When you think about megawatt, headline-grabbing celebrities, perhaps Yvonne Lim might not be the first to come to mind.

After all, for the past 10 years, she’s hardly even been on television, instead baking chiffon cakes and raising children in Taiwan, where her husband is from.

But, some lights flare and some burn steadily. It’s a testament to her staying power that she hasn’t been forgotten. At this year’s Star Awards, she’s set to be crowned with the coveted All-Time Favourite Artiste award, officially cementing her status as one of Singapore’s most loved actresses as a result of being voted into the Top 10 Most Popular Artistes register 10 times.

Popularity, she opined, is “not about fame or being on TV”. In actuality, it simply means that "people can relate to you, and they want to be with you and around you.”

Why is she gravitated towards? Is it her doll-like features and girl-next-door energy even at the age of 48? Is it the fact that in person, one of the things that stands out about her is her sociability? Or, is it her ability to make others feel cared for?

The fans who have followed her for many years would say so. “Sometimes they do share their problems with me, and I become an agony aunt,” she quipped, adding that losing her mother at the age of 13 has helped her understand how others might be feeling when they tell her their concerns about relationships, health or loss.

There’s also, of course, her on-screen prowess, which has earned her recognition across roles in dramas such as Stepping Out, Portrait Of Home and Metamorphosis. Throughout her absence from Singapore entertainment, “I got messages saying, ‘We miss your work. We love your acting. Please come back.’”

Although taking a break to be a full-time mum to her two children, aged 10 and eight, has been fulfilling &nd...