While playing Jackie Chan's feisty, kung-fu-fighting sister in the new action comedy Shanghai Knights, Fann Wong figured she'd be taking her fair share of licks. She just wasn't prepared for the one she was expected to give. During a scene with costar Owen Wilson, the actress-singer from Singapore had to run her tongue up the side of Wilson's face. "We did five or six takes," says director David Dobkin. "She'd giggle, but each time we'd say, 'More, bigger, bigger!' and she just did it." Wong says, blushing, "It was the most outrageous thing I ever had to do in a film."

How's that for her first taste of Hollywood? A big celebrity in Asia—she has acted in dozens of films and TV shows in China and is the Britney Spears of Mandarin pop in Singapore—Wong, 32, discovered some new perks of U.S. stardom. "I loved having my own trailer and only working 13 hours a day," says Wong, who lives alone in Singapore. "Back home you can't imagine how many hours we have to work." Beauty sleep aside, Hollywood has its drawbacks. "We don't have paparazzi," says Wong. "People ask for your autograph, but they don't run after you with cameras."

The second of four kids of Fann Chin Khew, a tailor, and his homemaker wife, Wong Siew Toy, Wong attended private schools before earning a degree in fashion merchandising. While modeling she was cast as the female lead in a Chinese TV series. Her fame soared as she juggled hosting a travel show and recording four bestselling pop albums. Her appeal is simple, says Dobkin: "She's sexy but still innocent. She's got that kind of enthusiasm that hasn't worn off."

Especially for the junk food she's giving up while she's on the L.A. party circuit. "I am trying on dresses later, so I can't eat much," she says with a long sigh. "I love McDonald's fries and milk shakes and baby back ribs."