Nirina Zubir is an IndonesianMTV Movie Award winning actress in modern Indonesian cinemaradio DJ and MTV VJ. She frequently appears as a television presenter, stars in commercials, plays in various movies, and becomes an impromptu singer.
Early life
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 was a special given one from the Malagasy language and was registered at birth as Nirina Raudhatul Jannah Zubir. Zubir 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 was a coincidence. According to Zubir, 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 Zubir because of her distinctive noisy-yet-witty personality. “So there was my opportunity .” That first opportunity had led Zubir to bigger and better things. After landing one of the coolest jobs around — MTV video jockey — Zubir 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 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 ’," she once said of her ambitious plan. The ambitious plan was never realized. 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, Heart, Kamulah Satu-satunya, Get Married and again in her latest release, Get Married 2. 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. Zubir 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.
She made her full film debut in 2004 in the film 30 hari mencari cinta playing the role of Gwen. In 2007 she played the lead role in the film Kamulah satu-satunya. Besides her acting she has presented a number of Indonesian mainstream TV shows and has modelled in many adverts commercially in the country including for, Herbal Essences.
