Motherhood has changed this night owl, and she has never been happier. Actress Fann Wong shares more.
Motherhood has changed this night owl, and she has never been happier. Actress Fann Wong shares more.
Fann Wong’s long hair is in loose waves, and her porcelain skin is free of makeup – and lines. She still has the physique of the gong fu-fighting girl from Jackie Chan’s Shanghai Knights, but what I’m seeing in front of me is a softer Fann.
It’s clear that the 45-year-old actress and singer is just as happy bouncing her 18-month-old son, Zed, on her tummy and serenading him with Christmas songs (his favourite), as she is on the red carpet.
“I think I’m a totally changed person. Even my husband says that. I used to be a morning person but, now, I’m a dawn person,” she says, laughing. “I used to love being up late chatting with my husband; now, by 8pm, I’m fast asleep with my son.”
The new mummy also has a more carefree attitude to life in general. “I’m a person who is so afraid of the sun. If I am asked to take part in any activities that have to do with the sun, I’ll say no. Even when we went to the Maldives [for their bridal shoot], I was always with an umbrella,” laughs Fann.
“But now, I will take my son to the Botanic Gardens for walks, go swimming... and I don’t mind getting tanned. He has made me more relaxed. We’ll stop and smell the roses; we take life at a much slower pace.”
Even she didn’t expect such a change in herself: “I call myself a workaholic and get restless if I have no work, but I love these quieter moments with Zed.”
Fann says that from the moment she found out she was pregnant with Zed, she “couldn’t stop smiling”. But the new mum had no reason to be stressed as she had her support crew – her husband of seven years, actor Christopher Lee.
“He was very supportive. He took leave before and after I gave birth, to be by my side. As this is our first child, he was worried about me being nervous,” she says.
“He was also very anxious about my diet. He’d say: ‘Hmm, maybe you shouldn’t drink so much cold water, or no more soda please… ’ During my last trimester, he even used to walk with me in the pool.”
DRAMA IN THE DELIVERY ROOM
But when she went into labour with Zed, it was a movie-style drama in itself. “After 15 hours, I still hadn’t given birth, so they decided to rush me into the operating theatre,” she explains. “I was quite nervous. I didn’t know anything about a C-section; I was determined to give birth naturally all along.”
But after a hairy couple of hours, Fann gave birth by caesarean section on National Day of 2014. “I was full of joy,” she recalls.
While she is still making movies – one in Taiwan that is coming out at the end of this year, and one potentially in China next year – family comes first for the actress. “I can’t be away for more than two weeks, I will just go crazy without him,” she says.
Yet, like any new mum, she has moments of self-doubt. “Every mum will feel that she has not done enough, or [is] not good enough for her baby. Sometimes, I think about that, too,” she says. “But I’ve come to learn that you should be a happy mother, because if you’re happy, so will your baby.”
Fann became a star early on in life. After winning a magazine modelling competition, she was snapped up to star in a TV show, before being approached by Hollywood. But it’s plain to see that her own mother, whom Fann took part of her stage name from, had a big part to play in keeping her grounded.
“I always knew that Mum loved us. I used to argue with her because she was always feeding us. But now I’m doing that to Zed. I totally understand where Mum was coming from and I’ve come to appreciate her more,” says Fann.
MAYBE BABY NO. 2?
There was a flurry of excitement late last year when the couple’s fan base misread one of Christopher’s posts and thought that they were expecting again.
“Of course, I would love to. But considering my age, it’s not so easy…” says Fann, deep in thought. “If we are blessed to have another one, it would be the most beautiful thing. But we’ll see.”
At the moment, they are just having fun with Zed. While Christopher is heavily involved in Zed’s parenting, Fann says she is in charge of feeding time. “I love to plan his menu. Now that he’s 1½, I can introduce this food, or that food, to him,” says Fann excitedly.
The couple have starred in eight films together; their wedding was screened on TV, but they have no plans to bring Zed into show business.
“No, no, no,” protests Fann in mock horror, when I suggest they give him a part in one of their movies. “He has too much energy; I’m so drained!” (The singer-mum hopes that Zed is musical, but that’s as far as it goes.)
Instead, she has simpler aspirations for her son. “I just want him to be happy; enjoy what he’s doing; and have a kind heart.”
