Julie Tan recovering from thyroid condition

Text: Teo Sijia
Photos: Lim Wen Ying
Video:Teng Siew Eng and Ling Pak Wei

Julie Tan developed a long-term thyroid condition that causes her hands to tremble and her neck to swell last year.

In an interview with xinmsn at the press conference of upcoming Ch8 drama, It’s a Wonderful Life, held yesterday, Julie revealed that she discovered something was amiss with her health while filming Unriddle 2.

People started to alert her that her neck was swollen and her hands also started to tremble often, however, she ignored the symptoms thinking that it was due to fatigue -- until her mother brought her to the doctor and discovered her thyroid condition.

Julie then realised the importance of health and decided to go on a one-year hiatus to recuperate before filming It’s a Wonderful Life as she did not wish to add to her parents’ worries. 

“My father asked if it was right for me to be so occupied with work to the point where I started to neglect my health,” she recalled during the interview.

Although Julie is recovering, she still has to pay careful attention to her health as it is a long-term condition. “In 2013, I just hope for good health and safety for everyone in the family,” Julie added.

During the interview, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) graduate also thanked Hong Kong veteran actor Ha Yu, who acted as her uncle in the show, for his guidance as she felt that her acting had become ‘rusty’ after resting for a year.

In It’s a Wonderful Life, Julie plays the role Hao Ping An, a cheerful girl who grew up in Canada and returns to Singapore hoping to mend the broken family ties between her uncle and father. She falls in love with Gu Zhiji (Elvin Ng), a down and out artist who is too focused in his work to think about love issues.