Erra Fazira (born Fazira Wan Chek, 9 February 1974), is a Malaysian actress, singer, fashion model, TV host, film producer, as well as beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Malaysia World 1992. She rose to fame in the early and mid 1990s following her roles in '' Sembilu'', ''Sembilu 2'', '' Maria Mariana'' and ''Pasrah''. She received critical acclaim and a Best Actress in a Leading Role trophy at

Malaysia Film Festival Malaysia Film Festival (FFM; ms, Festival Filem Malaysia) is an accolade bestowed by the Malaysian ''Entertainment Journalists Association of Malaysia'' for the appreciation and honouring the products of film arts and artists. The formal cere ...

twice for her portrayal of inspiring young sales girl and part time student Nurul Ain in ''Soal Hati'' (2001) and as Nora, an old lady with dark past in the film ''Hingga Hujung Nyawa ''(2005)''. ''She received another three

's Best Actress award nomination for her performance in ''Soalnya Siapa?'' (2003)'', Persona Non Grata'' (2006)'', ''and ''Anak'' (2008).

Early life

Fazira was born in Sungai Choh, a small town in Rawang,

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sem ...

the first child and the only daughter of Wan Chek and Azizah Zaik. Her parents were ethnic Malays. Fazira was an active student during her school days and developed a passion for acting, which she showed an interest in at a very early age. She also joined many school's clubs and societies such as

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

, St John Ambulance of Malaysia, the English Language Society and the Culture Club. She was also an active sports student back then and has represented herself and her school in

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

. She said that the learning and involvement she did in those clubs played an important role in her later career. Fazira attended several different schools including SM Puteri Titiwangsa,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Career

Erra Fazira, Amy Mastura and Ziana Zain on MeleTOP

Beauty pageant (1992)

At the age of 18, Fazira went to take part in the 1992 Malaysian beauty pageant after being persuaded by her aunt. She competed against thirteen others and eventually won the title of Miss Malaysia World 1992. As

Miss Malaysia Notable winners of Miss Malaysia * Tengku Zanariah Tengku Ahmad (Miss International Malaya 1960) – Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia from 1984 to 1989. *Yasmin Yusoff (Miss Universe Malaysia 1978) – veteran actress, singer, radio presen ...

, Fazira went on to compete in the

Miss World 1992 Miss World 1992, the 42nd edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 12 December 1992 at the Sun City Entertainment Center in Sun City, South Africa. The winner was Julia Kourotchkina from Russia.Sun City,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. She secured the 15th place during the preliminary competition.

Music career (1993–2007)

In 1994, after the release of her first feature film "Sembilu", Fazira released her eponymous self-titled EP under

Polygram Records PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

. She later records two albums with the label before leaving Polygram to join

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

. Her first studio album is ''Aku dan Dia'' (1995) with its hits single "Yang Terindah Hanyalah Sementara", and followed by ''2.5 Sayang'' in 1996 with "Pertemuan" released as single. Three years later, in 1999, Fazira's fourth album and the first with Sony Music, ''Kini'' was released. Her 2001 single, "Sandarkan" along with

Siti Nurhaliza Dato' Sri Hajah Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin ( Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين ; IPA: ; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman with more than 300 local and international awards. ...

’s song, "Lakaran Kehidupan" (from Siti's seventh album, ''Safa'') was chosen by

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television * Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by E ...

as part of the network's 3D campaign. Music videos for both songs were filmed in 3D where TV3 viewers wearing 3D glasses while watching it. In 2002, her fifth album, ''Sampai Bertemu'' was released, followed by sixth album, ''Kini Kembali'' (2004). She is one of few Malaysian artists who contributed a special song titled "Suluhkan Sinar" ("Shine the Light"). Produced by

KRU KRU was a Malaysian pop boy band formed in 1992. The group comprises three brothers, namely Datuk Norman Abdul Halim, Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim and Edry Abdul Halim'. Apart from revolutionising the Malaysian music scene with their blend of pop, ...

and released in January 2005, the song was specially dedicated to the victims of the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern ...

. In 2006, Fazira released her seventh and last studio album, ''Ya Atau Tidak''.

Acting career (1994–present)

Fazira was approached by director,

Yusof Haslam Md. Yusof bin Md. Haslam (born 24 April 1954) is a Malaysian actor, film director and producer. He is best known for his longest-running police procedural drama series '' Gerak Khas'', a TV series that he created, directed and produced. The latt ...

, to star as the lead role in '' Sembilu''. The film opened in cinema on 18 August 1994. The film also marked the first time Erra worked together with her then former dating partner,

Awie Ahmad Azhar bin Othman (born 24 November 1968), better known by his stage name Awie, is a Malaysian singer, musician, and actor. Awie is considered one of the greatest Malaysian vocalist of all time. Born in Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Awi ...

. Other films roles followed including a sequel of Sembilu the following year, where Fazira reprised her role as Rosmawati Sofian. From 1996 until 2000, Fazira starred in four of Yusof's directed films including the portraying of Maria Zakaria in both '' Maria Mariana'' and its sequel ''

Maria Mariana II ''Maria Mariana II'' is a 1998 Malaysian Malay-language action crime film directed by Yusof Haslam. It was the sequel to the 1996 hit film '' Maria Mariana''. The film was released in Malaysian cinemas on 2 April 1998. Synopsis Maria is rush ...

''. In the 2000 film ''Soal Hati'', Fazira starred played the character of Nurul Ain. Fazira won the

Award for Best Actress for her role in the film. Starting 2001, Fazira began to work with many different directors for her films including Ahmad Idham for ''Mr. Cinderella'' (2002) and Abdul Razak Mohaideen for ''Cinta Kolestrol'' (2003) among others. In 2004, Fazira went on to star opposite her then former husband, Yusry bin Abdul Halim, in the 2004 film ''Hingga Hujung Nyawa'', also directed by Abdul Razak. Through this film, Fazira once again was awarded the

Award for Best Actress as for the portrayal of Nora Halim in the movie. In 2002, Fazira acted in a telemovie and hosted the show, ''Fesyen Tempo''. Since 2018, she became part of the cast member of longest-running Malaysian action drama series, '' Gerak Khas'', playing the role of ASP Jeslina.

Personal life

Erra Fazira married Malaysian singer and actor Yusry Abd Halim from

, on 15 June 2003, Yusry's 30th birthday. They officially divorced on 16 June 2006. She later married former Suria FM Chief Operating Officer, Engku Emran Engku Zainal Abidin from 2007 to 2014, they have a daughter named Engku Aleesya 2(9)/1(2). They later divorced on 18 January 2014.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Erra Fazira'' (1994) * ''Aku dan Dia'' (1995) * ''Menyanyi Bersama'' (1996) * ''2.5 Sayang'' (1997) * ''Kini'' (1999) * ''Sampai Bertemu'' (2002) * ''Kini Kembali'' (2003) * ''Ya atau Tidak'' (2006)

Compilation albums

* ''Koleksi Klasik'' (1998) * ''Best of Erra Fazira'' (2001) * ''Koleksi Istimewa Buatmu'' (2001) * ''Keunggulan Erra Fazira'' (2007)

Filmography

Film

Telemovie

Television series

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fazira, Erra Living people 1974 births People from Selangor Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian actresses Malaysian female models Malaysian women pop singers Malaysian television personalities Miss World 1992 delegates Malaysian beauty pageant winners Malay-language singers Metrowealth Pictures contract players Malaysian rhythm and blues singers 21st-century Malaysian women singers