Elaine Tan – English actress of Malaysian Chinese heritage, born 28 June 1979 in London, England. Trained at Sylvia Young Theatre School and holds a law degree from the University of Exeter. She began her career on stage, originating the role of Liat in South Pacific at the Royal National Theatre and appearing in The King and I and Royal Variety Shows. Her most notable film roles include Lucy Chang in Starter for 10 (2006, HBO), Xandra in Inherent Vice (2014, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson), April in Beyond the Lights (2014, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood), and Elyse in Tully (2018, directed by Jason Reitman). On television she has appeared in Doctor Who (2015) as Nagata, Love, Death & Robots (2019) as Adult Yan (voice), The Lazarus Project (2022–2023) as Zhang Rhui, Red Eye (2024) as Shen Zhào, and Virdee (2025) as Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Armitage.

Elaine Tan

Acting Born June 28, 1979 London, England, UK

Elaine Tan – English actress of Malaysian Chinese heritage, born 28 June 1979 in London, England. Trained at Sylvia Young Theatre School and holds a law degree from the University of Exeter. She began her career on stage, originating the role of Liat in South Pacific at the Royal National Theatre and appearing in The King and I and Royal Variety Shows. Her most notable film roles include Lucy Chang in Starter for 10 (2006, HBO), Xandra in Inherent Vice (2014, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson), April in Beyond the Lights (2014, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood), and Elyse in Tully (2018, directed by Jason Reitman). On television she has appeared in Doctor Who (2015) as Nagata, Love, Death & Robots (2019) as Adult Yan (voice), The Lazarus Project (2022–2023) as Zhang Rhui, Red Eye (2024) as Shen Zhào, and Virdee (2025) as Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Armitage.

Known For

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Shizu Yoshi

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Miss Lotus

Doctor Who

Nagata

Hawaii Five-0

ZI CHEN

Person of Interest

Kelli (Jiao) Lin

Boston Legal

Lisa

Entourage

Tammy

Love, Death & Robots

Adult Yan (voice)

'Til Death

Julie

Red Eye

Shen Zhào

Inherent Vice

Xandra

Footballers' Wives

Candy