Kheng Hua Tan

Tan Kheng Hua is a well-known and respected award-winning actress/producer in Singapore and Malaysia. Kheng has been seen in The Philanthropist (NBC), The Patriarch (UFA), and Serangoon Road (HBO Asia Original Series). Her recent role, as "Empress Dowager" in Netflix's Original Series, Marco Polo, has garnered attention of many viewers. She also appeared in the film adaptation of Singapore-born Kevin Kwan's best selling novel Crazy Rich Asians (2018), where she plays Kerry Chu, the mother of protagonist Rachel Chu played by Constance Wu. Besides film and television, Kheng is also highly respected in Singapore theatre scene where she's a prolific actress and independent creative producer in Singapore. She creates and produces stage and television content of all genres including cabaret, drama, comedy, dramatic comedies, musicals, etc. One of the television dramas she created and produced was titled Do Not Disturb, which was the first local English-language TV series to receive the maximum 5-star rating from Singapore's main newspaper, The Straits Times. She has also created and produced festivals such as The SIN-PEN Colony at the Georgetown Festival in Penang and The 20-Something Festival in Singapore.' Tan Kheng Hua started out in Corporate Marketing, after she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University at Bloomington. She had never thought about acting in her youth, until she went to the United States to get her University education. While pursuing her studies, Kheng enrolled herself in a theatrical art course, which gave her the first taste of acting. Although her desire to be an actress was very strong, she did not make acting a priority after she returned to Singapore. Instead, she took up a marketing job and acted in her spare time. The first stage play this dame performs in was John Bowen's The Waiting Room, directed by her cousin Ivan Heng. It would take almost a decade before Kheng Hua became a full time actress. She was named to be one of 20 Singaporean contemporary artists representing Singapore in Singapore: Inside Out in NYC, London, and Beijing. Kheng has also been nominated for and won many awards including The Art Nation Award (Best Actress), DBS Life! Theatre Award (Best Actress), Asian Television Award (Best Comedic Performance by an Actress), Asian Television Award (Dramatic Performance by an Actress), Star Awards (Nominated Best Supporting Actress), Asian Television Award (Best Current Affairs & Magazine Presenter), JCCI Singapore Foundation Culture Awards for Contributions to Singapore, and the Critics Choice Award (Best Actor) at the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre. Kheng loves cats, sports, and mother to her only daughter Shi-An. She has competed in canoeing, gymnastics, and track. She is also a certified yoga teacher and enjoys running, jump roping, diving, and skiing.