Of ancient-new age Greek, Mongolian and Chinese heritage, Selena Khoo Chiew Guat was born on her grandmother's vast rubber trees estate in a humble house on stilts, in the village of Pekan Gurney, nested between Ipoh and the beaches opposite Pangkor Island. It was the kind of house that inspired magical storytelling around the cooking fire. There was even a stony well from which one had to draw w ...
show all Of ancient-new age Greek, Mongolian and Chinese heritage, Selena Khoo Chiew Guat was born on her grandmother's vast rubber trees estate in a humble house on stilts, in the village of Pekan Gurney, nested between Ipoh and the beaches opposite Pangkor Island. It was the kind of house that inspired magical storytelling around the cooking fire. There was even a stony well from which one had to draw water, roosters would crow in the mornings and chickens would run around constantly. Her great-grandmother would rock in her rocking chair each day till she passed away there. Fond memories are always present of grandmother's house. Her combined occidental-oriental birth names, carefully chosen for her by her avantgarde parents educated in England, complement each other. 'Selena', an ancient Greek name, signifying the lunar aspect of the Greek goddess, 'Artemis', is synergistic with the Chinese names of 'Chiew Guat', spelled out in Fujian dialect, meaning 'Autumn Moon'. In naming her as they did, her parents probably had little idea that these names would be the clarion call for her to embark on an enormous adventure of self-discovery into the transcendental intimate origins of her true nature, urging her to go forth, far and wide, and eventually making home in Italy where she enjoys the ancient-new age "Greco-Romano" principles of living. During the 70s, her family took up citizenship in Australia, affectionately nicknamed 'Oz' by its citizens. A very nature-conscious, independent and fair-minded Australian upbringing was embraced. Selena indulged in role-playing as early as four. Her mum recalls the episode with affection. She would be cleaning the floor upstairs when she heard Selena on the floor below, indulging in her favourite role as 'maestro' before an invisible audience of children. Mostly tom-boyish roles were adopted when role-playing with her energetic brothers, Benjamin (a financial whizz) and Jourdan (an excellent actor). Together, her sibling trio emulated to perfection the famous trio (Steve, John and Jerry) of Hawaii Five-O, their favourite police story of all time. Song, dance and fair-play were the order of her childhood days. Earliest stage recital was at ten with her school drama class performances of musical theatre pieces including "Hernando's Hideaway" ("The Pajama Game") and "Who will buy?" (Oliver!). She won the dux award at high school for English Literature. Early preparation studies in Classical Music, Ballet, Chinese dance and Calligraphy, Ancient Greek and Roman mythology, Shakespearean Literature and Drama, Martial Arts, Fashion Runway Grooming and Deportment, inspired her to try out her fortune in cinema. Moving to Hong Kong in 1993, her first appearance was made in a co-protagonist role in the successful hip film,"Wan 9 Zhao 5", directed by Teddy Chen and produced by Peter Chan. An avantgarde drama exploring the lives of five teenage friends and their adventures with sex, alcohol and disco in the trendy setting of Lan Kwai Fong. Her character in the film, Sue, from a prudishly wealthy Taiwanese family, dressed always in black, living out her teenage years in a perpetual state of mourning for her mother who had committed suicide out of grave depression. Completing two action films by Korean-American director Albert Pyun on location in Hong Kong and another teenage drama by director Andy Chin, she then moved to Los Angeles in 1994. However, being ahead of the times there, she found it difficult to contend with uninspiring roles being offered to Asian actresses in Hollywood. Feeling restless in her new found home in the 'City of Angels', Selena soon departed on a sightseeing safari in a 1975-model jeep. She traveled from Baja California through to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, Costa Rica and back. This safari would endure up to six months. Recently she appeared as co-protagonist in "Two Tigers" ("Le Due Tigre"), an Italian-Chinese co-production due to be released in February 2007. It is an action film set in modern-day Shanghai about two 'femme fatales', a professional killer and a high-class call girl, in search of their own intimate identities.
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