HER halter-neck dress exposed her slim shoulders.
But the biggest change in Fiona Xie today is not so much that she looks so much thinner in person than she used to be.
It's that she doesn't skirt issues and talks in circles anymore, preferring to tackle questions head on, even (gasp!) elaborating at length.
We had asked the 29-year-old babe what she thought about fellow celeb Irene Ang's recent comment which appeared to allude to her.
Ang, one of the judges for the Singapore leg of tvN's K-Pop Star Hunt: Cube Audition held last weekend, was describing the qualities she's looking for in a celeb wannabe.
"I want newbies who are passionate and will follow through with her career in showbiz," said the founder and chief executive officer of talent management company Fly Entertainment.
"Not like some people who fly to Hong Kong, the US or other countries and give up their careers halfway through."
Ang, 42, later claimed the comments were not aimed at Xie.
Still, who can forget that Xie, a former MediaCorp star, had famously dumped her showbiz career abruptly two years ago to join her Australian-American boyfriend in Hong Kong, and later New York.
Asked about the comment, Xie who was characteristically giggly when she spoke to us at the grand opening of the "new moments of City Chain" store at Ion Orchard on Tuesday, suddenly turned serious.
'I'm controversial'
"I don't know why people target me. Maybe it's because I'm controversial and I'm not one to fight back," she told The New Paper.
She added: "It's okay if people want to use me to stir news and for their own fame.
"It's part and parcel of this industry. I'm not offended and I take it in my stride.
"I lead my own life and I'm answerable to God, myself, and my family."
She stands by her decision to leave showbiz two years ago to pursue her own interests.
It's important that people stay true to themselves rather than stick to the cookie-cutter mould, she stressed.
When contacted, Ang said she made the remark in jest, and that it was nothing personal against Xie.
"It was a joke and I wasn't referring to anyone in particular. The point I was trying to put across is, if you are passionate about showbiz, you have to put your heart in it and not leave halfway," she said.
Could Ang's apparent "dig" have occurred because her good friend Rebecca Tan is said to have fallen out with Singapore Idol alumnus Olinda Cho, who's now believed to be Xie's new best girlpal? Not true, said Ang.
Tan and Cho are still very good friends who keep in contact on Facebook, Twitter and phone messaging application WhatsApp, she said.
While Ang's remark may have been unintended and not aimed at Xie, another remark made by another local celeb, Huang Yiliang, was definitely about Xie.
According to the actor-turned-director in his interview with Radio 100.3 last month, a female co-star was late for filming every day for up to two hours.
The 50-year-old later admitted to Lianhe Wanbao that it was Xie and that it happened during the filming of the 2001 TV comedy My Genie.
He added he had scolded her for her tardiness, and she had listened quietly. Xie, who was in Kuala Lumpur filming her new movie The Golden Couple then, did not respond to the report.
But when we told her about it on Tuesday, she had only kind words for Huang.
Admission of fault
Xie admitted it was her fault a decade ago, and admired Huang for thrashing things out with her then.
She said: "He was quite scary when he scolded me, but I like it because he's real and not a hypocrite. After we (cleared the air), there was no animosity and we are back to being friends."
The famously outspoken Huang told TNP he didn't babble about Xie out of bad intention.
He said: "The radio interview was about actors who are late, and I only spoke the truth. I also said good things about Fiona in the newspaper interview, like she's a good actress.
"Fiona wasn't late on purpose, it was a habit with her. It was her first job and she probably didn't understand the rules at work. We understood each other better after that."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
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