Up My Life
. She sang the theme songs for the new show, which ended up on Singapore's top music charts
for four weeks.
Celest then sign with Universal Music to record her debut solo album
in 2001, Belong to Myself. Celest found the show meaningful and chose to continue with it rather than going back to New York to sign with an indie music label
. After three months on Channel 8, Celest was voted No. 3 for Most Ideal Female Artiste on Mediaworks TV Station
.
In December 2002, her self-titled second album was released in Singapore, Taiwan, China
, Hong Kong
, and Malaysia.
In 2005, Celest left MediaCorp and Singapore for Taiwan for a stint in the Taiwanese entertainment
industry where she released her third album, Snowflakes. While in Taiwan, she also acted as a reporter in C’est La Vie starring Taiwanese actor Lin Youwei. After staying for one and a half year in Taiwan, she moved to Guiyang, China to film Acalea Blossoms in 2009. While in China she recorded her fourth album, Little Happiness in 2007. After two years in China, Celest moved back to Singapore due to a family emergency.
Celest has appeared on dozens of magazine covers including Her World
, Vogue, Elle, Citta Bella, FHM, etc. She has modeled around the world for many different print advertisements.
Celest was voted as one of the Top 100 most beautiful women in the world by FHM and The Sexiest Woman in Singapore by International Media with her 5 S's-Sunshine Sweet, Smile, Sexy & Song… She was also voted No. 1 for the Singapore Most Sexy Women’s Survey on Citta Bella.
‘Jungk’ produced by Malcom McLaren. She also sang ‘Voice of an Angel’ for Malcom McLaren.
On National Day
she sang ‘Stand Up for Singapore’. She was also the lead singer for a song called ‘Earth Song’ regarding environmental awareness. For the movie ‘Stories About Love’ she sang the title track
‘Sorry My Love’. For the drama series ‘You Light Up My Life’ she sang the theme song ‘Distance’ and landed it as the No. 1 hit song on ‘Yes 933 Pop Charts’.
Celest was voted No. 1 for Most Captivating Voice on Singapore Press Holdings
, Asiaone.com.
Albums:
Biography
Early lifeCelest Chong is the youngest child of four other daughters. Celest’s mother was from an orchid flower family and her dad was a blacksmith. She started working at the age of twelve at a bookstore, packing boxes.
Celest won her first singing competition at the age of eight at her school, singing Nobody’s Child. Ever since she fell in love with singing, becoming a wedding singer with a pianist.
She wrote her first song at age eleven about a Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
movie that had touched her deeply.
Celest started stage acting when she was thirteen and was President of her school’s drama club, which she had founded. She acted, wrote and directed some of the plays she did at school.
Before post-secondary
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
school, Celest volunteered to help and tutor disabled children through an organization called Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore
Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore
The Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore , previously known as the Singapore Association for Retarded Children, is a voluntary welfare organisation catering to the needs of the intellectually disabled in Singapore...
Celest went on to university at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
, majoring in English and Economics.
Career
Celest was spotted by a talent scoutA&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
at the age of fourteen and began her career as a model. Later she joined Malcolm McLaren's now defunct girl-band, Jungk.
Celest began her acting as a secretary in Eric Khoo
Eric Khoo
Eric Khoo is a film director from Singapore. He was introduced to the world of cinema at a very early age. He was educated at United World College of South East Asia before attending City Art Institute in Sydney, Australia where he pursued cinematography...
's Stories about Love performing a Turkish inspired belly-dance. She also sang the show’s theme song
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
, Sorry, My Love. Later she moved on to Channel 5's sitcom, Making Love, where she played a sultry receptionist named Pamela.
Celest also started acting when she played the character of a child social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
er in the MediaCorp
MediaCorp
Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....
Channel 8
Channel 8
Channel 8, as a television channel, may refer to*MediaCorp Channel 8, Singapore*TVB8*Channel 8 Australia, a now defunct erotic TV channel*Canal 8 de Tucumán, a television station in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina...
TV drama series, You Light Up My Life
You Light Up My Life
You Light Up My Life is a 1977 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Joseph Brooks. The picture stars Didi Conn, Stephen Nathan and Michael Zaslow, and follows a girl named Laurie , who wants to be a singer. Soon, she finds herself pressed by young friends to sing and her father, who...
. She sang the theme songs for the new show, which ended up on Singapore's top music charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
for four weeks.
Celest then sign with Universal Music to record her debut solo album
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
in 2001, Belong to Myself. Celest found the show meaningful and chose to continue with it rather than going back to New York to sign with an indie music label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. After three months on Channel 8, Celest was voted No. 3 for Most Ideal Female Artiste on Mediaworks TV Station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
.
In December 2002, her self-titled second album was released in Singapore, Taiwan, China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Malaysia.
In 2005, Celest left MediaCorp and Singapore for Taiwan for a stint in the Taiwanese entertainment
Media in Taiwan
The media in Taiwan is considered to be one of the freest and most competitive in Asia. Cable TV usage is high and there is also a wide selection of newspapers available covering most political viewpoints.-Cable television:...
industry where she released her third album, Snowflakes. While in Taiwan, she also acted as a reporter in C’est La Vie starring Taiwanese actor Lin Youwei. After staying for one and a half year in Taiwan, she moved to Guiyang, China to film Acalea Blossoms in 2009. While in China she recorded her fourth album, Little Happiness in 2007. After two years in China, Celest moved back to Singapore due to a family emergency.
Celest has appeared on dozens of magazine covers including Her World
Her World
Her World is a monthly English-language magazine published in Singapore targeted at the female professionals reading market. It is also the first English-language women magazine to be published in Malaysia and Singapore. The magazine was published since July 1960...
, Vogue, Elle, Citta Bella, FHM, etc. She has modeled around the world for many different print advertisements.
Celest was voted as one of the Top 100 most beautiful women in the world by FHM and The Sexiest Woman in Singapore by International Media with her 5 S's-Sunshine Sweet, Smile, Sexy & Song… She was also voted No. 1 for the Singapore Most Sexy Women’s Survey on Citta Bella.
Filmography
| Dui Juan Hua Kai (2007): (China) - Leading Lady & Soundtrack Stories About Love (2002): (Singapore) - Guest Appearance & Soundtrack |
Your Hand in Mine (2009–2010): (Singapore-[MCS]Channel 8) - Supporting Actress Red Thread (2009): (Singapore-[MCS]Channel 5) - Leading Lady Crime Busters x 2 (2008): (Singapore-[MCS]Channel 8) - Guest Appearance Love Young Man (2006): Main Actress (Asia) - Leading Lady Zero (2004): Main Actress (Singapore) - Leading Lady Proud Of Twins (The Invincible Duo) (2004): (Asia) - Guest Appearance Hi-Fly (2004): Main Actress (Asia) - Leading Lady Together Whenever (2003): Main Actress (China & Singapore): with China Actor Hu Bing - Leading Lady Feel 100% (2002): (Hong Kong) - Guest Appearance All’s Well, Ends Well (2001): (Hong Kong- Aisatvro) -Leading Lady You Light Up My Life (2001): Main Actress (Singapore): rated No. 1 by audience - Leading Lady Making Love (2000) Sitcom: (Singapore-[MCS]Channel 5) - Supporting Actress |
Discography
Celest’s former singing career includes being the Lead Singer in an All Girl BandAll-women band
An all-female band is a musical group composed of female musicians exclusively. A distinction is made here with a girl group, in which the members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed.-1920s-1940s:In the Jazz Age and during the 1930s, "all-girl" bands such as...
‘Jungk’ produced by Malcom McLaren. She also sang ‘Voice of an Angel’ for Malcom McLaren.
On National Day
National Day
The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the date of independence, of becoming republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler . Often the day is not called "National Day"...
she sang ‘Stand Up for Singapore’. She was also the lead singer for a song called ‘Earth Song’ regarding environmental awareness. For the movie ‘Stories About Love’ she sang the title track
Title track
Title track may refer to:*Title track, a recorded song having the same name as the album or movie it comes from*Title Track, a song on the album The Stage Names*Title Track, a song on the album We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes...
‘Sorry My Love’. For the drama series ‘You Light Up My Life’ she sang the theme song ‘Distance’ and landed it as the No. 1 hit song on ‘Yes 933 Pop Charts’.
Celest was voted No. 1 for Most Captivating Voice on Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings Limited is a media organisation in Singapore with businesses in print, Internet and new media, television and radio, outdoor media, and property. SPH has over 4,000 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including correspondents operating around...
, Asiaone.com.
Albums:
| Little Happiness (2006) Snow Flakes (2004) Celest (2002) Belong To Myself (2001) |