Three times a charm for Jeanette Aw?
Posted: 17 April 2009 1541 hrs

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SINGAPORE : MediaCorp's hit Chinese language drama, "The Little Nyonya", raked in massive ratings to become the most watched Channel 8 drama in the past 15 years so it’s no surprise that the series swept the Star Award nominations, landing a whopping 16 nods, with at least two representatives in each of the acting categories as well as Best Drama.

But come April 26, all eyes will be on lead actress Jeanette Aw who has been tipped to win the Best Actress trophy. Aw is no stranger to this category - she snagged a nomination for her breakthrough role as the naïve and innocent Mo Jing Jing in long-running drama “Holland V” in 2003 and then picked up another nod for her role as a dedicated social worker in “A Child’s Hope 2” in 2004.

“I’m really happy about my nomination because ‘Little Nyonya' is my biggest role to date,” said the modest actress, who played dual roles as the lead character Yue Niang and her mute mother Ju Xiang in the series.

“For ‘Little Nyonya’, it was a challenge because I had two roles and one of which was deaf and mute, and that in itself was a huge challenge because I think it is not easy to portray a character to deliver emotions only by means of gestures instead of dialogue.”

Her co-star Joanne Peh, who has also garnered a Best Actress nomination for her role in the drama, agrees and thinks that this will give Aw an edge over other nominees.

The two ‘nyonyas’ are up against Felicia Chin (The Golden Path), Fann Wong (The Defining Moment) and veteran actress Chen Liping who scored two Best Actress nominations this year (Just in Singapore and The Golden Path).

So what does Aw think of her chances?

“I’m just happy to be nominated and I don’t want to think too much about it because ultimately it’s not within my control but it is a big encouragement,” she said.

Star Awards 2009 will be telecast ‘live’ on Sunday, April 26, at 7pm on Channel 8.

- CNA/il