Rui En (simplified Chinese: 瑞恩; pinyin: Ruì'ēn; stage name for Lu Rui En, 卢瑞恩, born January 29, 1981) is a Chinese Singaporean singer-actress.

Rui En was talent-spotted while appearing in SingTel's popular SingTel hi!Card commercial as the iconic "running girl" in 2001. She was then offered a general management contract by Artiste Networks, a section of Hype Records, which is headed by singer/songwriter Ken Lim and is known for retaining only the best artistes with the most potential on its tenure.

For her fanbase, she has an increasing pool of supporters in Singapore. RBKD (瑞不可当) is her official fan club recognized by herself and Hype Records. Accordingly to the group, the name was inspired from the Chinese idiom, 锐不可当, which shares the same hanyu pinyin as the fan group's name. And in this context, the group's name is to mean 'Rui En cannot be stopped'.

Rui En was educated at Singapore Chinese Girls' School and Raffles Junior College for her secondary and pre-tertiary education respectively .

And despite of hectic schedule, she managed to graduate from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Business in 2004, specializing in Banking and Finance.

Highlights and achievements:

2002

• Rui En released her debut album Rui ∑n vol. 01 under the co-production of Hype Records and Alfa Music. She was earlier introduced to JR Yang, (then Jay Chou's manager), by Ken Lim when Hype Records organised Jay Chou's Singapore concert.
• Rui En was the female lead in Jay Chou's Music Video for "暗号" (Secret Code).
• Rui En went on to co-endorse Panasonic GD68 with Jay Chou. A TVC was produced for this endorsement.

[edit] 2003

• Rui En was nominated as the Best Local Singer in the Singapore Hit Awards 2003.

[edit] 2005

• Rui En was chosen to perform the National Day Parade, 2005's theme song - Reach Out For The Skies (feat. Taufik Batisah) and 勇敢向前飞. The selection of the theme song singer each year often reflects the country's acknowledgement of her homegrown talent and is a much anticipated affair yearly.^[1]

• Rui En landed in her first ever leading role with A Promise For Tomorrow as the bubbly Fang Fang, with Qi Yuwu as her screen partner. The duo went on to co-endorse Tian Poh Jewellery.

[edit] 2006

• In December 2006, Rui En was identified as one of the most promising young actresses in the Singapore Entertainment Industry by leading local entertainment magazine I-Weekly and was hence labeled as one of the 七公主 (English: 7 Princesses) ^[2]. Often dubbed and referred to as the 酷公主 (English: Cool Princess) for her nonconforming attitude, she has openly expressed her desire to be recognized and remembered for her performances rather than with the title.

[edit] 2007

• Rui En was presented with the Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award by her alma mater Nanyang Technological University in the annual affair. She did not attend the ceremony to receive the award personally.

• Rui En caused an uproar in the virtual community when she surprisingly missed out on a nomination in the Best Actress Category in Star Awards 2007 organised by MediaCorp Singapore, for her breakthrough role as Assistant Superintendent An Xiao Qian in Metamorphosis. An online petition was initiated with hundreds of signatures submitted, prompting MediaCorp Singapore's media team to interview recognized actor Chen Han Wei and Ivy Lee ^[3] for their takes on this issue. Subsequent reporting were published on online news, Xin.sg ^[3] and leading Chinese local newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao.

[edit] 2008

• In March 2008, Rui En dethroned Fann Wong (previously a 5 time consecutive winner) in the annual popularity contest - 学生偶像投选, 影视组 (国际／本地), organised by now defunct newspaper, 星期5周报 (English: Friday Weekly), to claim the much coveted first runner-up position. The winner of the category went to Jay Chou.

• In the same month (March 2008), Rui En was involved in a high profile rejection of the role as an ambitious businesswoman struggling with mental illness in The Defining Moment, which subsequently went to Fann Wong instead. She was reported to have rejected the role due to a rape scene in the script.
  • Rui En is known to be firm on her stance against intimate, revealing or kissing scenes and has been criticized by some as unprofessional. She is reported to have been blacklisted by some producers after this role rejection incident but her supporters have vouched unwavering support.

• In November 2008, Rui En released her sophomore album United Nations, so called because she wrote the lyrics to many of the songs to unite her different states of mind.

• In December 2008, Rui En did a confessional interview with The Monday Interview titled Inside the Outsider ^[4], first published on The Straits Times.
  • In it, she confessed that she used to smoke and drink socially, and how she grew up feeling insecure as the only child in her broken family. Her parents subsequently divorced when she was 17.
  • The article struck a chord with the masses, especially those who grew up in similar environment. When asked of her rationale for such a heart-to-heart interview, she was quoted to say, "I am hoping that kids who read this might realise that no matter how bad your family situation is, you have a choice not to be a victim" ^[4].
  • The article was subsequently translated into a Mandarin version and published on Shin Min Daily News; other publications such as The New Paper and Elle (magazine): Singapore edition, have also taken reference to the article too.

[edit] 2009

• In a televised countdown event organised by MediaCorp Singapore's Channel 8, Rui En won 1 of the 8 coveted Top 8 Most Popular Female Characters award with her only production that year as Zhang Yu Hang in By My Side.
  • All artistes with at least a leading role in Channel 8's drama in 2008 are eligible for the award, with over 30 nominees in total.
  • The other winning female artistes are Fann Wong, Jeanette Aw and Felicia Chin.
  • Rui En was rumored by some, to have garnered the most number of votes in this popularity contest.

• In February 2009, Rui En beat fellow actress Jeanette Aw, hot favorite after the huge success of The Little Nyonya, to the coveted title of Babe of the Year in the annual Flame Awards organised by The New Paper.

• In April 2009, despite an informal viewers' survey labeling Rui En as a strong contender ^[5] for the coveted Best Actress Award in the annual Star Awards organised by MediaCorp Singapore, Rui En again missed out on a nomination for her role as AIDS patient-cum-volunteer Zhang Yu Hang in By My Side.
  • Her poor PR skill was thought to be a contributing reason to why she has never garnered any nomination in the acting categories despite being generally acknowledged as one of the finer local actresses of her generation.

• In the same month (April 2009), Rui En picked up her fourth consecutive Top Ten Most Popular Female Artiste trophy despite being a no-show in the high profile award ceremony due to overseas work commitment.
  • The popularity contest in the annual Star Awards is highly competitive and it is not unusual for artistes who are unable to attend the award ceremony to be disadvantaged.
  • A win despite her absence reflects Rui En's high popularity in Singapore.

• Rui En was invited to perform at Singapore Day 2009 at London's Hampton Court Palace in April 2009, a yearly event organised by the Overseas Singaporean Unit in the Prime Minister's Office to engage overseas Singaporeans.