Tsu Shan Alana Chambers, born in Sydney, Australia, has always been known as Suzanne, despite her mother's preference for the unique spelling and pronunciation. As a Taurus, she shares the Year of the Goat with her brother Marcus Lee, who was born four years after her.
Growing up in Sydney, Tsu Shan was the oldest child of Thong Sum Lee, a lawyer, and Kim Lee, a midwife. Her parents, both Malaysian Chinese, met in London and later moved to Australia, where they had Tsu Shan and later her brother.
Tsu Shan's early life was marked by her passion for tennis, which she played competitively until high school. She also discovered her love for volunteering and the outdoors through the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, earning the Gold Award in Alice Springs.
Despite her interest in drama, Tsu Shan was not allowed to pursue it in high school. Instead, she was offered places at top universities to study medicine and musical theatre, but chose to pursue optometry.
After completing her studies, Tsu Shan devoted herself to volunteering, traveling to Bangladesh with Rotary International, Chile with Raleigh International, and helping indigenous children in regional Australia and at the Paralympic Games in Sydney.
Tsu Shan's numerous awards and accolades include the Northern Territory Young Achievers Awards, the Parmalat Community Service Award, and the Young Australian of the Year 2002 Semi-Finalist for The Pacific Access Community Service Award.
In 2004, Tsu Shan married her high school friend Brian Chambers, and they moved to the Sunshine Coast, where they had three children, Vanessa, Bo, and Jaime. After completing a Master of Public Health and a Graduate Certificate in University Learning and Teaching, Tsu Shan opened an integrative health center for women called Yin Health.
After selling the business and moving back to Sydney, Tsu Shan rediscovered her love for acting and the arts, auditioning for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and eventually becoming a professional actress.
Tsu Shan's producing career began when she helped a writer pull together a crew for a short film called Tragic Enough, which won two awards at the World Film Awards. She went on to write and produce several more short films and a web-series, earning numerous accolades.
Tsu Shan's passion for supporting minority groups and those who are made to feel "Other" led her to film school, where she completed a Graduate Certificate in Creative Producing at the Australian Film and Television Radio School (AFTRS).
She developed her first feature film, Unsound, with writer Ally Burnham, which premiered in 2020 and received numerous awards and nominations, including the AACTA Awards, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and the ATOM Awards.
Tsu Shan was recently elected to the Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Council, named one of the Producers on Inside Film (IF) Magazine's Rising Talent List 2023, and included in the inaugural AA122 list, recognizing Asian Australians who have had the most impact on Australian culture, society, and institutions.
In 2022, Tsu Shan was selected for the AWG/Create NSW's First Break initiative, and her latest feature, My Eyes, obtained development support from VicScreen. She has also been selected for numerous industry committees, including the inaugural Diversity Justice Lens group for screen equity and inclusion and the AFTRS Alumni Advisory Group.
Tsu Shan continues to develop her slate across TV, Features, and Online formats, creating unique and bold stories with underlying social impact themes.
