Rui En

Education

Rui En studied at Singapore Chinese Girls' School for both her primary and secondary education. She took up ballet as a co-curricular activity in Primary Five but gave up in Secondary One, citing the pressure of coming from a wrong socio-economic class as the reason. She then joined the choir in Secondary Three and Four.

She completed her A Levels at the pre-tertiary education in Raffles Junior College, in which she won the championship in National Schools’ Hockey Tournament. Despite claiming to be her Chinese teacher's worst nightmare because she was never good in her Chinese, Rui En penned all the lyrics to her second Chinese album, titled United Nations.

Rui En graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Business in 2004, specialising in Banking and Finance. In 2007, Rui En was presented with the Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award by her alma mater Nanyang Technological University in the annual affair but was unable to attend the ceremony personally.

Growing up

In December 2008, Rui En did a confessional interview with The Monday Interview titled 'Inside the Outsider', first published on The Straits Times. She confessed that she used to smoke and drink socially, and how she grew up feeling insecure as the only child in her broken family. Her parents subsequently divorced when she was seventeen.

The article struck a chord with the masses, especially those who grew up in similar environments. When asked of her rationale for such a heart-to-heart interview, she was quoted to say, "I am hoping that kids who read this might realise that no matter how bad your family situation is, you have a choice not to be a victim". The article was subsequently translated into a Mandarin version and published on Shin Min Daily News; other publications such as The New Paper and Elle Singapore edition, have also taken reference to the article.

Music career

Rui En ventured into Taiwan in 2002 under the Chinese name of 芮恩 (pinyin: Rui'en). She made her first appearance as the female lead in label mate Jay Chou's music video for "Secret Code" and went on to co-endorse Panasonic GD68 with him. Rui En subsequently released her debut regional Chinese album, Rui ∑n vol. 01, in the same year under the co-production of Hype Records and Alfa Music. Fans of Jay Chou were reported to have borne a grudge at Rui En for the help he rendered to her, warning Rui En to not get too close to Jay Chou. There was however, another group of fans who gave Rui En full support on Jay Chou's account. Jay Chou composed the first hit of her debut album, Rui ∑n vol. 01, titled "White Feather".

Rui En was nominated as the Best Local Singer in the Singapore Hits Awards 2003 and was selected alongside Taufik Batisah to perform both the English and Mandarin versions of the 2005 National Day Parade's theme song – "Reach Out for the Skies".

After a six years' break, Rui En released her second Chinese album in late 2008 under Hype Records, titled United Nations. This album was only released locally in Singapore, and all the lyrics were penned by Rui En herself. Since then, she resumed the use of her original name, 瑞恩 (pinyin: Rui'en). In April 2009, Rui En was invited to perform at Singapore Day 2009 at London's Hampton Court Palace, a yearly event organised by the Overseas Singaporean Unit in the Prime Minister's Office to engage overseas Singaporeans.

Acting career

Rui En landed her first leading role in 2005, with A Promise for Tomorrow as the bubbly 'Fang Fang'. In the following year, she was identified as one of the most promising young actresses in the Singapore Entertainment Industry by local entertainment magazine I-Weekly and was hence labelled as one of the '7 Princesses'. Often dubbed and referred to as the 'Cool Princess' for her nonconforming attitude, she has openly expressed her desire to be recognised and remembered for her performances rather than with the title. Admittedly, Rui En has improved on her acting compared with leading actresses in the local acting industry.

Before winning her first Best Actress award in 2011, Rui En was already acknowledged as one of the finest local actresses of her generation, receiving compliments from award-winning and veteran actors such as: Adrian Pang, Chen Hanwei, Chen Li Ping, Chen Shucheng & Zhu Houren etc.. Veteran actor Chen Shucheng named her in the company of acclaimed local actresses Huang Biren and Ivy Lee, all of whom, he said, could cry "beautifully" and reflect the demands of the scenes' context.

The Straits Times complimented Rui En for giving worthy performance in With You and executive producer Paul Yuen has also likened her to a younger Sheren Tang, well-known Hong Kong actress whose acting is critically acclaimed regionally.

Hot favourite for Star Awards: Best Actress 2011

With three dramas, Rui En has been labelled as one of the 10 Faces to watch in 2010 by MediaCorp's Buzz. She is tipped to be a strong contender for Best Actress in Star Awards 2011.

In an interview with I-Weekly, Rui En was singled out by veteran actor Zhu Houren as the most deserving contender to claim the coveted Best Actress recognition in Star Awards 2011. He was impressed by Rui En as Yang Xiaodong in Happy Family, describing it as 'natural' and 'just right' (an industry's term to describe perfect handling of the role, according to him). Known for his daring speeches, he claimed that Rui En should win the award next year unless the judges are incapable of appreciating fine acting. He also expressed his wish to collaborate with Rui En in future.

In Star Awards 2011, Rui En finally picked up her first acting nomination. Widely tipped as the forerunner by the media, Rui En went on to win the coveted title. Rui En acknowledges "there have been more lows than highs" in her career and in her acceptance speech, she said "despite those who said I won't succeed with my personality and image, it shows with hard work you can do it."

Popularity

Since 2005, Rui En has garnered ten consecutive 'Top Ten Most Popular Female Artiste' trophies in the Star Awards, a high profile annual award ceremony organised by MediaCorp Singapore to recognise the best and the most popular in the Singapore Acting Industry.

Following the success of her leading role as An Xiaoqian in Singapore's Best Drama of the year 2007 – Metamorphosis, Rui En gained a large fan following in Singapore. In March 2008, Rui En dethroned Fann Wong (previously a 5 time consecutive winner) in the annual popularity contest – Students' Idols Voting (Acting Category – Local/International), organised by now defunct newspaper, Friday Weekly, to claim the much coveted first runner-up position. The winner of the category went to Jay Chou.

In the year 2009's televised countdown event organised by Channel 8, Rui En won one of the eight 'Top 8 Likable Female Lead Characters' awards with her only production that year as Zhang Yu Hang in By My Side. She was rumoured by some, to have garnered the most number of votes in this popularity contest. In February 2009, Rui En beat fellow actress Jeanette Aw, hot favourite after the huge success of The Little Nyonya, to the coveted title of Babe of the Year in the annual Flame Awards organised by The New Paper.

In an informal survey conducted by MediaCorp's Branding and Promotion Vice-President Paul Chan, Rui En and Elvin Ng were voted as the Best On-Screen Couple in 2009. Rui En and Elvin Ng also emerge tops as the 'Favourite On-Screen Partners' in the Star Awards 2010. They won with their performance as Lin Jiaqi and Sato in The Dream Catchers.

Rui En was voted as the Most Popular Local TV Actress in Singapore Entertainment Awards 2010 organised by Singapore Press Holdings. Voting spanned across 4 weeks and Rui En secured the top position since Day One. In 2011, the Actors and Actresses were grouped collectively to compete in the 'Most Popular Local TV Actor' category, voting spanned across 6 weeks. Despite keener competition, Rui En secured the top position since Day One, and emerged as the 'Most Popular Local TV Actor' in Singapore Entertainment Awards 2011 for the second consecutive year.

In Star Awards 2010, Rui En's role as Zhang Luoyun (My School Daze emerge as the 'Top 10 Favourite Female Characters' while her other role, Lin Jiaqi (The Dream Catchers), emerge as the 'Top 5 Favourite Female Characters'. Voting spanned across six weeks and more than a hundred entries were nominated.

Rui En claimed the highly competitive 'Most Favourite Female Character' award with her role as the likeable Yang Xiaodong (Happy Family) in Star Awards 2011. Results were solely determined by online votes and Rui En led in the top position since Day One. However, she lost out in the 'Favourite On-screen Couple (Drama)' category with a top three final position.

Missing out on Best Actress nomination: Metamorphosis

In 2007, Rui En caused an uproar in the virtual community when she surprisingly missed out on a nomination in the Best Actress Category in Star Awards 2007 for her breakthrough role as Assistant Superintendent An Xiao Qian in Metamorphosis. An online petition was initiated with hundreds of signatures submitted, prompting MediaCorp Singapore's media team to interview recognised actor Chen Han Wei and Ivy Lee for their takes on this issue. Subsequent reporting were published on online news, Xin.sg and leading Chinese local newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao.

Role rejection

In March 2008, Rui En was involved in a high-profile rejection of the role as an ambitious businesswoman struggling with mental illness in The Defining Moment, which subsequently went to Fann Wong instead. She was reported to have rejected the role due to a rape scene in the script. Rui En is known to be firm on her stance against intimate, revealing or kissing scenes and has been criticised by some as unprofessional. She is reported to have been blacklisted by some producers after this role-rejection incident, but her supporters have avowed unwavering support.

Missing out on Best Actress nomination: By My Side

In April 2009, despite an informal viewers' survey labelling Rui En as a strong contender for the Best Actress Award in the annual Star Awards, Rui En again missed out on a nomination for her role as AIDS patient-then-volunteer Zhang Yu Hang in By My Side. Her poor public relations skill was thought to be a contributing reason to why she has never garnered any nomination in the acting categories despite being generally acknowledged as one of the finer local actresses of her generation. However, she picked up her fourth consecutive Top Ten Most Popular Female Artiste trophy, despite not being present at the Star Awards 2009 due to overseas work commitments.

Community

Rui En is the theme song singer for The Community Chest of Singapore. The song, titled "Listen to Your Heart", has been released in the form of EP in years 2003 and 2009. Despite her hectic schedule, Rui En is a regular volunteer at Beyond Social Services. She has expressed her wish to remain low-profile with regards to her volunteering as she has no wish to use this to benefit her public image.

Solo albums

Rui ∑n vol. 01 芮恩Rui ∑n同名專輯 (December 2002)

United Nations 共和國 (October 2008)

Compilations

Morning Express VI 阳光系列6 (2003)

This compilation album consists of Rui En's The Way To Be Happy 快乐方式 (Track 3) and Test 考验 (Track 9). The songs were released under Rui En's birth name – 卢瑞恩 (Lu Rui'en).

Celebrating 25 Years of Chinese Drama Collector's Edition 戏剧情牵25 (2007)

This album is a Collector's Edition composed of memorable theme songs spanning across the Singapore Chinese Drama's Twenty-Five years' History. Tracks from Rui En include a remix version of "The Way To Be Happy 快乐方式" and "Unfreeze 解冻". The songs were released under Rui En's stage name – 芮恩 (Rui'en).

Singles

Listen to Your Heart

This is the theme song for The Community Chest of Singapore and there are English and Mandarin versions to this song. The songs were released in the form of a Single.

Reach Out for the Skies (2005)

This is the theme song for National Day Parade, 2005 and there are English and Mandarin versions to this song. Music videos were produced for both versions.

Listen to Your Heart – Remix (2009)

A remix version of the theme song for The Community Chest of Singapore, the Mandarin track was first performed on televised charity show, TrueHearts Show 2009. The EP released in November 2009 consisted of the original tracks and the remixes in both English and Mandarin. This graphic artwork for this single was designed by Rui En's fan club, RBKD, on behalf of The Community Chest of Singapore.

Sky's The Limit

A single by Taufik Batisah featuring Rui En.

麻木 (2013)

A single by Rui En.

Drama theme songs

Beautiful Connection – "The Way To Be Happy 快乐方式 "(2003)

This song was nominated as Best Drama Theme Song in Star Awards 2003 and was first released in Morning Express VI. A remix version was released in Celebrating 25 Years of Chinese Drama Collector's Edition.

No Problem! – "Test 考验" (2003)

This is an insert song released in Morning Express VI.

Love at 0 °C – "Unfreeze 解冻" (2006)

This was Rui En's first set of self-penned lyrics published and also her first and only theme song for the drama she is starring in. This song is released in Celebrating 25 Years of Chinese Drama Collecter's Edition.

By My Side – "Slow Dance 慢舞" (2008)

This is an insert song found in Rui En's United Nations.