'Even boys didn't want to befriend me': Carrie Wong recalls being ostracised in primary school

She may be a dazzling celebrity who turns heads now, but Carrie Wong used to turn heads in the past as well — albeit away from her.

In an interview with 8world for the new Mediacorp drama Shero, Carrie shared a titbit about her life in her youth — she had no friends in primary school.

Stating that she was ostracised by her classmates, the 29-year-old actress guessed that her height had something to do with it: "Maybe it's because I was tall in elementary school — about 169cm — so I looked very different from my classmates.

"However, we shouldn't blame children. When we are young, we naturally enjoy being friends with similar people and wouldn't befriend people who are different."

She added: "Not only the girls, but even the boys didn't want to befriend me."

In Shero, Carrie plays Zhang Yinxi, the boss of a female bodyguard company and sister to freelance photographer Zhang Yinchen (Joanne Peh).

Yinxi is attacked by a hitman while on an overseas mission and goes missing, leaving Yinchen distraught. 

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The latter decides to honour her sister and becomes a bodyguard herself, training and going on operations together with the other female bodyguards, forming strong bonds between them.

Although Carrie might not have had the chance to experience such camaraderie herself during her primary school days, she now has her own group of friends that she's known since secondary school.

Her friends were all part of their school's volleyball team, but their friendship extended beyond the court.

"We played volleyball, ate together, did homework, went to libraries, shared coffee, watched movies, et cetera. We still meet to this day," Carrie told 8world.

Shero also stars Aileen Tan, Brandon Wong, Rayson Tan, Romeo Tan, Nick Teo and Priscelia Chan and airs on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8. It is also available on demand for free on meWATCH.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com