Dubbed “Southeast Asia’s Naomi Watanabe”, Xixi Lim is the pink-haired comedian making waves. Here, she talks about life before Wah!Banana and her vision for the future. 

It is said that we have seven doppelg&auml;ngers in this world. In the case of Priscilla Lim &ndash; mostly known by her Chinese name, XiXi &ndash; it wouldn&rsquo;t be a stretch to say that the lineup of seven just might include Japanese comedian and now-International superstar, Naomi Watanabe. When asked if she&rsquo;s ever been mistaken for Watanabe, Lim breaks into a bout of infectious, roaring laughter, adding: &ldquo;I went to Hong Kong for a shoot one time and there was this lady that came up to me and said &ndash; you&rsquo;re from Japan right?!&rdquo; Just like Watanabe, Lim has found a special kind of calling. Amidst the 33-year-old&rsquo;s mirthful demeanour, fuchsia-pink hair and doe-eyed vigour is the unparalleled ability to make you feel like you&rsquo;ve known her for years &ndash; a quality that has undeniably lent to her viral TikTok fame.

At press time, Lim boasts a staggering 114.3K followers on the platform, amassed through her very own brand of comedic gold. It&rsquo;s unsurprising then, that Lim was scouted &nbsp;by an agency manager while performing at a wedding gig. &ldquo;People used to engage me for singing, but I&rsquo;d spend most of my time talking,&rdquo; she adds. And though Lim hints at her humour being a veil that had helped her through tough times growing up, it&rsquo;s clear that her struggles fitting in brought to light an innate talent. The former child star &ndash; who has dabbled in events management and supply chain work prior to finding her groove in entertainment &ndash; has since amassed an impressive acting portfolio. Some of her most notable works include: Clicknetwork&rsquo;s Girl Band Called Girl Band and the film Fat Hope. As Lim&rsquo;s career evolves, she chats to us about her aspirations, misconceptions and the expectations that come with being in the spotlight.&nbsp;

I want to work towards my goal of being my best self. In the midst of doing that, I want to tell everyone that you should love yourself while you are achieving your goals. 

You first gained a lot of traction through video production house, Wah!Banana. How did you end up working for them?

I met Kishan from Wah!Banana on the set of Ah Boys to Men 4 and the two of us just couldn&rsquo;t stop talking. He mentioned that they were having an open casting and asked if I wanted to audition. The rest is history.&nbsp;

You&rsquo;ve got an incredibly distinct look &ndash; your pink hair, your style and so on. How did that come about? 
 
I like looking different, I like standing out of the crowd. Pink is not my&nbsp;favourite colour though, green is. Most roles I&rsquo;ve had have been cute and bubbly which is probably why people have that idea. I&rsquo;m not a cute person in real life. Animated, however, is the right word. I&rsquo;d describe my personal style as quirky.

You&rsquo;ve also obviously been compared to Naomi Watanabe. What are your thoughts on that? 
 
I love her! When she first had this huge poster at Vivocity, people would tag me and congratulate me. I&rsquo;d have to tell them it wasn&rsquo;t me. I feel she&rsquo;s changed my life and has been like a ray of sunlight. We share the same vision: being a plus-sized girl or a comedian doesn&rsquo;t mean you have to uglify yourself. 
 
There are so many women &ndash; plus-sized or otherwise &ndash; who look at you as a beacon of representation, humour and confidence. Do you feel &nbsp;a certain level of pressure that comes with being labelled a plus-sized woman?&nbsp; 
 
I actually don&rsquo;t really feel pressure. Though being plus-sized is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, health can be an issue. My take to all the plus-sized women who come to me is that I&rsquo;m not shameful of my size, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean I&rsquo;m not aware of &nbsp;health. I want to work towards my goal of being my best self. In the midst of doing that, I want to tell everyone that you should love yourself while you are achieving your goals. For example, today after the shoot, I&rsquo;m going for a workout session. 
&nbsp;

How have you gotten to a place of self-assuredness over the years?

My teenage years were horrible. I tried to diet, I tried to fit in. One day I walked past a lingerie shop and I saw a model who had a gap in-between her teeth &ndash; this was many years ago when it wasn&rsquo;t a thing yet. She looked different but there was something memorable about her. It struck me then and there that I was different, but that&rsquo;s how I would differentiate myself and stand out from the crowd. From that moment, I stopped trying to fit in.

What&rsquo;s next? 
 
I really want to do more magazine shoots and commercials. That&rsquo;s my dream. I want to be given an opportunity to show people that that&rsquo;s something I can do.

-

Photography&nbsp;Joel Low 
Styling&nbsp;Gregory Woo 
Hair &nbsp;Junz Loke using Kevin Murphy Singapore 
Makeup&nbsp;Wee Ming using Laura Mercier 
Photography Assistant&nbsp;Alfie Pan 
Subject&nbsp;Xixi Lim&nbsp;in Tiffany &amp; Co.,&nbsp;Comme des Gar&ccedil;ons and&nbsp;Noir Kei Ninomiya from Dover Street Market Singapore&nbsp;

This article first appeared in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/subscriptions">March 2021</a>&nbsp;issue of L&#39;Officiel Singapore.&nbsp;

Xixi Lim On Finding Her Voice And Being Compared To Naomi Watanabe

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