1982-1999 Early days

Natalie (aka Tang Si Ying) was born and raised in British Hong Kong to Tong Got Seung Ping (mother). Although growing up in HK-Cantonese culture, she has a mixed ancestry with Fujian, Indonesian, and Dutch heritage. ^[1] Because of her multicultural background, she can speak Cantonese, Fujianese, English, Indonesian, Japanese, and Mandarin. Before becoming an actress, Natalie was a full-time model and once studied in Methodist College.

2000-2002 RTHK and film debut

While many HK actresses started out as beauty pageant contestants before joining TVB, Natalie entered the entertainment industry with RTHK first before joining TVB. Her debut was in RTHK's Youth @ Y2K (青春@Y2K) (2000), where she met and costarred with Shawn Yue (they briefly dated).^[2] In-between 2001-2002, she would appear in two movies, 2002 (2001) and Marry a Rich Man (2002). This would jumpstart her limited film career and she would eventually join TVB for nearly 20 years.

2003-2022 TVB career

In 2003, Natalie entered TVB and started in support roles; she wouldn't take a lead role for the next 5 years. Tong gained popularity after landing her first lead role in the 2008 romantic drama, The Seventh Day, alongside Bosco Wong. She received broader attention with her performance in the 2010 martial arts drama, A Fistful of Stances, garnering her first nomination for Best Supporting Actress and made it into the top 5. With her performance in 2010, Tong won the Most Improved Female Artiste award at the 2010 TVB Anniversary Awards.

In 2017, Tong earned critical acclaim in the drama My Unfair Lady.^[3] With her role as Cherry, she won the Best Actress award at the 2017 TVB Anniversary Awards.

In 2019, Tong starred in the critically-acclaimed medical drama Big White Duel, earning positive reviews. With her role as Zoe in the drama, she was placed among the top 5 nominations for both the Best Actress and Most Popular Female Character categories at the 2019 TVB Anniversary Awards.

By 2022, Natalie decided not to renew her contract with TVB. With the decline of the company and limited opportunities, Natalie decided to allow her contract to expire. In September 2022, Tong’s contract with TVB ended and she quietly left the company.^[4] However, because she had filmed I’ve Got the Power and The Invisibles prior, her media presence with TVB will remain until the spring of 2023, concluding a 19-year career with the company.

2023 Free agency and independent projects

After leaving TVB, Natalie declared that she was shifting her career to stage plays and becoming a screenwriter. She developed a story inspired from her personal life. The play will focus on a couple’s divorce and what the daughter is going through from the process. Natalie took her parents’ divorce and personal experiences as inspiration for the script. ^[5] In between, Natalie filmed two movies, signed several commercial contracts, and planned to transition herself into the mainland market.^[6]

Television series

Films