Nirina Zubir

Nirina Raudatul Jannah Zubir, better known simply as Nirina Zubir, (born 12 March 1980) is an Indonesian actress and television presenter of Minangkabau descent.

Nirina was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar to expatriate Indonesian parents of ethnic Minangkabau origin hailing from Pariaman, West Sumatra, where her father, Zubir Amin was working as a senior diplomat with the Indonesian Embassy in that country.

Her name means "a special given one" in the Malagasy language and she was registered at birth as Nirina Raudhatul Jannah Zubir.

Nirina graduated from the STIE Perbanas School of Economics.

She eventually looked for other options as soon as graduation.

She admitted to never imagine in becoming a radio DJ.

Her first career at MTVonSky radio station (now MTV Sky) was a coincidence.

According to Nirina, it was her friends who applied to MTVonSky under her name.

Her friends' move turned into a major change in her life.

Quite beyond her expectations, MTVonSky hired Nirina because of her distinctive noisy-yet-witty personality.

“So there was my [first] opportunity [in the entertainment world].”

That first opportunity had led Nirina to bigger and better things.

After landing one of the coolest jobs around — MTV video jockey — Nirina quickly gained fame.

Her other talents were then noticed, including her ability to speak Mandarin, which she learned while living in Hong Kong and China for several years as a child.

Former president Megawati Sukarnoputri even asked Nirina to become her personal interpreter during the 2000 Indonesian visit by the Chinese vice president.

Her popularity then led to some movie roles, including in 30 Hari Mencari Cinta (30 Days to Find Love) and Mirror.

And it wouldn’t be Nirina if she didn’t have plenty of things to pursue.

Her rising popularity as an MTV VJ for Indonesia tickled her ambitious side to think of spreading her wings onto the international scene.

As her contract with MTV Indonesia neared its end, Nirina made plans: She was eyeing the position of international VJ for MTV Southeast Asia.

“The thing is, I wouldn’t give up on that.

Not until they told me: ‘Enough, ‘Na [short for Nirina]’," she once said of her ambitious plan.

The ambitious plan was never realized.

She made her full film debut in 2004 in the film 30 hari mencari cinta playing the role of Gwen.

After resigning from MTV Indonesia in 2005, Nirina’s international VJ career never materialized.

Instead, she hosted several TV shows and starred in more movies, including Belahan Jiwa (Soul Mate), Heart, Kamulah Satu-satunya (You’re the Only One), Get Married and again in her latest release, Get Married 2.

Besides her acting career she has presented a number of Indonesian mainstream TV shows and has modelled in many adverts commercially in the country including for, Herbal Essences (2005–2006).

Nirina has continued to grow as an actress, receiving several awards, including the prestigious 2006 Indonesian Film Festival Award and the 2008 Indonesia Movie Award — both for best actress.

Looking back at her achievements, Nirina realizes now how she truly fell in love with performing arts.

Nirina studied for a degree in bachelor's degree in Management Banking at the STIE Perbanas Kuningan, in Jakarta before beginning as a model.

She is fluent in her native Indonesian, and in English and Chinese.

In 2007, she played the lead role in the comedy film Kamulah satu-satunya.