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 Ally Chia on Amazon Prime Video, a short film loosely based on her real life experiences as a struggling chef (she runs her home-catering business and online store Sam Tan's Kitchen to this day). The film was shot in one day with an all-female crew. In 2024 she released Ally Chia Begins, a 5-part prequel series on YouTube.
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) opposite Daniel Dae Kim, 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.