HUNKS have always been the focus of Taiwanese idol dramas.

Just mention the names Jerry Yen, Vic Zhou and Mike He and you can imagine hordes of fanatic teenage girls screaming.

However, over the last couple of years, some leading ladies have also emerged. U-Weekly picks its top three candidates for Best Idol Drama Queen:

ARIEL LIN, 27

The baby-faced actress, who bagged last year’s Best Actress accolade at Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards, has since branched out into the music industry.

She released her debut album Blissful Encounter in July to mixed reviews.

But the happy-go-lucky gal takes criticism in her stride and prefers to focus on work, rather than be bothered by bad press.

“Some people say that I’ve been struck by the ‘curse’ of the Golden Bell,” she said, referring to the stroke of horrid luck that has hit other actresses after winning the award.

Ariel suffered only a slight career dip.

Her latest idol drama, Love Or Bread (also starring actor Joe Cheng), did not do so well in terms of ratings, compared with her previous efforts like Love Contract (2004) and It Started With A Kiss (2005).

She remains positive though, saying: “I don’t want to put pressure on myself, by constantly thinking of awards.

“To me, the response from the audience is still the most important. So long as viewers and fans like my acting, I’m very happy.”

CHERYL YANG,31

This veteran television actress was flying under the radar till last year’s breakthrough drama series My Queen.

Cheryl played a high-flying 30-something career woman who falls in love with Ethan Ruan, a co-worker almost 10 years younger.

It’s no surprise Cheryl pulled off her role with aplomb, as she is no stranger to playing difficult characters.

Her most daring performance was in the movie Twenty Something Taipei (2002), in which she stripped naked.

JOE CHEN,30

She may have a boyish-sounding English name, but don’t be mistaken.

Joe is anything but a tomboy.

The actress-host started out as a member of girl group Seven Flowers, but after the dismal sales of its debut album, they disbanded and she moved into acting.

Two of her dramas, Prince Turns To Frog (2005) and Fated To Love You (2008), came in tops in television ratings, a testament to her ascending star power.

Joe recently revealed her future plans to the Taiwanese press: “I’m not getting any younger, I don’t want to be stuck in the same type of series forever.”

She added that she “yearns to jump out of the idol drama circle” and “take on more challenging roles”, including those that would require her to uglify herself.

This article was first published in The New Paper.