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Kheng Hua Tan

Kheng Hua Tan

Actor · Born January 17, 1963 (63) · Singapore

Tan Kheng Hua is a well-known and respected award-winning actress/producer in Singapore and Malaysia. Kheng has been seen in The Philanthropist (NBC), The Patriarch (UFA), and Serangoon Road (HBO Asia Original Series). Her recent role, as "Empress Dowager" in Netflix's Original Series, Marco Polo, has garnered attention of many viewers. She also appeared in the film adaptation of Singapore-born Kevin Kwan's best selling novel Crazy Rich Asians (2018), where she plays Kerry Chu, the mother of protagonist Rachel Chu played by Constance Wu. Besides film and television, Kheng is also highly respected in Singapore theatre scene where she's a prolific actress and independent creative producer in Singapore. She creates and produces stage and television content of all genres including cabaret, drama, comedy, dramatic comedies, musicals, etc. One of the television dramas she created and produced was titled Do Not Disturb, which was the first local English-language TV series to receive the maximum 5-star rating from Singapore's main newspaper, The Straits Times. She has also created and produced festivals such as The SIN-PEN Colony at the Georgetown Festival in Penang and The 20-Something Festival in Singapore.' Tan Kheng Hua started out in Corporate Marketing, after she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University at Bloomington. She had never thought about acting in her youth, until she went to the United States to get her University education. While pursuing her studies, Kheng enrolled herself in a theatrical art course, which gave her the first taste of acting. Although her desire to be an actress was very strong, she did not make acting a priority after she returned to Singapore. Instead, she took up a marketing job and acted in her spare time. The first stage play this dame performs in was John Bowen's The Waiting Room, directed by her cousin Ivan Heng. It would take almost a decade before Kheng Hua became a full time actress. She was named to be one of 20 Singaporean contemporary artists representing Singapore in Singapore: Inside Out in NYC, London, and Beijing. Kheng has also been nominated for and won many awards including The Art Nation Award (Best Actress), DBS Life! Theatre Award (Best Actress), Asian Television Award (Best Comedic Performance by an Actress), Asian Television Award (Dramatic Performance by an Actress), Star Awards (Nominated Best Supporting Actress), Asian Television Award (Best Current Affairs & Magazine Presenter), JCCI Singapore Foundation Culture Awards for Contributions to Singapore, and the Critics Choice Award (Best Actor) at the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre. Kheng loves cats, sports, and mother to her only daughter Shi-An. She has competed in canoeing, gymnastics, and track. She is also a certified yoga teacher and enjoys running, jump roping, diving, and skiing.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
January 17, 1963 (63)
From
Singapore
Works as
Actor
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 65 days to Oct 28Down 14% in 30 days

What are Kheng Hua Tan's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
32%
Self
25%
Society
17%
Ideas
13%
Survival
7%
Morality
6%
Family bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 0

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Hopeful
3
Melancholic
3
Thrilling
2
Dread
2
Other
7

How their films linger

Hopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Kheng Hua Tan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Kheng Hua Tan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

23 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • The Violinist(2026)

    as (voice)

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • A Singapore Dementia Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    as Georgia

  • Worth the Wait(2025)

    as Mary

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Tiger's Apprentice(2024)

    as Mrs. Lee (voice)

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • As You Like It (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    as Aliena / Celia / Hymen (voice)

  • Kung Fu(2021)

    Show 39 episodes · as Mei-Li Shen

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows

  • Medical Police(2020)

    Show 1 episode · as Baozhai

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows

  • The Garden of Evening Mists (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    as Emily

  • Food Lore(2019)

    Show 8 episodes · as Kheng

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Chimerica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Show 3 episodes · as Ming Xiao Li

  • Sarah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Executive Producer

  • Magnum P.I.(2018)

    Show 1 episode · as Lynn Yang

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows

  • Crazy Rich Asians(2018)

    as Kerry Chu

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Avenue 14(2018)

    Show Actor

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Faith of Anna Waters(2016)

    as Charlotte Sharma

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films

  • Sex.Violence.FamilyValues.(2013)

    as Liwen

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • A Gurls Wurld(2010)

    Show 26 episodes · as Mrs. Teo

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows

  • The Blue Mansion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Actor

  • Cages (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    as Ali

  • Grey's Anatomy(2005)

    Show 1 episode · as Vera Roberts

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows

  • That One Not Enough (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Actor

  • Best of Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 26 episodes · Actor

  • Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 166 episodes · as Margaret Phua Hwee Lian

Career shape

Star power in the 85th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 22 titles from 1997 to 2026; peak year 2017.

Biggest box office

The Faith of Anna Waters (2016)

$1.6M worldwide

Highest rated

Worth the Wait (2025)

Midcredits 46th

Most popular right now

Kung Fu (2021)

Film career

19972026

Peak 2017 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting21 of 22: 21 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score44thProducing1 of 22: 1 only producing, 0 with another role

By decade

1990s3 · acting2000s3 · acting2010s9 · 8 acting · 1 crew2020s7 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Kheng Hua Tan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 46th percentile, the median of all 6; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 39th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

39thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

33rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 13 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Universally Panned1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · actor

Kung Fu (2021)

83rd percentile spread · 29% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Violinist (2026)

Midcredits 90th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 51/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 33. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Kheng Hua Tan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Kheng Hua Tan's MovieCove titles; Adrian Pang shares the most, 2.