Emerald Hill wins 6 awards at Star Awards 2026, including first Best Actress gong for Jesseca Liu

Meanwhile, Desmond Tan clinched both Best Actor and his 10th Top 10 popularity award, and Carrie Wong and Romeo Tan took home All-time Favourite Artiste trophies.

Emerald Hill, the follow-up to 2009’s The Little Nyonya and the hit drama of 2025, unsurprisingly won big at the Star Awards this year, taking six main awards including Best Drama and Best Original Song.

Leading lady Jesseca Liu took home her first Best Actress award for her role as the long-suffering Second Young Mistress in the drama, while other Emerald Hill actors Tyler Ten and Chen Liping were named Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. Child actress Ivory Chia also took home the Young Talent Award for her work in the show.

A tearful Liu likened her 22-year acting career to “riding a unicycle”, with falls and injuries along the way. In the end, she said, “I know this is not through my effort alone”.

In the Best Actor category, Desmond Tan beat out hot favourite Chen Hanwei, clinching the trophy for his work as troubled twin brothers in Devil Behind The Gate. Tan’s last Best Actor win was for 2018’s When Duty Calls.

Held on Sunday night (Apr 19) at the Mediacorp TV Theatre, the Star Awards 2026 took the theme “Born to Glow”, with a total of 19 awards given out.

Hosted by Guo Liang, Zhang Zetong and Cheryl Chou, the awards ceremony was graced by international guests including Hong Kong’s Bowie Lam, Julian Cheung and Ada Choi; Taiwan’s Kevin Tsai, Jasper Liu and Hsieh Ying-xuan; and Chinese actor Luo Yunxi, who performed a song on stage.

Guo Liang had his hands full as he also took home the Best Programme Host award for his on-stage skills at last year’s Star Awards ceremony, celebrating his second win in the category after being nominated “20 times, I think”. In his speech, he acknowledged the rise of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry, telling his fellow artistes to “believe in yourselves. Even if AI comes for us, we have real vitality”.

It was a good night for the veteran host as he also clinched his 10th Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes award. He was joined by Ya Hui, Paige Chua and Desmond Tan, who also got their 10th popularity trophies, confirming their All-time Favourite Artiste status at next year’s awards ceremony.

Two All-time Favourite Artistes, Carrie Wong and Romeo Tan, were minted this year.

Wong, 32, became the youngest in Star Awards history to take home the All-time Favourite Artiste trophy, having won 10 Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes awards since she broke into showbiz at the age of 19. In her acceptance speech, she spoke about coming to an understanding of “real growth” and the importance of pressing on when she felt like giving up.

Tan, meanwhile, recalled his days of waiting in the wings for his big break. Because of that, simple affirmations like meeting “uncles who tell me I acted well” mean a lot to him, he said, adding: “I’d like to tell chubby little six-year-old me, who loved watching television, to go ahead and dream big.”

Young performers also received encouragement at the ceremony, with the Best Rising Star award going to Gladys Bay for her work in Under the Net, and Tyler Ten, Juin Teh and Zhang Zetong named Most Popular Rising Stars.

In the Top 10 Most Popular Artistes categories, first-time award winners were Hazelle Teo, who went on stage brandishing a hongbao from her mum; and a teary Nick Teo, who thanked his equally teary wife, Hong Ling. In addition, Ayden Sng, nominated for a popularity award for the first time, also clinched his first trophy.

Other award winners included The Breakfast Quartet for Best Radio Programme, Dennis Chew for Best Audio Personality and YES 933 Comedy Series for Best Short-form Entertainment Programme. And, in newly introduced category Best Microdrama, Woke Up In The 60s In My Grandma’s Apron starring Regine Lim and Raynold Tan took the top spot.

STAR AWARDS 2026 WINNERS LIST

Best Drama Serial: Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story

Best Actor: Desmond Tan (Devil Behind The Gate)

Best Actress: Jesseca Liu (Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story)