Get To Know These Six Cool, Young And Talented Stars On The Rise
From a top model in the making to an understated actress, these six women are stars in our eyes.
From a girlie pop-rock singer who might just be our answer to Taylor Swift, to a serious actress quietly honing her craft and quickly gaining industry cred, these six Gen Zers are whom we are declaring tomorrow's celebrities. You better start paying attention.
LIM SHI-AN
Shi-An wears embroidered cotton top with braided trim; fantasy tweed skirt; metal and strass necklaces with and without freshwater pearls and glass; and metal and resin cuffs, Chanel
For someone born to two of Singapore’s most respected actors, Tan Kheng Hua and Lim Yu-Beng, and who has clinched some of the meatiest roles on television in the short year and a half that she has been acting (the lead in the 2023 thriller Alienated and a principle player in the family drama Come Closer), Lim Shi-An is very understated.
Shi-An wears fantasy cotton tweed dress with jewelled buttons; and metal earrings with resin, strass and glass beads, Chanel
Watch the video she has pinned to the top of her TikTok account (@shiiiannn0), in which she introspects her love-hate relationship with social media as she navigates a career in entertainment. She’s equally unaffected in her other posts, sharing self-narrated vignettes of her daily life that reveal a love for travel, a budding interest in fashion and beauty, and her enviably close bond with her mum. In each one, she’s noticeably makeup-free, revealing the dozens of freckles scattered across her face.
Shi-An wears silk jacquard coat with jewelled buttons; embroidered cotton tweed mini dress; cotton-blend tights; metal earrings with strass; metal choker with strass and glass beads; metal and strass necklaces with and without freshwater pearls and glass (worn layered); and leather slingbacks with grosgrain bows and strass (held in hand), Chanel
In this image-obsessed era, the 26-year-old is a breath of the freshest air who – not unlike her parents – prefers to let her work speak for itself. Stay tuned as she next takes to the big screen, playing the lead in her first feature film – an experimental work set in a version of Singapore that’s crawling with the undead.
ALLY TEO
Ally wears polyamide coat, cotton jersey T-shirt, suede nappa leather skirt, nylon swim shorts and New Balance X Miu Miu 530 SL leather sneakers, Miu Miu
Ally Teo is a natural in front of the camera. The 19-year-old started acting a decade ago before moving on to dancing and singing. She has even written and self-released an EDM-inspired single Take Me Away (you can find it on Spotify), and we can expect more – this time of an R&B flavour – to come this year, she says.
Ally wears cotton blazer, Hugo. Denim bralette and jeans, and cotton-blend shorts, Calvin Klein
This self-starter, go-getter attitude has taken her furthest in the modelling realm. Fresh off a contract with a local modelling agency, she has the ability to take on just about any character on set – all while maintaining her edge as a runway-worthy clothes horse with her cherubic, doll-like features and elegant gait. Of course, she can also turn to content creation – her bubbly GRWM and day-in-the-life videos have clocked more than 11 million likes on her TikTok account (@allyteozc) – or pharmaceutical science, which she’s currently studying. Impressed?
QILAH ROSE
Qilah wears cotton T-shirt dress, Hugo; and her own skirt and accessories. Shoes, stylist’s own
Nuraqilah Bte Zainal Abidin – better known by her stage name Qilah Rose – is a tour de force on TikTok. Head to the account @qilahrose55 for her hot takes on random topics (she has declared 2024 the year of the short kings); humorous yet empowering videos on body positivity; and GRWM and makeup tutorials that confirm the girl’s got style and finesse in spades.
Qilah wears polyester-blend varsity jacket, Coach; and her own accessories
The 25-year-old is in fact a freelance actress who trained under Singapore Repertory Theatre’s The Young Company. Her next project is a short drama series titled The Will, in which she plays a spoiled brat duking it out with her siblings over their inheritance and that debuts on Viddsee’s TikTok page (@viddsee) this month. Already, brands such as Lancome and YSL Beauty have taken notice and collaborated with her. We think more should too.
SERENA JANE MCNEILL
Serena wears viscose knit dress with lambskin patches and Clou de Selle palladium-finish metal fastening, Hermes
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the elfin Scottish-Malay model Serena Jane McNeill. We were among the first – if not the first – here to cast her in a fashion editorial back in 2019, when she was still a slightly baby-faced 19-year-old fledgling who had just signed to modelling agency Misc Management (then known as Blu).
Serena wears fantasy cotton lace coat, and matching blouse and pants; metal and strass necklaces with and without freshwater pearls and glass; and leather slingbacks with grosgrain bows and strass, Chanel
Since then, she has grown steadily in grace, versatility and confidence, becoming a regular on our pages as well as fronting no less than four of our covers – the latest being our recent January/February edition.
Serena wears silk-blend cape, cotton pique polo shirt, nylon swim shorts, technical fabric bracelets and leather sandals with crystals, Miu Miu
Last year, the fashion and watch enthusiast secured her first international placement in Seoul, during which she scored campaigns with popular local labels such as Marge Sherwood and NotKnowing – as well as one of the biggest brands to come out of the nation (details remain under wraps as it’s yet to be released). If you ask us, McNeill’s about to enter her supermodel era.
JULIE SAN LIEU
Julie wears Sportmax denim vest and matching shorts, Max Mara. Metal glasses, Prada. Shark Lock denim boots, Givenchy
The easiest way to describe Julie San Lieu is that she’s an It girl. Born in Paris and uprooted to Singapore in 2012, the 18-year-old first came onto our radar as a curly-mopped teen model three years ago. Even at that age, the Chinese-Cambodian exuded a vivacious personality that makes her prime for on-screen success.
Julie wears velour jacket, cotton pique polo shirt, cotton shirt and Pocket nappa leather handbag, Miu Miu
Fast forward to today and she toggles freelance modelling with content creation and the occasional music recording in her bedroom (the girl boasts smoky vocals reminiscent of Lana Del Rey). As casual as all these endeavours have been, she has still managed to rake in a cool 100K-plus followers and 4.4 million likes on her TikTok account @iwishiwasawaternymph.
Julie wears lambskin pea coat, silk knit blouse, bandeau top and skirt (sold together), Hermes
Factor in how she’s a hardcore fashion girlie who loves mixing up styles (sexy 1990s minimalist chic, JPG-esque irreverence, hip-hop, you name it) and it’s little wonder she’s also on the guest list of all the hottest events in town. Now that she’s on a break from school, we can only wonder: What next?
REGINA SONG
Regina wears polyester corset top, & Other Stories. All other clothes, shoes and accessories, Regina’s own
The 19-year-old “girlie pop” singer Regina Song has the kind of girl-next-door guilelessness that catapulted Britney Spears and Taylor Swift to fame. She first came onto the scene in 2021, but school (she majored in music at the School of the Arts) meant she had to put her career on hold. It was worth the wait: Last March, she returned with her smooth, feel-good single High School Boy, which has since garnered more than a million plays on Spotify (she boasts over 120K monthly listeners on the platform too). Bigger things are in the works.
Regina wears cotton shirt with acetate fringing, Prada; and her own sunglasses
This month, she’ll open for Filipino-Australian indie pop star Grentperez’s performance here, while that debut album, which covers her experiences as a young woman and is aptly titled Fangirl, will drop later in 2024.
COORDINATION KENG YANG SHUEN PHOTOGRAPHY ATHIRAH ANNISSA STYLING DAMIAN HUANG STYLING ASSISTANT DANESSA TONG HAIR TAN ENG CHONG/KIZUKI+LIM MAKEUP KEITH BRYANT LEE, USING CHANEL BEAUTY
This article first appeared in the March 2024 Celebrity Edition of FEMALE