Biography

Born in Singapore, and a child of the world, Desiree's lineage combines her father’s Indonesian and Chinese heritage with her mother’s unique descent of Dutch, Portuguese, Filipino, and Spanish. This combination creates Desiree's truly exotic essence and beauty.

As a child, Desiree was cast in several commercials, theatre productions and voice-over projects. At the age of 16, she was signed by a modeling agency where she went on to book several commercials and print ads for International brands.  By the age of 17, Desiree was the “1st Runner-Up” of Singapore’s New Paper New Face Contest which propelled her into the spotlight and afforded her the opportunity to travel to exotic locations throughout Asia modeling and acting. Desiree has worked in such locations as Tokyo, Bangkok, Shanghai, Myanmar, Kuala Lumpur, Saigon and Seoul. In 2003, Desiree found herself returning to Singapore where she booked a lead role in Singapore’s highly rated crime drama series, Heartlanders.   

In 2004, Desiree gained a loyal following with a highly publicized role in MTV Asia’s first action drama series, Rouge. This led to a major cover campaign for Maxim Magazine International and she became the first “Cover Girl” of Maxim Singapore. This exposure allowed Desiree to explode in the Southeast Asian market putting her face everywhere in the region.

Building on her success, in 2005, she booked Villa Wellness, where she hosted Singapore’s very first Reality TV show. 

Desiree's culmination of work and wide exposure brought her the opportunity to audition (and  ultimately cast) in the worldwide search for the leading role opposite the late David Carradine in The Hallmark Channel's, Son of the Dragon. Her performance in the film catapulted her to an international name and Hallmark immediately signed her to a second film, Marco Polo, where she starred opposite ABC’s Lost and the CW’s Vampire Diaries; Ian Somerhalder.

Desiree can currently be seen in her second season as the leading lady of Singapore's Ch.5 drama series,  Whispers Of The Dead. Desiree is one of the few Singaporeans who has been invited to become a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.