PETALING JAYA: Dr Sandra Lee might not be familiar to everyone, but for many in Malaysia and around the world, she is a household name.
Lee, or “Dr Pimple Popper” as she is more famously known, is a social media and television personality with close to 8 million subscribers on YouTube, 4.5 million followers on Instagram, and her own reality TV series on the TLC network in the United States.
Many are flocking to watch her “pop” cysts, lipomas (benign tumours made up of fat tissue) and other, shall we say, unsavoury skin conditions. It may seem odd for some, but fans would attest they find it educational – even therapeutic – to watch.
Lee began gaining popularity in 2014 after posting YouTube videos about blackhead extractions which went viral (the videos, that is, not the blackheads).
She is the author of “Put Your Best Face Forward: The Ultimate Guide to Skincare from Acne to Anti-Aging”, and has also launched her own line of beauty products, SLMD Skincare.
Still not impressed? Lee was also the winner of the Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards for Female Star of the Year in 2019 and 2021, while her TV series bagged the 2020 American Reality Television Award for best guilty-pleasure show!
And earlier this year, she delighted Malaysian fans by revealing that, while her father is from Singapore, her mother hails from Kuantan in Pahang. It turns out the family had migrated to the US a year before Lee was born, but she still very much has family here.
During her recent visit, FMT Lifestyle caught up with Lee at her uncle’s home in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, to learn more about this pimple-popping personality.
Although she grew up in the US, Lee has made many trips to Malaysia since young. Her strongest memories include playing with her cousins – of which there are many.
“We have tons of cousins. There are 10 children on both sides of my parents’ families. So I have a lot of relatives here,” the 52-year-old shared.
One of her uncles on her mother’s side is Yeow Teck Chai, a philanthropist and former deputy director-general of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.
Lee’s excitement to meet and mingle with her extended family while celebrating her mother’s 80th birthday was unmissable. The trip was also particularly special, she added, as her children, aged 17 and 18, are now old enough to better understand their heritage.
“I’d like to be able to show them a part of my world and my parents’ world,” Lee said.
As it turns out, dermatology runs in the family: her husband, Dr Jeffrey Rebish, is also a skin specialist, as was her father, who is now retired.
Asked if her dad had influenced her career, Lee admitted she hadn’t really envisioned herself becoming one when she was younger – yet it was only a natural progression.
“I remember thumbing through my father’s textbooks and visiting him at his office when I was growing up. So I was really around it for most of my life.”
Her father went into retirement the first day she began working, but they naturally continued to bond over their joint professions. She recalls first telling him about her blackhead-extraction videos that went viral.
“He was like, ‘That’s ridiculous. That’s the silliest thing ever. That’s preposterous!'” she said, laughing.
The following day, the senior Dr Lee received a pleasant surprise: he’d visited an Apple store and the salesperson there excitedly showed him a video on YouTube, which turned out to be his daughter’s!
Tackling challenges blackhead-on
Commenting on her line of work, Lee said she considers dermatology one of the most competitive specialties. But she has received tremendous motivation from her fans, the people she has helped, as well as those in the skincare profession.
“One of the nicest things to come from this, which is what I was worried about in the beginning, was the acceptance and support from other dermatologists,” she said, referring to her popularity.
“I didn’t want them to think I was trying to make a mockery of our speciality. But they say it actually makes it easier for them to explain procedures (to their patients).”
Her nature of not shrinking back from challenges is also evident in the cases she treats. Some of them are really rather unusual and might require a strong stomach – such as the patient who “literally had a chip on his shoulder”.
“It was like an extra appendage. That’s a guy that I remember because he was somebody who did not like doctors. It was very hard. He almost fled a few times.”
Gaining his trust, she added, was challenging, “especially on a show where you don’t know this person. They just fly in, and you’ve never met them before. So, that’s a very satisfying case”.
Above and beyond providing entertainment, it is clear Lee finds it a joy to help people. She spoke of another memorable case that involved a gentleman named Pops, who was about to lose his home and have to move to a retirement community.
“He was so upset about that. He didn’t have the money. It was a really big, pivotal video because a lot of people – and this is really what I want to achieve in the videos – connected with him even though they didn’t know him.”
Sympathetic viewers donated money to help Pops, something Lee describes as moving and incredibly rewarding.
Once generally confined to the four walls of a clinic, Dr Pimple Popper has opened up the field of dermatology to the masses in an engaging, informative, and even addictive way – just ask her faithful viewers.
“It’s very cool to have a job that is not really what you studied or planned for, but really uses the knowledge that you have to be successful,” Lee said in reflection. “To be in the TV or media world is really fascinating, fun, and interesting.”
So, what’s next for her? “It’s been crazy. Must nap!” - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.