Star Awards 2025: Chow Yun Fat to headline annual awards ceremony on 6 July – and everything you need to know
Chow, 70, has over 100 film credits to his name, starred in classics such as A Better Tomorrow (1986) and the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Over the years, he's earned a long list of accolades, including two Golden Horse Awards, three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor, and the coveted Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the 28th Busan International Film Festival.
Most recently, Chow can be seen in Project Gutenberg (2018) and One More Chance (2023). He is married to 65-year-old Singaporean Jasmine Tan.
Chow isn't the only veteran Hong Kong star who will have a presence at Star Awards 2025.
Hong Kong actress Jessica Hsuan, who was in Mediacorp's M18 drama Kill Sera Sera, nabbed a Best Actress nomination. Hsuan previously said during a press conference in Singapore that this role is something "I've never played before".
And, despite her illustrious acting career which saw collaborations with leading actors such as Louis Koo, Wong He, Julian Cheung, Nick Cheung, Roger Kwok, and Joe Ma, Hsuan didn't think she was the biggest star of the cast.
It's unclear if Hsuan will be at the awards. She told Shin Min Daily News that she "hopes" to attend the event. She said, "It would be my honour if I'm invited and can get to be at the grand event. Whether or not I win the award is secondary, most importantly I would want to show my support."
Kill Sera Sera stars local actor Christopher Lee (a Golden Bell winner), Taiwanese actor James Wen (also a Golden Bell winner), Chantalle Ng, and Damien Teo.
Nominated alongside Hsuan are Chantalle Ng (Hope Afloat), Felicia Chin (I Do, Do I?), Hong Ling (Unforgivable), and Jesseca Liu (Unforgivable).
The other nominees in the performance categories are:
Best Actor
Christopher Lee (Kill Sera Sera)
Andie Chen (Born to Shine)
Qi Yuwu (Once Upon A New Year's Eve)
Richie Koh (Coded Love)
Gavin Teo (To Be Loved)
Best Supporting Actor
Guo Liang (To Be Loved)
Pierre Png (Moments)
Xu Bin (Kill Sera Sera)
Chen Hanwei (Unforgivable)
Chen Shucheng (Unforgivable)
Best Supporting Actress
Tasha Low (Coded Love)
Cynthia Koh (Hope Afloat)
Lynn Lim (Kill Sera Sera)
Meixin (Born To Shine)
Ya Hui (Coded Love)
The annual Star Awards is a platform for Mediacorp to honour and celebrate local creativity and talent. Since its inception in 1994, it has been instrumental in showcasing Singapore stories and nurturing talent, including the recognition of some of the biggest local stars. Today, it continues to be one of the most well regarded and highly anticipated awards event in the local Chinese entertainment industry.
The 2019 Star Search champion Zhang Zetong clinched the Best Actor award for his role as the villain in All That Glitters and cried as he delivered his acceptance speech.
"I feel that this win isn't just because of my own ability. A lot of the times, it's a group of people who contribute to the creation of a character, so thank you to every crew member on All That Glitters," he told local media after the win.
Meanwhile, actress Aileen Tan scored the Best Supporting Actress win for her role of Chen MeiHui in 2023 action drama series Shero. She told Yahoo Singapore separately on her win that she still has 'a lot of things to learn' and yearns to keep going further.
Veteran host Kym Ng snagged the Best Actress award, her first big win in the performance categories, and openly admitted to local media that she really wanted it. Ng had only won the Best Supporting Actress twice prior to this. She said, "I didn't think I'd win this award, but I really wished and prayed very hard that I can win."
Jeremy Chan, who is more known for his comedic roles, took home the other big acting trophy of Best Actor. He attributed the win to his co-stars Ayden Sng and Desmond Tan, and told Yahoo Singapore that he was able to play off their strong performances.
Star Awards 2025 will be the 30th anniversary of the annual awards show and the overarching theme will be "Walking Through Time Together".
The ceremony will be held on 6 July at The Theatre at Mediacorp. The main show starts at 7pm, and will be hosted by veteran host Guo Liang and second-generation actress Chantalle Ng. This will be Ng's hosting debut.
Hong Kong actor Sean Lau will be presenting awards this year, marking his return to the Star Awards after 25 years. Meanwhile, homegrown singer Kit Chan will be performing some memorable soundtracks from local television.
Before the ceremony, viewers can enjoy the red carpet Walk of Fame, from 5pm to 6.30pm, hosted by a 'Fashion Squad' comprising hosts Dennis Chew, Herman Keh, Hazelle Teo, and Denise Camillia Tan.
Backstage Live (3.30pm to 10pm) will also return with radio station Yes 933's The Daka Show anchors Jeff Goh, Chen Ning and Gao Mei Gui. This is where audiences can enjoy a real-time, all-access pass to behind-the-scenes artiste prep, instant reactions and unscripted moments as results roll in.
The post-show party will return after a hiatus of six years, giving viewers a glimpse into candid moments and backstage reactions. This will be held on the same evening from 10pm to 10.30pm.
The eligibility criteria for some awards has shifted. In the category of the Top 10 Most Popular Artistes Award, for the first time, artistes who are nominees of any performance-based award will automatically qualify to run for the popularity award in the same year.
Artistes who play the lead role or main host in a series with at least two episodes, as well as artistes who have a total of at least 13 episodes in a combination of roles, will also be eligible.
The Most Popular Rising Star award is for artistes with five or fewer years of experience, but now, artistes who receive the award three times will automatically be placed into the Top 10 Most Popular Artiste Award category.
And, the Best Rising Star award now allows for repeat nominations, as long as nominees continue to have five or fewer years of experience and have not won in the same category.
Public voting is now underway for the categories of Top 10 Most Popular Male and Female Artistes, and Most Popular Rising Star award.
Catch the Star Awards 2025 live on Channel 8, Channel U, mewatch and the Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel on 6 July (Sunday).
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