Janice Koh

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title: "Janice Koh" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "singaporean-politicians-of-chinese-descent", "singaporean-television-personalities", "singaporean-television-actresses", "singaporean-stage-actresses", "victoria-junior-college-alumni", "national-university-of-singapore-alumni", "singaporean-nominated-members-of-parliament", "21st-century-singaporean-actresses", "singaporean-women-in-politics", "1973-births", "chevaliers-of-the-ordre-des-arts-et-des-lettres"] description: "Singaporean politician" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janice_Koh" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Singaporean politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Janice Koh
image	File:Janice Koh at the Singapore Premiere of Crazy Rich Asians (cropped).jpg
native_name	许优美
native_name_lang	zh
birth_date
birth_place	Singapore
death_date
::

| name = Janice Koh | image = File:Janice Koh at the Singapore Premiere of Crazy Rich Asians (cropped).jpg | imagesize = | alt = | caption = | native_name = 许优美 | native_name_lang = zh | pronunciation = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Singapore | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | body_discovered = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | burial_place = | burial_coordinates = | othername = | occupation = Actress, politician | office = Nominated Member of Parliament | term_start1 = 14 February 2012 | term_end1 = 31 July 2014 | alma_mater = Goldsmiths College National University of Singapore | parents = | spouse = Lionel Yeo | children = 2 | website = https://www.facebook.com/pages/Janice-Koh | t = | s = 许优美 | p = Xǔ Yōuměi | w = Xu3 You1 mei3 Janice Koh (born December 10, 1973) is a Singaporean actress and a former Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore.

Education

Koh had her secondary school education at Singapore Chinese Girls' School. She later graduated from the Theatre Studies and Drama programme at Victoria Junior College and the National University of Singapore with an Honours degree in Theatre Studies. She also has a master's degree in Theatre with Distinction from Goldsmiths College, London.

Career

On television, Koh is well known for her role as the ambitious lawyer Angela Ang on the MediaCorp Channel 5 legal drama The Pupil. Her performance earned her an Asian Television Awards 2010 nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Other projects include Fighting Spiders and Chase for Channel 5 and the award-winning Singapore Short Story Project. More recently, she played the quirky mom of Amos Lee in Okto's The Dairy of Amos Lee.

A familiar face in the theatre scene, Koh won the coveted Life! Theatre Award for Best Actress in 2003 for her performance as Catherine in David Auburn's Proof and received a Life! Theatre Award Best Actress nomination in 2008 for her role in Ovidia Yu's acclaimed play Hitting (On) Women. Recent work include Pangdemonium's Swimming with Sharks, Alfian Sa'at's sold-out play Cooling Off Day by W!LD RICE, Tan Tarn How's critically acclaimed Fear of Writing,《我爱阿爱》 by The Theatre Practice, Poop by The Finger Players, which was also nominated for the Life! Theatre Best Ensemble Award, The Crab Flower Club by Toy Factory, 120 and Diaspora by TheatreWorks.

Internationally, Koh has toured with a number of productions to major venues and festivals in Europe and Asia, including The King Lear Project to the Kunsten Festival des Arts in Brussels and TheatreWorks' Diaspora at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Koh made her international acting debut in the rom-com Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon M. Chu, starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, and based on the critically-acclaimed novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan. Filming was done on location in both Malaysia and Singapore, where much of the first of three books in the series is based. The film was released globally in 2018, by Warner Bros.

Politics

In 2012, Koh was selected to be one of nine new Nominated Member of Parliament (NMPs) in Singapore. She was nominated by the Arts community and was chosen from 47 eligible candidates. Koh is known for her support of the Singaporean arts scene, and her desire for transparency in regards to the MDA's censorship rulings.

Personal life

Koh is married to Lionel Yeo and they have two sons.

In late July 2022, Koh was diagnosed with tongue cancer and received treatment for it.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.	2004	2013	2018	2025
Love Poetry	Dana	TV movie
Mister John	Lek
Crazy Rich Asians	Felicity Young
Amoeba	Auntie Angelica
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.	2010	2010–2011	2013	2020
Fighting Spiders	Mabel Lee
The Pupil	Angela Ang
C.L.I.F. 2	Chen Yuqi
Code of Law	Angela Ang	Season 5
::

Theatre

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.	1998	2003	2005	2006	2009	2012	2013
Descendants of the Eunuch	Lead
Proof	Catherine
Jointly & Severably	Zee
Skylight	Kyra Hollis
Lovepuke	Louise
Quills	Mdm Royer-Collard
Diaspora	Main Ensemble
The Crabflower Club	Lead
Swimming with Sharks	Lead
Cooling Off Day	Lead
Rabbit Hole	Lead
::

Awards

• DBS Life! Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance as Catherine in David Auburn's Proof in 2003.
• In 2008, Koh received a Life! Theatre Award Best Actress nomination for her role in Ovidia Yu's acclaimed play Hitting (On) Women.
• Koh's performance in The Pupil (TV series) earned her an Asian Television Awards 2010 nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
• 2021, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, 26th Asian Television Awards, Teenage Textbook: The Series (Nominated)
• 2022, [[File:Ordre_des_Arts_et_des_Lettres_Chevalier_ribbon.svg|50px]] Chevalier of the National Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France)

References

References

1. "Fly Entertainment – Janice Koh".
2. "Fly Entertainment – Janice Koh".
3. "Member's Profile".
4. (2 February 2012). "Nine Nominated MPs selected".
5. "NMP Janice Koh impresses many with her passionate maiden speech - inSing.com".
6. "Janice Koh: 'Censorship process must be transparent' - inSing.com".
7. (2022-11-14). "Actress and ex-NMP Janice Koh reveals battle with tongue cancer".
8. "Six Degrees".
9. "2021 Nominees".
10. Loh, Genevieve Sarah. (8 June 2022). "Singaporean actress Janice Koh awarded knighthood by French government". CNA Lifestyle.

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