Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Samantha has led multiple lives across three continents as an actress, writer, director, chef-entrepreneur and former professional dancer in Malaysia, UK and USA. She is the first Malaysian in history to become a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio, led by co-presidents Ellen Burstyn, Alec Baldwin and Al Pacino in NYC.
Samantha is the creator and star of the short film Ally Chia on Amazon Prime Video and Ally Chia Begins, its 5-part prequel series on YouTube. The character is loosely based on her real life experiences as a struggling chef, running her home-catering business Sam Tan's Kitchen. She is currently developing it into a full-length TV series.
Samantha was the first Malaysian ever to be accepted into the MFA Acting program at Actors Studio Drama School NYC, and raised $105,000 of her tuition in 2 weeks through a combination of global crowdfunding and four scholarships. She will forever be grateful to the generous souls around the world who made her training possible.
Samantha is multi-lingual and speaks fluent Malay and basic Cantonese, Mandarin and Hokkien/Taiwanese.
Notable UK stage credits include Disney's High School Musical (original London cast), The King & I (Royal Albert Hall), Bizet's Carmen at the O2 Arena, the BRIT Awards, and the 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony, where she was a featured dancer watched by an estimated TV audience of 750 million worldwide.