Actress Pan Lingling’s elder son off to the US for further studies

SINGAPORE –Local actress Pan Lingling was overwhelmed with emotion when her elder son, Beckham Wee, flew off to study overseas for the next 15 months.

She shared on social media on Aug 23 photos of herself hugging the 25-year-old and bidding him farewell at Changi Airport.

She wrote: “I felt so proud of you, yet I couldn’t help but feel a touch of sadness. It feels like just yesterday you were that little one needing to hold my hand on your way to kindergarten. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown into an adult, ready to set out for broader horizons.”

The 55-year-old star continued: “From kindergarten to primary school, then through high school, junior college and university – Mum and Dad have seen every bit of your effort and growth along the way, and we are deeply, deeply proud of you. It is precisely because we have witnessed your dedication and determination that we decided, without hesitation, to support your dream of studying abroad.”

Pan is married to local actor Huang Shinan, 64. The couple have a younger son, Kynaston, 23, who is studying computer engineering at a local university.

She told Chinese-language evening daily Shin Min Daily News that Wee is heading to Chicago in the United States to pursue a master’s degree in financial mathematics. He recently graduated from the Singapore University of Technology and Design with first-class honours in his bachelor of engineering degree in computer science.

Huang is accompanying Wee to Chicago for 11 days to help him settle in. Pan could not join them due to work commitments.

She was recently nominated for Best Supporting Actress at ContentAsia Awards 2025 for the crime drama Unforgivable (2024), with the winners set to be announced in Taipei on Sept 4.

Pan told Shin Min she realised that this would be the longest period Wee is away from home. He may stay on in the US for three more years if he gets a job there after graduation.

“My saddest moment was returning home to find only me and my younger son,” she told the newspaper. “As I was tidying up my elder son’s room, I suddenly thought, ‘Wow, no one’s going to sleep in this bed for the next 15 months.’”

In her post on Aug 23, Pan urged Wee to focus his energy on pursuing his dreams.

“Our only hope is that you achieve all you set out to learn, stay safe and healthy, and remember to come home,” she wrote. “This home will always be your safe harbour, and we will always be your strongest backing.”

Wee went viral on social media in August 2024 when he appeared in a South Korean street interview while attending summer school at Yonsei University in Seoul. He was also featured alongside Pan in a video released by the Ministry of Defence in August 2022, talking about his national service experience.