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Irene Ang

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Ang.
Irene Ang
Ang in September 2024
Born (1968-09-01) 1 September 1968 (age 56)
Singapore
Other namesHong Ailing
Education
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • entrepreneur
  • host
  • radio presenter
  • fencer
Years active1989–present
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese洪愛玲
Simplified Chinese洪爱玲
Hanyu PinyinHóng Àilíng

Irene Ang PBM (born 1 September 1968) is a Singaporean actress, comedian, host and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Rosie Phua on the Singaporean sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, as well as on the Malaysian sequel sitcom Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd and the series' film adaptation Phua Chu Kang The Movie. She is also the founder and the CEO of Fly Entertainment, and additionally owns a maid agency, as well as a number of F&B and other entertainment-related companies.[1][2]

Early life

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Irene Ang was born into a family of four, consisting of her parents, an elder brother and herself. When she was growing up, she was taken care mostly by her paternal grandmother, and other relatives as well, as her mother was a drug addict and her father a gambler.[3][4]

Her mother, a former nightclub singer, became a drug addict due to marital issues. Her mother once took her, who's her father's favoured child,[3] to a girls' home with the intent of leaving her there, to spite her father over his philandering ways. The staff at the home dissuaded her mother from following through as Ang was protesting loudly against the action.[5] After her mother was in and out of the prison system over her drug use for a decade, Ang and her brother managed to convince her mother stay clean with an ultimatum that if she was again, they would leave her in 1983. After released from the prison in 1984, her mother has kept herself clean since.[4]

Education

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Irene Ang first studied in CHIJ Kellock Primary School,[4] and then Outram Secondary School, choosing it only because it had a swimming pool. In secondary school, she was on the water polo team and was a trained lifeguard by then.[6] She then went onto Outram Institute to study for Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level education certificate. However, she did not take the exams as she could not afford the examination fees.[7] She subsequently took the exams thrice, but failed.[3]

Career

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Early career: Stunt performer, sales, and sports

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In 1989, after attending Outram Institute, she and her friends responded to an ad recruiting stunt swimmers for a television series.[8][9] She eventually became the stunt swimmer for Chen Liping in Splash to Victory. She later was a stunt double for Zoe Tay in the 1990 television series, Navy.[9]

After leaving school, Irene Ang was a receptionist and clothing store sales supervisor.[5] Ang then a sales executive with American Express for a year.[5] It was also here when she started training in fencing.[10] She trained for eight months before presenting Singapore the 1991 SEA Games and won a silver medal.[8] After winning the SEA Games medal, she was shortlisted for representation at the following year's 1992 Summer Olympics. However she declined the offer as she could not afford the expenses to travel to Spain.[3]

Ang was then hired at Bloomdale, which specialised in floral arrangements and corporate gifts, and led a sales team there. Her team would outperform the rest in the company.[5] She would eventually be head-hunted and joined the insurance industry for seven years.[3][11] When her grandmother was hospitalised, Ang was saddled with a S$26,000 credit card debt. Her supervisor at AIA, David Ong, would paid off the debt for her as a loan. In return, Ang would then worked hard for the next three months, bringing in enough policies to make it to the Million Dollar Club.[5]

Forays in the entertainment industry

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She would also work as a warm-up comedian to warm up the studio audience on the set of Under One Roof.[12] It was here she was spotted by Phua Chua Kang Pte Ltd's producers and was asked to audition for roles in the upcoming television series.[12]

In 1997, Ang was cast in Phua Chua Kang Pte Ltd as Rosie Phua, the wife of lead character Phua Chu Kang, a general contractor. As the 10-year long television series eventually became a regional hit, she would reprise her character in a Malaysian spin-off, and a movie, all of which revolving around Phua Chu Kang. In the first season, Ang was paid S$975.00 a month.[5]

In 2022, Ang launched the web application TADAA! Casting which serves as a local and regional casting platform for entertainers.[13]

In 2023, Ang was named as one of the recipients of the Public Service Medal (PBM), for her work as a committee member of the SkillsFuture programme with the South West Community Development Council.[14]

Philanthropy

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Drawing on her childhood experiences, she would lend her influence and voice behind projects such as the Fairy Godparent programme, an initiative by The Yellow Ribbon Fund and Industrial and Services Co-Operative Society (ISCOS) that would help children of ex-offenders acquire a good education and positive life skills.[4]

Personal life

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In 1984, her parents would also file for a divorce.[4] In 1996 her grandmother died, leaving behind a wish that Ang would take care of her parents. Irene Ang had since reconciled with her parents after finding faith through her religion, Christianity. Both her parents would then work for Irene in their later years, her mother a chef in one of Ang's restaurants; her father a driver in Fly Entertainment.[15]

Filmography

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Ang has appeared in and/or produced the following programmes and films:[16][17][18]

Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2000 Stories About Love Cameo
A Body Puzzle Raymond's Mother Cameo
Coming Home Cameo
2001 A Sharp Pencil Cameo
2010 Phua Chu Kang The Movie Rosie Phua Chin Huay
2011 Perfect Rivals Mei Mei Producer
Already Famous Herself
2012 Greedy Ghost
Ah Boys to Men Mary Chow
2013 Ah Boys to Men 2
Love ... and Other Bad Habits Mrs Cheng Cheng
2014 Bullets Over Petaling Street Jun Po
Filial Party Felicia Chin (Yoona's Mother)
2015 Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen Mary Chow
Time is Money
2016 My Love Sinema Producer

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1989 Splash to Victory Ke Shasha
1990 Navy
1991 Pretty Faces
1997 Growing Up P.E. teacher
1997–2007 Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd Rosie Phua Chin Huay
2003 Lobang King Mabel
2008 Cosmo & George Glorious Leader
2009–2010 Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd Rosie Phua Chin Huay
2013 Who Is Max? Producer
2014–2015 Spouse for House Tan Soo Leng (Kitty)
2015 Lion Mums
2016 The Hush
2018 VIC Victoria Lek / Vicky Zhan
In my Backyard
2019 I'm Madam Ivy
2020 In Your Living Room
Happy-Go-Lucky
2021 Kin Song Danling
2024 To Be Loved Yao Huiqing

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 SG Kakis
2020 Tiles War
2022 I'm Actor Ah De
Downstairs Season 3 Animation - Voice

Theatre

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  • Ah Kong’s Birthday Party (1998)
  • PIE (1999)
  • 1+1=3 (2003)
  • Mardi Gras (2003)
  • Phua Chu Kang - The Musical (2005)
  • Beauty World (2008)
  • Stand Up for Singapore (2008)

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref
1991 1991 SEA Games Fencing — Silver [8]
1993 Miss Chinese International Pageant 1993 — — competed
2002 Asian Television Awards Best Comedy Performance by an Actress Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd Won
2014 Asian Television Awards Best Comedy Performance by an Actress Spouse For House Won
2024 Star Awards 2024 Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes — Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Actresses Patricia Mok & Irene Ang model as S'pore version of Barbie & Ken for National Day". mothership.sg. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. ^ "自嘲"半退休" 洪爱玲愿为《鬼马家族》等到80岁 | 早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Jagdish, Bharati (24 September 2016). "Lack of support for local talent still an issue: Irene Ang". CNA. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Chua, Charlene (15 June 2015). "Irene Ang: My neighbours thought I was going to become a prostitute..." The New Paper. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Wong, Kim Hoh (6 May 2012). "Irene Ang's tip: First, you scream". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Irene Ang Shares Her Best Memories Of Growing Up In Singapore". The Singapore Women's Weekly. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  7. ^ Shazni, M. (28 September 2016). "5 Important Life Lessons We Can Learn From FLY Entertainment's CEO Irene Ang". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Irene Ang's love for fencing led her ex-boss to think she had love bites". AsiaOne. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Conversations with Irene Ang". High Net Worth. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Fearless Irene ready to cut and thrust". The New Paper. 12 November 1991.
  11. ^ "Irene Ang Had To Deal With S$26K Of Credit Card Debt While Caring For Her Terminally Ill Grandma When She Was 27". 8days. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  12. ^ a b Timothy, Isaac (2 March 2010). "Interview With Irene Ang, Founder and CEO of Fly Entertainment". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  13. ^ "洪爱玲开发应用 为演艺人员找工作 | 早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. ^ "年少叛逆亏欠祖母 洪爱玲灵堂前立志回馈社会 | 早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Irene Ang's greatest accomplishment in 2020 was learning how to set up Zoom calls on her own". AsiaOne. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Irene Ang". mewatch. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  17. ^ "洪爱玲". mewatch. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Irene-Ang-CV-Apr-2020" (PDF). Fly Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
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