Still galloping strong: Actress Aileen Tan thankful to be offered main roles at 60

Born: Oct 18, 1966

Aileen Tan is looking forward to turning 60 in October.

“I will be entitled to all the ‘senior’ benefits the Government offers,” the local veteran actress tells The Straits Times with a laugh.

She recently tried to get the shingles vaccination, but was told the subsidy is applicable only after her birthday.

Singapore citizens aged 60 and above, as well as immunocompromised adults aged 18 to 59, are entitled to up to 75 per cent subsidies for the Shingrix shingles vaccine at polyclinics and CHAS GP clinics.

Tan does not mind being called a senior, and is looking forward to the many government-backed perks. “So what if I’m turning 60? I don’t feel 60. I’m active and healthy,” she says. “Age is just a number. It’s no big deal.”

Like the quintessential Horse of the Chinese Zodiac, she declares she will keep on working as long as she can.

She jokes: “I have a ‘lao lu ming’ (Chinese for a life of toiling), so I have to ‘zuo niu zuo ma’ (labour like an ox and horse).”

Tan’s show-business career began after coming in second behind Mediacorp “Ah Jie” Zoe Tay in the inaugural local talent contest Star Search in 1988. Together with third-placed Jazreel Low, they made their debut in the drama My Fair Ladies that same year. 

Tan has gone on to star in more than 80 TV series, such as Three Women And A Half (2001), Hero (2016) and Shero (2023). She won Best Actress for Three Women And A Half, and Best Supporting Actress trophies for the other two shows at the Star Awards.

The Year of the Horse is “a time of opportunities and one filled with energy”, she says. 

“I’m very thankful I’m still getting acting offers, and one is a main role too,” says the Mediacorp artiste of her new production, Kid U Not. Her last lead role was in 2016’s The Dream Job.

Kid U Not, also starring Tay and host-actor Marcus Chin, will premiere on Channel 8 in April. In the 20-episode comedy series, the trio play 66-year-olds who mysteriously find themselves back in their 12-year-old bodies as Primary 6 pupils.

Stamina and grit

Tan exemplifies the Horse’s famous qualities of stamina and grit. Kid U Not was filmed over three months, and during that period, the actress maintained a disciplined daily routine. 

Her call time was often 6.45am, which meant waking up around 5am. After a full day of filming, she returned home around 7pm, had dinner, then dived straight into the next day’s script. 

Bedtime was 8 or 9pm, with no late-night socialising or drinking.

“I apologised to my friends that I could not entertain them for a few months because of the role. That is a sacrifice you have to make in life sometimes,” says Tan, who has been married to Hong Kong-born director Gerald Lee for 24 years. She has a stepson, who is in his 30s.

She contrasts this with her earlier years when she might have been in supporting roles, and the pressure was different. 

Now, as a leading lady, she feels a greater sense of responsibility and chooses to embrace it rather than resent it.

“I always believe that you must have a positive mindset in everything you do. And I think that is part of a Horse’s traits.”

Tan is rehearsing for her part in Mediacorp’s annual countdown variety show Chinese New Year Eve Special 2026, which will air live on Feb 16 at 10.30pm on Channel 8, mewatch and Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube. 

Retirement not on the agenda

After the festive holidays, she will start on her next project, a Mediacorp family drama where she has a supporting role. 

To sustain this pace, Tan practises self-care. She is thankful she does not have sleep problems that come with ageing, often waking naturally at 5am before her alarm goes off. 

She also swears by Bikram hot yoga – 90 minutes in a 40 to 41 deg C studio three to four times a week – which helps her sweat out her stress and sleep deeply.

On top of that, she takes plenty of supplements and vitamin C, drinks at least 2 litres of water a day and tries to be in bed by 10pm, especially when the weather is scorching.

With women’s lifespans extending into the 80s, she feels she still has 20 more years to go. Far from being put out to pasture, she wants to keep trying new things. 

“Maybe I can do more content creation on social media, like sharing my experiences. Maybe that can help people,” says Tan, who has over 56,000 followers on Instagram. 

She reminisces about those early days as a new actress in the late 1980s, and hopes to reunite with her Star Search sisters Tay and Low as a trio on the small screen some day. Low quit full-time acting in 1994 and founded Aramsa – The Garden Spa in 1999.

“It will be fun to be together on a show again,” says Tan. “But it all depends on whether my dear Jazreel is keen to act again.”

She adds with a laugh: “Why should I retire? I can still keep going. I’m a Horse.”