Eleanor Lee shares dark side of showbiz but finds inspiration in mum Quan Yifeng: 'That woman never quit'

The New Paper
November 29, 2023

As the daughter of local celebrities Quan Yifeng and Peter Yu, singer-actress Eleanor Lee has been around showbiz all her life.

And as a 24-year-old striking out in China, she doesn’t paint a rosy picture of the industry.

The Singaporean discussed the difficulties of being in the business when answering questions from fans in her Instagram Stories.

Her reply to one fan who asked if she ever wanted to leave the industry: “More times than you could ever imagine.”

She said she wasn’t the only one who entertained thoughts of leaving. Everyone she knew in showbiz was the same.

The young actress blamed it on the pressure and lack of freedom and how “everyone has their eyes on you 24/7”.

“You’re not allowed to make mistakes. At least not on camera,” she wrote.

As to why she didn’t quit, Lee said she couldn’t because of her mother.

“I look up to my mum, because God knows all the shit she has to put up with and go through,” she wrote. “Then I think to myself, that woman never quit, not once, so how could I?”

Lee, who gained fame after starring in the 2017 Chinese high school romance series Big Boss, says showbiz has been unpredictable and filled with “so many ups and downs”.

“You never know who’s gonna make it, who’s the next star tomorrow”, she said.

Lee added that it was more difficult for women in the industry and “guys have it much easier”.

“For example, when I fall down, I hurt myself or I get bullied, I don’t make a sound and just handle things quietly,” the actress wrote.

“I don’t whine, I don’t go around telling people, because they’re only gonna say you don’t work hard enough, you whine a lot, you can’t endure hardships etc.”

The reverse was true for male celebrities, Lee said. If they mentioned their struggles, “fans and colleagues will just give a standing ovation” for being hardworking and professional.

She noted that there were exceptions and added: “But one thing I know for sure is that everyone works just as hard, we sacrifice a lot, we give up most of our freedom – it’s just the price we pay to be a part of this,” the young woman wrote.

As a parting shot, Lee said she wished people would be kinder to celebrities, as they are “also growing”.