Edmund Tan Kai Yuan (born 4 February 1961), professionally known as Edmund Chen, is a Singaporean actor and artist. He began his career in 1987 and rose to become one of Singapore's most prominent and popular actors during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Media career Chen entered the entertainment industry after completing the SBC (predecessor of MediaCorp) 7th drama training course in 1987. He starred in several high-profile dramas such as sci-fi drama series Star Maiden, Air Force and police thriller Patrol, where he met and later married co-star Xiang Yun.

During the late 1990s he temporarily left showbiz for several years to concentrate on other projects.

After returning to MediaCorp his popularity soared and he won the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes award seven consecutive times. During the Star Awards 2007 25th anniversary special, he and Ivy Lee, who played his on-screen partner many times, were named the Top 5 Favourite On-screen Couples for their roles as husband and wife in Double Happiness.

He left MediaCorp at the end of 2007 for family reasons but made a brief return to the screens as a guest star in Channel 5 comedy Calefare and the second season of Channel U production Perfect Cut. Besides acting, he has also presented and hosted shows ranging from sports events to variety shows to charity galas.

In 2003, Chen acted in a Hong Kong film, Turn Left, Turn Right as Dr Hu, and in 2008, acted as the father of Chun-Li in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

Chen directed his first feature film Echoing Love, which consists of six shorts directed by six different people and the cast includes Erica Lee, Alaric Tay, Vincent Ng, Nathaniel Ho and his wife Xiang Yun. It was screened at the 24th Singapore International Film Festival in 2011, where it won a Special Achievement Award at the Silver Screen Awards.

Chen also worked as a brand ambassador and spokesman for many firms and products, including Beijing 101 Hair Consultants, Mitsubishi Electric, Chien Chi Tow, G- Spa, Donut Empire and KKC Property in Singapore and throughout the Asian region.

Literary career Chen left the entertainment industry in 2007 and he began writing and illustrating Chinese language children's books. Two of his titles Dino Rulez! (欢迎来到我们的世界) and Little Otters To The Rescue (水獭宝宝救爸爸) have been selected by the National Arts Council for its yearly catalogue.

In 2014, Chen was voted Best Author for New Children's Books in Southeast Asia for his picture book Little Otters To The Rescue.

Personal life Chen is the eldest of three children. His younger brother Eric manages an events management company, while his younger sister is the theatre director and entrepreneur Loretta Chen.

Chen married actress Xiang Yun in 1989 after meeting on the sets of Patrol and they have two children; a daughter Yixin and a son Chen Xi.

On 14 January 2026, he was charged with one count of driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, resulting in an accident. He was sentenced to five days in jail and a five year driving ban.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1998 Yellow Wedding Eternal Love Super Cop 1999 Where Got Problem? Chen Ghostories 2002 Sharpened Pencil The Eye Dr Lo 2003 Turn Left, Turn Right Dr Hu 2007 Saigon Eclipse 2008 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Xiang 2009 Liliang 2011Echoing LoveAs director

Television series Year Title Role Notes 1987Sunshine After Rain 雨过天晴Chen JunjieMoving On 变迁Ah Wen1988Star Maiden 飞越银河Jin GuixiangAirforceGan QifengThe Last Applause 舞榭歌台Guo Xiaoting (Qihua)Mystery – Piano 迷离夜 之《琴》Tan Jialun1989When Hearts Touch 似水柔情Xu DaimeiFortune Hunters 钻石人生Guo JunchengPatrolLuo YifengTurn of the Tide 浮沉Zhou Guodong1990Finishing LineZhong ChongguangHappy Family 开心家族Song Kecheng1991The Darkest Hour 列血青春Ma Zhongyuan1992Fiery Passion 烈焰焚情MingliangCrime and Passion 执法先锋Lin Wenbin1993Hidden Truth 法网晴天Zhou XiaopingSwitch 妙鬼临门Li Tianliang1994The Blazing Trail 兰桂坊血案Those Were the Days 生命擂台Yan Kaicong1995The Teochew FamilyThe Rangers 铁血雄心Heartbeat 医胆仁心Ye HaoweiPointed Triangle 杀之恋It's My World 还我半天边A Different Life 妈姐情缘Shen Tianle1996Ace Cops 妙警点三八Courting Trouble 婚姻法庭Yang JiananLife on the Line 魂断四面佛Xu Mingyang1997Immortal Love 不老的传说Su YoumingCrimes and Tribulations 狮城奇案录Liang Shui2000Catherine Listening to the Rain2001The Invincible SquadThe HotelEmil QinThe Stratagem 世纪攻略Zhou JingxueBeyond the Axis of TruthChen Xueming2002First TouchDr Charles YongThe Vagrant BrotherhoodThe Wing of Desire 天使的诱惑Qin KailangLaw 2002 法内情2002Qiu ZhishaoFirst Touch IIDr Charles YongInnocently Guilty 法内有情天Qiu Zhishao2003My Love, My Home 同一屋檐下Situ Enming/Situ OceanA Toast of Love2004When the Time Comes 一线之间JierenDouble HappinessLuo JiaqiThe Crime HuntersLan TinghuiMan at FortyChen LongweiTimeless Gift 遗情未了Wang Yu2005Lady of Leisure 贤妻靓母Chen GuoqingZero to HeroXie JizuBeyond the aXis of Truth IIChen Xueming2006Women of TimesJia ZengtuHouse of JoyXu Zhiguo2007Live AgainChen HaimingThe Golden PathCheng-Ge2008CalefareChampion Zhang2009Perfect Cut 2Win Cheong2013Serangoon RoadJames Lim2017Life Less OrdinaryYe Chengda

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref 1996 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 1997 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2001 Star Awards Best Actor Beyond the Axis of Truth Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2002 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2003 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Asian Television AwardBest ActorFirst Touch II 2004 Star Awards Best Actor Man at Forty Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2005Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2006 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes 2007 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes

References

External links

Bio on MediaCorp website