8 DAYS: How do you feel about being on the
cover of 8 DAYS again after so long?
BELINDA LEE: I’m grateful.
It’s been 13 years.
Thirteen years?! Oh my god! Now that you bring
it up, it means a lot to me to be put on the cover
of 8 DAYS again after 13 years. It’s been a long
time. And there have been many ups and downs in
my life and career. So I hope that 8 DAYS readers
will see the growth in me. And hopefully, a better
version of Belinda from 13 years ago.
You recently took on your first English drama,
BRA, where you play an ex-beauty queen who
survives breast cancer. You’ve said that the
character is very you.
Recently, the drama’s writer told me, “Bel, you're
Brenda.” (Laughs) I think the reason she said that
is ’cos [my character] Brenda is such a giving
person. She gives everything that she has — her
love, time, effort, and even life. I’m pretty much
like that. Also, Brenda wants to do more social
impact work. That’s something very close to my
heart too. It’s not ’cos I want to be Mother Teresa.
But I’ve been through so much suffering in life that
I want to help others ’cos I understand how it feels
to suffer from low self-esteem and depression,
to be misunderstood and called names. And it
seems that all my past pain and hurts are slowly
turning into my strength. ’Cos when I’m asked to
interview the poor and needy, or people suffering
from depression, I seem to be able to connect
with them ’cos of my past. It almost feels like I
have been put into a furnace, burnt, liquidified and
molded into gold. And finally, I’m starting to see
that sparkle, and my self-worth.
When did you develop depression and low
self-esteem?
Since I was a little girl. It’s not new to many people
’cos I go to different churches to share my life
story. In school, I was called names like ugly
duckling. I was also told things like I’m a good-for-
nothing, or that I’d never measure up to anything
in life, or that I’m so scrawny and dark like a
kampong chicken. I was even abused by teachers.
It was very difficult. I hated school. I never excelled
in school. And now, many people ask me how I
overcame [the odds] to be in the entertainment
scene and do well even though I only studied until
I did my O-levels. I tell them, “I don’t know.” All
I know is that I worked very, very hard. And now
when I look back, I’m thankful for all the lemons
that life has thrown at me ’cos I turned them into
sweet-tasting lemonade.
What was the turning point in your life?
When my mum was diagnosed with [Stage 3]breast cancer [in 2009]. I realised that life is
just too short to complain or to be complacent.
And ’cos of my faith and all the wonderful people
whom I’ve met and built friendships with on my
travel shows — it has really brought me to a place
of stability. Without my faith and them, I wouldn’t
be where or who I am today.
Did your role as a breast cancer survivor in
BRA resonate more because of your mum’s
passing from breast cancer last year after a
relapse?
Deeply. A lot of the experiences that Brenda has to
go through was what my mum went through. It was
very difficult. But through all the pain, struggles
and sufferings that my mum went through, I saw
so much strength, courage and perseverance.
So I told myself I’m not going to play Brenda as
that pathetic cancer survivor. But as a strong
woman ’cos that’s what a breast cancer survivor
represents — strength, courage and fearlessness.
What do you remember most about your
mum’s cancer ordeal?
When she was... (Pauses, tears well up in her eyes)
having her chemo treatment, she would tell me
that she feels like there are a million ants going
through her entire body, and that she was in pain.
But the moment they took out the tubes after the
treatment, she would suddenly just smile again.
(Tears roll down her cheeks) She would put on that
“I’m okay” face ’cos she wanted her children to
be okay. (Chokes back tears) And towards the end
of her life, when she had a relapse, she would
still face the world with so much courage. When
she was on her death bed, she instructed one
of my relatives to cook a scrumptious meal to
take to her church and serve it to its members
and pastors. I looked at her — a dying person
who wasn’t thinking about herself, but who was
still looking out for the interests of others. I’d
never forget her beautiful selfless spirit. There
was a scene where my onscreen husband Jimmy
[Taenaka] had to shave my head bald. I wore a
bald cap. And when he cut my hair, my tears were
just flowing. Then suddenly, I remembered my
mum. And I held it all together again, instead of
crumbling. I looked into the mirror and I let out a
slight smile. It almost feels like my mum’s spirit
lives on through Brenda (laughs).
You’ve travelled to many places for over a
decade hosting travelogues. Share with us
your wildest on-the-road encounters.
It’s always crazy. Close shave with death? All the
time. ’Cos we go to places that aren’t exactly
safe, and where there are always riots. Once, I
had to build a library in a mountainous village in34
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