I've got used to being a star now

From the New Paper 17-06-99
By Hazel Tan
Pictures/ Joyce Lim

Vivian Lai has accepted that life will never be the same again after jer win at the All-Asian Star Search two months ago

She impressed the judges with her "Ah-Lian" body shake in the Singapore Star Search.

Then, she won the All-Asian Star Search, impersonating a mermaid.

Shortly after, Vivian Lai almost made someone's jaw drop with her "auntie" look.

It happened one day when she was out shopping with her classmates on Orchard Road -- clad in her school uniform, a pair of ugly glasses perched on her nose, no make-up and her brown hair in a ponytail.

Still, her star presence was unmistakable.

Vivian, 22, told The New Paper:"Someone recognised me. I was very surprised because I was dressed very casually. The person actually said,'Huh, that is the Star Search winner, how come she looks like an auntie?'

"My friend heard it."

Thinking back, the Singapore Hotel Association Training and Education Centre (Shatec) student -- for want of a better excuse -- could only blame it on the school uniform.

It is a yellow, long-sleeve blouse and a knee-length black skirt.

Vivian, who graduates from Shatec at the end of the month, laughed and said:"It really looks very auntie. It looks just like the uniform of a waitress, and it's an uglier version."

-DOESN'T WANT TO BE RECOGNISED-

"I wore that pair of ugly spectacles deliberately, because I didn't want people to recofnise me. But someone actually did."

She said she has accepted that life will never be the same again after her win at the All-Asian Star Search two months ago.

And that is only because "it's not so convenient to walk on the streets anymore".

Said the spunky actress:"Before, I could dress casual in the neighbourhood. There was no need to dress up.

-EVERYONE RECOGNISES HER THOUGH-

But now, even when I go to the supermarket opposite my house to buy soy sauce, people will ask me if I am Vivian Lai."

Unable to handle the attention, she tried staying home initially:"But I couldn't take it. I am the kind who can't sit still for long.

"Now, I have grown used to it."

Yes, it's so tedious to be a star, isn't it?

Will the Real Vivian Please Stand Up?

Ah Lian, Ah Soh... she's been both. Now, will the real Vivian please stand up?

Before that, tell us, Vivian, are you "lian"?

"Of course not!" she exclaimed.

"I am comical. I like to make people laugh, crack some jokes. I am an extrovert. I can't keep still for more than a few minutes."

Her good friend, Nick Shen, the male winner in Singapore Star Search, agreed:"She's a very funny and carefree person. She makes me laugh all the time."

And the chirpy actress is no demure, sweet young thing.

She said:"I am not those heroines born under the pen of Qiong Yao. I don't have their quiet disposition."

Taiwanese romance novelist Qiong Yao is famous for her weepy novels that have also become hit TV serials. Her heroines are usually vulnerable and dependent on men.

In comparison, Vivian appeared street-smart, savvy and, er, a little wilful.

Or should we say pampered?

Her first role would indeed fit her like a glove.

She is slated to play an independent but wilful property agent in an upcoming TCS drama serial with Thomas Ong and Pan Lingling. Filming starts in October.

On Being Tagged "Not Star Material" "I was a little upset when I first learned of the poll (conducted by Mandarin radio station Dongli 88.3 FM shortly after her win) from the Chinese newspapers. But now, I feel it was nothing. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion. I can't deny other people's negative views about me. I will accept them and work on my weaknesses." On Being Wilful "Wilfulness is a woman's prerogative. I am wilful at times and I enjoy being pampered occasionally, only by my parents."