Abigail Chay

Abigail Chay (born 19 May 1959) is a transgender actor, comedian and entertainer in Singapore.

She is known for her role as Auntie Abigail in Under One Roof in 1995, and came out to the public in a Mediacorp programme based on her life titled Life Story in 2006. Her life story was used as the basis of the musical I Am What I Am (2012) in Hong Kong.

Early life Abigail Chay was born on 19 May . She is an only child. Her name, which symbolises "chastity", was given by her father.

At a young age, she played with dolls, and was happy when she was made to wear a dress by her housekeeper, receiving compliments from neighbours. She also held an interest for performing, especially in Chinese opera.

Chay is English-educated, and studied at the all-boys Anglo-Chinese School. died in 2002 of heart failure.

After acting in Under One Roof as the single Auntie Abigail She acted as a bride whose wedding day was ruined by the groom's ex-lover. In 2003, she acted in The Trouble With Living with Salim and Ezan Ismail as a Bond girl. television celebrity.

Chay also played other roles, such as Ah Bao's feminine side in the stage drama Crystal Boys (1997), in Channel 8 dramas The Legendary Swordsman and Time After Time, and in movies like We Are Family by Alan Tam and Money No Enough by Jack Neo. titled Life Story, her identity had only been speculated by people before. George Seetoh of The Straits Times wrote that more understanding should come from the society so parents could accept their children better.

Personal life Chay is Christian. She describes herself as being excessively trusting, having lost sums of money in investments after being taken advantage of.

By 2006, Chay had six relationships with men, most of whom could not accept that she was transgender. After the surgery, she enter a one-year marriage, which ended in a divorce due to the husband's insecurity. Her father was unsupportive of the marriage.

Her personal life was the inspiration of the Cantonese and Mandarin musical titled I Am What I Am (2012) in Hong Kong. Angus Chan, a Hong Kong actor, played the role of Chay.

In July 2006, she shaved her head as part of the Children's Cancer Foundation charity, for their annual Hair For Hope event, and wore a wig after in daily life. In 2024, Chay underwent surgery for hernia, after having had digestive problems and being unable to eat fibrous food. On 10 July 2026, she held a living funeral so she could hear people commemorate her while she was alive, and hopes that it motivates more people to be open to the topic of death.