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Karen Mok: I’m too busy for babies

Karen Mok's home and heart are the stage, with no plans for motherhood (Yahoo! Photos/ Elizabeth Soh)
Karen Mok's home and heart are the stage, with no plans for motherhood (Yahoo! Photos/ Elizabeth Soh)

She's had success onscreen, onstage and, as of two years ago, in marriage, but stunning Hong Kong celebrity Karen Mok says that having a baby is not part of her plan.

When asked if she intends to be a mother soon, Mok, 42, left no room for speculation in her response.

"No time for that (babies). I don't really have much desire for motherhood and I'm way too busy. I'm now based in London and I travel long haul for work, so... I'm really busy," said Mok, who's in Singapore this week to promote her first-ever English music album.

This response was in contrast to previous interviews, where Mok said that she would be letting "nature take its course" after a fairytale wedding ceremony in Italy to her German college sweetheart, Johannes in 2011.

Still, she has already had a taste of step-motherhood, to her husband's three teenaged daughters, with whom she has good relationships.

"One doesn't really have a pop singer as a stepmum," said Mok with a laugh.

"But they are really easy to connect with and communicate with."

In an ombre blue dress and elegant updo, Karen Mok looked stunning in person (Yahoo! Photos/ Elizabeth Soh)
In an ombre blue dress and elegant updo, Karen Mok looked stunning in person (Yahoo! Photos/ Elizabeth Soh)

Mok, however, was happy to promote her first-ever English language album "Somewhere I Belong", a collection of jazz songs in her own unique, and sometimes Asian, interpretation.

"Jazz is my biggest passion," said Mok, who looked radiant in an ombre blue gown and matching strappy high heels at The Mansion in Pacific Plaza.

Speaking in a clipped English accent acquired from her days studying in the United Kingdom as well as from her mixed heritage -- she's part Welsh, Chinese, Iranian, and German amongst others -- Mok enthused about her passion for jazz.

She first discovered Jazz as a student buying discounted CD albums at Charing Cross Road in London, when she bought an Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong album and fell in love.

"I was like, wow, so this is what they call jazz, I love it!" said Mok, who also counts jazz great Billie Holiday as an inspiration.

A song to look out for on her album would be her cover of the Beatles' My Guitar Gently Weeps, which sees Mok replacing Eric Clapton's guitar solo with her traditional Chinese guzheng instead.

Every song in "Somewhere I Belong" was chosen personally by Mok.

"This album is a good summary of all the things I want to talk about."

With Mok set to promote her album in a whirlwind tour around Asia and even Europe over the next few months, how does the blissfully married singer keep the flames burning with her husband, who is based in London?

"Actually, separation kind of keeps the flames alive," said Mok, who added that her husband is very proud of the fact that she has finally realised her lifelong dream to put out an English jazz album.

"20 years ago, it may not have worked but now with FaceTime and WiFi, it's so easy," quipped Mok, who is an avid user of social media with over 36 million combined followers on Chinese blogging sites Sina and Weibo.

And then, there's the fact that the two of them have taken over twenty years since their young romance to finally find each other again -- you can bet they cannot wait to make up for lost time.

"I always feel like I'm 17 when I'm with him!"

(Additional reporting by Peace Chiu)

Related links:
[PHOTOS] See our slideshow of Karen Mok's visit to Singapore