Selena Tan | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Singaporean |
Other names | Chen Meilin |
Education | |
Alma mater | National University of Singapore |
Occupations |
|
Agent | Dream Academy (founder) |
Spouse | John Pok (m. 2005) |
Children | 1 |
Parent(s) | Charles Tan (father) Daisy Lim (mother) |
Musical career | |
Member of | Dim Sum Dollies |
Chinese name | |
Traditional Chinese | 陳美廩 |
Simplified Chinese | 陈美廪 |
Hanyu Pinyin | Chén Měilǐn |
Selena Tan (born 29 July 1971) [1] is a Singaporean executive producer, director, writer, actress, businesswoman and former lawyer. She is best known as one of the cabaret trio, the Dim Sum Dollies. [2] [3] In 2000, Selena founded Dream Academy, which produced a variety of performance shows.
Tan was born in 1971 in Singapore, to army officer Lieutenant Colonel Charles Tan, of the Singapore Armed Forces, and gold broker Daisy Lim. As the eldest of her siblings, she had two brothers and two sisters. She studied at Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, Raffles Junior College and graduated with a law degree from National University of Singapore.
She started acting at age 14 and was taught by the late theatre actress and director Christina Sergeant. [4]
Tan also appeared in school productions and community theatre pieces until her undergraduate years. She also acted in plays and performances while working full-time as a general litigation lawyer. [5]
Tan left the legal profession in 1997 to fully immerse herself full-time in the local arts and entertainment scene. [6]
In 1998, Tan staged her own standup with Selena Exposed! [7] Theatre company Action Theatre subsequently restaged Selena Exposed! for its comedy festival in 1999 and reinterpreted her piece as Broadway Baby Kailan. Dr Low Guat Tin, then a teacher-trainer director with the National Institute of Education (NIE), was so impressed with Selena's performance in Broadway Baby Kailan that she invited Selena to stage a show for Teachers' Day – The Other Side of the Teacher's Table. The three-night show enjoyed mild success. [8]
In 2000, Tan utilised her life savings to set up Dream Academy, an independent arts and entertainment company. Dream Academy has since produced the Crazy Christmas series, Happy Ever Laughter, Broadway Beng, Meenah and Cheenah, The Hossan Leong Show, Kumar's standup comedies at the Esplanade and later the Dim Sum Dollies in 2002. [9]
In 2022, Tan set up a Peranakan-food stall known as Daisy's Dream (named after her mother) at Urban Hawker in New York City, a hawker center that sells Singapore-themed dishes. She manages the stall along with her and mother and brother, Roy. [10]
Tan has been married to lawyer John Pok since 2005. They have one son. [11]
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