Vivian Lai Yi-ling (born 18 December 1976) is a Taiwanese-born actress, television host and businesswoman based in Singapore.
Early life Born in Taiwan, Lai migrated to Singapore with her Taiwanese family when she was still a student.
Career
Media Lai joined Star Search Singapore 1999 and was the winner in the Singapore edition and the overall champion in the female contestant category.
Lai started out as an actress, making her debut in Knotty Liaisons, and won good reviews. After a few dramas, Lai attempted hosting with her first variety show, Property Classified. She eventually focused on hosting and has hosted various kinds of programmes ranging from food reviews to travelogues. In 2012, after numerous nominations, she won her first professional award, the Best Supporting Actress award, at the Star Awards 2012 for her role as a Chinese immigrant in Love Thy Neighbour.
Her current management company is LNX Global headed by Li Nanxing.
Business ventures In 2014, Lai, with fellow host Quan Yifeng and hairstylist Addy Lee, set up the social media and production company 3x Media Production.
In September 2019, Lai set up her bubble tea brand Teabrary.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Lai has been active as a livestream e-commerce vendor. She is also a co-host of The Wonder Shop, an infomercial series on Channel 8.
Brand ambassador Lai is the brand ambassador for Kirei Kirei soap, Samsung electrical appliances and Osim massage. She was also the brand ambassador for Pokka International and Deputy Group CEO of Pokka Corporation from 2008 to 2018. In 2012, she was paid S$1 million to continue endorsing the brand. Lai's contract as an ambassador was terminated in the October 2018.
Personal life Lai is married to Alain Ong and the couple have two daughters, Vera and Ariel. Their house in central Singapore was estimated to be worth $8 million in 2018.
Ong is the CEO of Pokka International and Deputy Group CEO of Pokka Corporation which Lai has been brand ambassador for multiple years from around 2008. This has thus attracted its fair share of controversy, amid allegations of conflict of interest which in 2012, she was paid S$1 million to continue endorsing the brand.
In September 2018, her husband, Ong, was suspended from his posts by Pokka Corporation following an internal audit and would later take up a new appointment offered by Kimly, which he was a non-executive director of Kimly. Lai's contract as an ambassador was terminated in the following month, despite claims by Mediacorp that her contract would remain unchanged.
In 2022, Lai revealed that she suffered from a slipped disc. She chose not to go for a surgery which has 50% chance of success and chose traditional chinese medicine and acupuncture to improve her condition.
Lai has adopted seven dogs and encourages others to adopt instead of buying pets. She takes care of them with her daughters and domestic helper with a monthly pet budget of $1,500 to $2,000.
Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes 2008 Money No Enough 2Zhou Yanyan 2009 Where Got Ghost?
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2000 Knotty Liaisons Jiaxuan Adam's Company Elaine Dare To Strike 2001 Looking For Stars Piggy The Hotel Lai Meiling Three Women and A Half Xiaoping 2002 Bukit Ho Swee Wang Qing Kopi-O II Shuyun The Unbeatables III Dong Meiyao 2003 Holland V Mo Rourou 2004 Double Happiness Luo Jiaqian Double Happiness II Luo Jiaqian 2005 Love at 0°C Liu Siqi 2006 Time to Heal 2007 Live Again Jenny Making Miracles Xu Xiuyuan The Homecoming Qianyi 2008 Just in Singapore Jinyan Love Blossoms II Fan Fan 2011 Be Happy Mable Love Thy Neighbour Shanshan 2014 World at Your Feet Mo Lihua 2015 Super Senior Ivy Ji Shanzhong 2016 The Queen Zeng Jing 2019 My One In A Million (我的万里挑一) Vivian Lai The Good Fight (致胜出击) Rourou A World of Difference (都市狂想) Rui En 2021 Soul Old Yet So Young (心里住着老灵魂) Cindy Yen The Heartland Hero Lexi
Variety shows YearTitle Notes 2006 Property Classified 2007 On the Beat II My Beautiful Life Star Awards Post-Show Party 2008 The NTUC Show Lunar New Year Eve Celebration Dialect Delights Bioskin Dreams Come True II On the Beat III Amuse Me DIY My Home 2009 My House Husband's Journal 小男人周记 Amuse U 2010 You Are The Man 2011 Sizzling Woks 3 Ladies Nite Home Makeover 2 2012 My Fair Ladies Silver Carnival Simply Exquisite Dessert Time 2013 Say It! Laughing Out Loud2014 Eat and Be Merry Black Rose 2 Style: Check-In 4 Guest HostSay It! 2 Style: Check-In 5 Ladies Nite 3 2015 Hey Chef! Hey Gorgeous 2015 The Successor 2016 Touch Screen Cuisine What's In The Fridge? 2017 A Gift for Mum2019 The Destined OneGuest Matchmaker2020A Gift For Mum 3
Discography Compilation albums Year English title Mandarin title 2012 MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 12 新传媒群星金龙接财神 2018 MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 18 新传媒群星阿狗狗过好年 2019 MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 19 新传媒群星猪饱饱欢乐迎肥年 2020 MediaCorp Music Lunar New Year Album 20 裕鼠鼠纳福迎春了
Awards and nominations
Year Ceremony Category Nominated work ResultRef 2000 Star Awards Best Newcomer 2001 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 2003 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 2004 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes Best Supporting Actress Double Happiness 2005 Star Awards Best Supporting Actress Double Happiness II 2007 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 2009 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 2010 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 2011 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 2012 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes Best Supporting Actress Love Thy Neighbour 2013 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes 2014 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes Best Variety Show Host Finding U 2015 Star Awards All-Time Favourite Artiste Star Awards for YES 933 Best Speech Asian Skin Solutions Most Radiant Skin Award
References
External links
Archived Bio on MediaCorp TV website