[2] While growing up, she shared in a 2008 The Straits Times interview, she used to smoke and drink socially to cope with the insecurity and instability she felt from her broken home, and after quitting ballet as a co-curricular activity (CCA) in secondary school.
[2] Rui En studied at Singapore Chinese Girls' School for both her primary and secondary education, and subsequently at Raffles Junior College (RJC).
She made her first appearance as the female lead in label mate Jay Chou's music video for Secret Code (暗號) and went on to co-endorse Panasonic GD68 with him.
[9] Chou composed the song White Feather (白色羽毛) which was released in her debut album, Rui Σn vol.
[8] Rui En was nominated as the Best Local Singer in the Singapore Hits Awards 2003 and was selected alongside Taufik Batisah to perform both the English and Mandarin versions of the 2005 National Day Parade's theme song, Reach Out for the Skies.
After a six years' break, Rui En released her second Chinese album in late 2008 under Hype Records, titled United Nations.
[12] However, after reviewing her performance in that sitcom, Rui En felt that she was acting just for fame and popularity as a clutch to her broken family situation.
Thereafter, in addition to quitting smoking and drinking, she decided to stop taking up roles that require kissing and/or intimate scenes.
[2] In March 2008, Rui En was involved in a high-profile rejection of the role as an ambitious businesswoman struggling with mental illness in The Defining Moment, which subsequently went to Fann Wong instead.
[2] After playing a social service worker and AIDS patient in By My Side in 2008, Rui En started to gain recognition, winning one of the eight 'Top 8 Likable Female Lead Characters' awards with her only production that year.
[16] Rui En won the 'Most Favourite Female Character' award[17] with her role as Yang Xiaodong in Happy Family.
[22] In addition to her roles in dramas, Rui En has starred in a three-part docudrama produced by Channel NewsAsia, as one of Singapore's pioneer painters, Georgette Chen.