Vivian Lai
Vivian Lai Yi-ling is a Taiwanese-born actress, television host and businesswoman based in Singapore.
Life and career
Born in Taiwan, Lai migrated to Singapore with her Taiwanese family when she was still a student. She joined Star Search Singapore 1999 and was the winner in the Singapore edition and the overall champion in the female contestant category.Lai started out as an actress, making her debut in Knotty Liaisons, and won good reviews. She eventually diversified into hosting and has hosted various kinds of programmes ranging from food reviews to travelogues. In 2012, after numerous nominations, she won her first professional award, the Best Supporting Actress award, at the Star Awards 2012 for her role as a Chinese immigrant in Love Thy Neighbour.
Lai is also the brand ambassador for Pokka beverages, Kirei Kirei soap, Samsung electrical appliances and Osim massage.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Lai has been active as a livestream e-commerce vendor. She is also a co-host of The Wonder Shop, an infomercial series on Channel 8.
Her current management company is LNX Global headed by Li Nanxing.
Personal life
Lai is married to Alain Ong and the couple have two daughters, Vera and Ariel. Their house in central Singapore was estimated to be worth $8 million in 2018.Ong is the CEO of Pokka International and Deputy Group CEO of Pokka Corporation which Lai has been brand ambassador for multiple years from around 2008. This has thus attracted its fair share of controversy, amid allegations of conflict of interest which in 2012, she was paid S$1 million to continue endorsing the brand.
In September 2018, her husband, Ong, was suspended from his posts by Pokka Corporation following an internal audit and would later take up a new appointment offered by Kimly, which he was a non-executive director of Kimly. Lai's contract as an ambassador was terminated in the following month, despite claims by Mediacorp that her contract would remain unchanged.
Lai has adopted seven dogs and encourages others to adopt instead of buying pets. She takes care of them with her daughters and domestic helper with a monthly pet budget of $1,500 to $2,000.