One of China's most famous exports of late, ZiYi is known internationally for her roles as Jen in "Wo hu cang long (2000)" ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") directed by Ang Lee, and alongside Jackie Chan in Rush Hour.

26 year old Stephanie Sun, or Sun Yan Zi, has recently emerged as a celebrated singer in Singapore, China. Educated at St. Margaret’s Secondary School, Raffles Girls’ Secondary School and Nanyang Technological University with a Merit degree in Marketing 2000, this dynamic young woman was first discovered in 2000. With a debut album entitled “I Am Sun Yanzi” that was the No. 1 Best-selling album in Singapore Phonogram & Videogram Association charts, Stephanie Sun has made quite a name for herself. In 2001 alone, she was honored with the Best Newcomer Award at the Golden Melody Awards (Taiwan) and received five nominations during the Singapore Hit Awards. She was also named Most Promising Artiste at the Singapore Hit Awards in 2000. With her latest album “Kite” released in Singapore on July 12^th, 2001, Stephanie promises to be a dynamic singing presence for years to come.

Unarguably one of the most established local singers, Kit Chan is often dubbed as Singapore's "national treasure.” Since her debut in 1993, she has proven herself in many diversified areas – singing, theatre, television drama, poetry, song writing, and community work. As a singer, Kit has broken through to many markets outside of Singapore including China and Taiwan, with her breakthrough hit album “Heartache.” Back home in Singapore, Kit was the first solo artiste commissioned by the National Arts Council to perform the Sing Singapore community song "Home" in both English and Mandarin. Kit’s extensive community involvement has included an appointment by the National Youth Council (NYC) as their first Youth Ambassador in 1999 and international diplomacy missions including to Ethiopia with World Vision. Kit is the first performing artiste to receive the "Young Women Achiever Award 1999" from Her World magazine, alongside CEO of Raffles Hotel Jennie Chua and humanitarian Teresa Hsu.

Ning Baizura, the Malysian R&B soul queen, sealed her fate as a singing star when she won the “The Voice of Asia,” in Kuala Lumpur (Life Centre), for the “Best Artist Development Award” in 1991 at the extraordinary age of 16. The vocalist was born June 25^th, 1975 in Malaysia and started taking voice lessons at the age of 10. Her career transcends singing - she is also an accomplished actress and entertainer. Her movie roles include but are not limited to the 1996 film Bara, the 1997 film Maria Mariana, and the 1998 film Gemilang. She has been honored with a variety of awards, such as the 1992 AIM Award Best New Artist, the 1993 AIM Award Best Album of the Year, and the 1994 AIM Award Best Pop Album. The young and budding singer has been likened to such icons as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

Maggie Cheung was born in Hong Kong on September 20, 1964. She moved with her family when she was ten to England. However, once she finished her secondary schooling she returned to Hong Kong to do modeling and television commercials. She got into acting and earned her big break in 1984 in the movie Police Story. She earned her highest critical acclaim in The Actress, and broke into the international scene with her roll in the 1996 film Irma Vep. Her first English – language film was the Chinese Box.

Tanya Chua is an accomplished performer and composer, demonstrating a unique versatility in recording disparate genres of music with equal ease. Tanya was asked to compose and sing the theme song for the National Day Parade 2001 at National Stadium- resulting in her composition ‘Where I Belong’. At the 93.3FM Hit Awards, the Singapore equivalent of the Grammy’s, Tanya won the Best Local composition award, in addition to nominations in two other prestigious categories, including Best Female Artiste. She was the first Singapore artiste to be interviewed on CNN’s acclaimed Q&A Asia series, and was specially invited to sing at the 12^th Golden Melody Awards, the songs of late veteran singers Teresa Teng, Chang Yu-sheng, and Xue Yue in a special tribute segment. She was also honored with the Special Achievement Award at the Radio Music Awards in 2001.

"It saddens me that these animals are threatened on a daily basis to the point of being categorized as endangered species.

Many people who buy and sell endangered species products are simply unaware of the devastating impact they are having on wildlife. Together, we can influence and educate the world so that these amazing species can still roam the earth in years to come. When we all come together, we can do anything."

Kathaleeya McIntosh, or Mam as she is often called, was born on November 10^th, 1972 in Bangkok Thailand. This 170 cm tall English-Thai beauty was born to William and Yuraporn McIntosh. After attending Seven Days Advantise secondary school, and then Assumption University, Kathaleeya’s graduated into the world of acting, modeling, and MCs. She has been a host for TV show Samakhom Chomdao, starred in movies such as Pua ter, Yaak yood tawan wai tee ply fah, and was also awarded the Vote Award for Most Favorite Actress.

Amir Yussoff was a science and math student at the Peninsula Church of England School in Mt. Eliza, Frankston in Melbourne Australia. He took a year off from school and enrolled at Manash University, also in Melbourne Austrailia. He decided school was not for him and began writing songs and learning to play the guitar shortly after he dropped out. He never thought of music as a career until he saw a musician perform one night at a bar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After several rejections, he was finally hired at a bar in Bangsgar. A year later he was second in the Carlsberg’s annual Top of the Pubs competition and caught the attention of Roslan Aziz, who signed him to his record label. After a year of concerts and touring, he left Roslan Aziz Productions and signed with Scat Records. His first album “Some of this is Real” won the award for Best English Album at the 1996 AIM Awards. His next album “Altered Native,” which he produced on his own label “Ragtime,” earned three AIM nominations. In 2002, he worked with producer Jamie Wilson and released his most recent album “Aquarius,” which many think is his strongest work to date. Yussoff has also done voiceovers, and was the voice of Tarzan in Disney’s production.

Jolin Tsau was born in Taipei, Taiwan on September 15, 1980. She attended Fu-Ren Catholic University. Growing up she won many singing competitions including the MTV Youngsters Singing Competition in 1998. She signed a contract with Universal Recording Company in 1999, and released her first album, “Jolin,” that September. Since then she has released four more albums as well as a compellation album entitled “Together.”  Her most recent album is called “See My 72 Changes – Music.”

Born in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on July 20, 1976, Alexander Yoong has made significant achievements in the world of motor racing. He was barely four when he vowed to be a professional race driver. With unfaltering support from his family, Alex began his racing career with motocross bikes at the age of eight. In 1992 at age fifteen, he entered and won his first car race. His first international race came a year later, when he raced in Macau and took third. In the 1994 Formula Asia International Series 2000, he won the last round in Zhuhai China. With eight wins, he became the Malaysian Champion in 1995. Alex then began racing in Europe, joining the European Minardi F1 team in 2001. He was granted a Formula 1 Super-license and became not only the first Malaysian, but also the first Asian non-Japanese Formula 1 driver in nearly half a century. In 2003, Alex campaigned in the Champ Car World Series in the United Sates. He established himself as a mid-field runner and had a 9th overall finish in his debut in Mexico. On January 10, 2003, Alex’s wife Arianna gave birth to their son Alister.

Born in 1943 in North Yorkshire England, Ben Kingsley was originally given the name Krishna Bhanji. When he was nineteen, he decided he wanted to become a professional actor after seeing a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company of Richard III, and changed his name to Ben Kingsley. His first acting job was with the Theater in Education Group and he made is first London appearance in 1996 as the singing narrator in “A Smashing Day.”  In 1967, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where he starred in many plays including Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Measure For Measure - roles which took him on tours of the United States, Canada and Europe. Ben Kingsley’s film career began in 1972 with the movie Fear is the Key and his first major role was in 1982, the lead role in Ghandi, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. Kingsley is also well known for his critically acclaimed performances in Betrayal, Sneakers, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Dave, Schlindler’s List and The House of Sand and Fog. Sir Ben Kingsley currently resides in Oxfordshire, England and has four children.

Michaela Strachan was born April 7^th in Ewell, 1966. She attended Claremont Girls School in Esher until she was 16 and then moved to a musical theatre school to earn a diploma in singing, dance, and drama. She first began her career in musicals, and then later shifted to working in television as a children’s presenter, first in TV-am’s The Wide Awake Club and then in various wildlife programmes for younger views, such as channel 4’s Owl TV and BBC 1’s The Really Wild Show (she recently completed the fourth series). She currently splits her time between residencies in North London, Streatham, and Wimbledon.

Moses Kiptanui was born in Marakwet Kenya and is well known for his many awards in the 3000m steeplechase, the 3000, and the 5000m. In 1991, at 21 years of age, he became the youngest ever world track champion. He won a Silver Medal in the Olympics in 1996 and was also a Silver medallist at the World Championships in 1997.

Noah Ngeny was born in Kenya on November 2, 1978. As a junior runner he set two junior world records in his event, the 1500m. His success continued when he started running as an adult at the age of nineteen. In 1999 he won a Silver Medal at the World Championships and then a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Chris Packham was born and raised in Southhampton England. He had many pets growing up including snakes, spiders, finches and foxes. He is a well-known photographer and has led ornithological tours of the Mediterranean, the West Indies, Scandinavia and India since 1992. Packham did a children’s wildlife program for the BBC called The Really Wild Show, for which he won a BAFTA award, and has done other television shows for the BBC inlcuding X-Creatures and Watch Out. In addition to wildlife, Chris’s passions include old cars and motorcycles, art, movies and soccer.

Maya Karin was born in Germany on October 29, 1979. Growing up, her family was forced to move a lot because of her father’s job. In 1991, her family moved to Bandung in East Java where she attended the International School. She began modeling at the age of thirteen, and started singing rock music and the blues with a live band when she was fifteen. She moved back to Malaysia when she was seventeen where she has done theater, modeling and hosted television shows. In 2001, she released her debut solo album entitled “Erti Cinta.”      

Zoe Tay was born on the 10th of January, 1968 to a pig farmer, and in a true rags to riches story, is now a top model, critically acclaimed actress, and household name in Singapore. First discovered after the Star Search in 1988, she went on to star in more than 30 drama serials. Her role in Pretty Faces in 1991 established Zoe as a premier actress and resolved any doubts about her acting ability. She has been awarded seven consecutive Top 10 Most Popular Artistes Awards in the Annual Star Awards since its creation in 1994. Her notable performance in Golden Pillow awarded her with a Best Actress Award in Star Awards ’96. In a span of two years, this truly versatile woman launched a coffee table book, Zoe’s Pictorial, in addition to a solo album.

Born in Manila on February 22,1971, Lea Salonga loved to sing from the time she was little. She made her professional acting debut at the age of seven in the Reparatory Philippines production of The King and I. At age ten, she began her recording career and received a gold record for her first album. She won three ALIW Awards for Best Child Entertainer in 1981, 1982 and 1983. In 1991, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress, a Laurence Olivier Award, a Drama Desk award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Theater World Award for her role as Kim in Miss Saigon.  She has been in many theater performances including Les Miserables, Grease!, My Fair Lady and Fiddler on the Roof. In 1995, she was in the television movie Redwood Curtains, and has been in several Filipino Films such as May If Be Repeated and Why I Love You So Much.  She was also the voice of Jasmine in Disney film Aladdin.

Born in Hong-Kong, Karen Monk is multilingual and speaks English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin and Italian. She studied at the United World College in Italy, but left when she landed a coveted role in the London stage production of Miss Saigon. She then signed a record contract, but decided that a career as a singer was not for her. She finished her education at the University of London, and her fist film was Chinese Odyssey. She won the Hong-Kong Film Award for Best Actress for her role in Fallen Angels. She has been in many films since then including God of Cookery, Black Mask, So Close and most recently Around the World in 80 Days.

Singapore native Phyllis Quek, a successful full-time model before becoming an actress, was awarded the runner-up title at Star Search 1995. She was previously chosen as first runner-up in the Best Model of the Year contest and second runner-up in the New Face of the Year 1994 contest. Phyllis can boast of three languages: English, Mandarin and Cantonese, owing to her diverse background. A high point of her career was the achievement of the Best Newcomer Award in 1996, no easy feat, and a true testament to the successful model. Since winning the award, Phyllis has appeared in numerous drama serials, such as her leading role in ‘A Brave New World’ and won the Best female artiste in ‘Hope’. Apart from her celebrity as an actress, Phyllis is also a recognized Commercial Dance ‘Recording Artiste’. Her first track ‘Freedom’ landed a spot on the Top 10 Charts for 4 weeks upon release.

Coco Lee, a former Miss Chinese America, was born in Hong Kong on January 17, 1975. She grew up in San Francisco where she decided at an early age that she wanted to be a singer. She was the winner of several local singing competitions and entered her school’s talent shows as well as frequently singing karaoke. After graduating from high school, she went on a trip to Hong Kong and entered an annual singing contest where she came in second, and was signed by a record company. Since then she has released many albums in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. In 1995, she was named one of Taiwan’s best artists, and in 1996 her single “Former Love” won awards from both the Chinese Top 20 and the Golden Dragon Chart Awards. In 1997, she won the Best Female Artist award from the Best Ten Artists Awards, and in 1998 at the MTV Asia Music Awards, she won the award for Best Album and Best Music Video for her album “DiDaDi.”  She is also the voice behind Disney’s Mulan. Currently, she is enjoying the warm reception of her most recent album, released in English, “Just No Other Way.”