"It is a beautiful thing being a woman, never let anyone brainwash you and tell you something that you’re not."
Known for her bubbly and optimistic personality, this 21 year old Eurasian born actress has been in love with the camera since she was in her teenage years. Siti Saleha binti Mohd Baharum, better known as Siti Saleha, was born on the 14th of March 1990 with a mixed parentage of a Malay father and a half English, half Dutch mother. Siti Saleha is also the younger sister of a famous musician, Sam Bunkface & The Azenders.
"Criticism is normal for an actress."
Siti Saleha's devotion towards acting does not only land her on the TV screens, she has her heart set on stage plays as well. Her first theater performance was in Stage Therapy, a collection of 8 short plays conducted by the Electric Minds Project.Since then, Siti Saleha has been starring in many hit drama series and telemovies including Habil & Qabil, Ustaz Amirul, SyurgaMu Ramadan, Bersalji di Kuala Lumpur, Baju Raya Mona, Puaka Topeng Putih, Awan Dania, Nora Elena and many more.
WoM: Tell us a little bit about yourself. At what age did you start venturing into the entertainment world? Was it tough?
Siti Saleha: Well, ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always enjoyed prepping up and acting in front of the mirror. I am a huge fan of movies, and I’ll always be playing with my Barbie doll while my brothers and sisters will play the boys game. However, I was a very ambitious girl but somehow I just wanted to share what I have and how far my talent for acting will go. I began my career in the entertainment industry ever since I was 13 when I landed my first role in a Maxis advertisement. It grew to other commercials with big company names such as Nestle, Celcom, F&N, Rexona, Silky Girl, KFC and many more. Only after high school I began my acting career. I was involved in a few dramas namely 5 Jingga, Kasut Tumit Tinggi, Kecuali CintaMu, Habil dan Qabil and more. It was tough in the first two years, people didn’t really knew who I was but I strive to do more dramas and commercials until I landed in Tv3 and that kicked off my career.
WoM: Throughout your years as an actress, have you ever received any criticism that is too crucial for you, that you ended up breaking down?
Siti Saleha: Criticism is normal for an actress. It can be harsh and sometimes some do break down and get very frustrated. But I took that as a challenge by building myself strongly and try to do my best. I’ve always had troubles with my slang as I follow my mother tongue whereby she is half English, half Dutch. As years go by, I manage to fix it and deliver my dialogs well.
WoM: Being a Eurasian, English must be very easy for you. Do you tend to struggle conversing in Bahasa, though? (Especially when you are acting in a Malay drama/film)
Siti Saleha: I grew up in a very Malay culture. I went to a normal kinder garden, went to a government school for primary and secondary, and my dad always speaks the language with me including my brother. It was not hard to speak in Malay as I knew the meaning and understood every word however, the slang was a problem. So far, the comments I’ve received from my acting is very relieving as they don’t make bad remarks about my slang anymore as compared to the past.
WoM: If you were to choose only one: singing, acting, dancing or modelling, which do you favour the most? Why?
Siti Saleha: I would love to sing if I could! Ha-ha. But I guess having one singer in the family is enough. It is really hard to choose between acting and modeling but I think I would stick to modeling. This is because modeling was the first debut I had into exploring in this industry. At the same time, acting made me spread my wings and show how big my talent is.
WoM: Congratulations on your role in Ustaz Amirul, one of the highest rated series in TV3! You portray a woman named Munira in the series; she is known to be as the innocent, pious and patient person throughout the whole story. Do you find it challenging to play her role?
Siti Saleha: We are quite similar in many ways. We are both soft spoken, very respectful, and shy. It was not difficult to play her but she does get very emotional and has heartaches many times. She cries when her husband was always away and went through a hard time accepting the fact that her husband married a second wife. It does get quite tough as there are a lot of heavy scenes.
WoM: Lastly, is there any personal message or advice that you would like to share with all the young women out there in Malaysia?
Siti Saleha: We should be strong when facing with challenges in life, and never give up. It is a beautiful thing being a woman, never let anyone brainwash you and tell you something that you’re not. Stay true to yourself, always.
Wardrobe: Dovey-Lovey
Make up: Fida
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