Ermina Zaenah

Zaenah was born on 11 November 1927 in Jambi, Dutch East Indies, to Mar'i Yusuf.^[1] She had a younger brother, Marzuki Yusuf. Zaenah was married to Nurdin Syam, a navy captain who later became a director at Persari, in 1943.^[2] As of 1979, she was resided in Bandung, West Java.^[1] Aside from acting in stage plays, Zaenah led her own musical group, the Los Suita Rama, and performed topeng dance.^[1]

In 1951, Zaenah entered the film industry. Originally she performed in productions by a number of companies, including Golden Arrow, Fred Young's Bintang Surabaya, and Tan and Wong Bros. In 1953 she migrated to Djamaluddin Malik's Persari, starring in several films for the company, including Supir Istimewa, Pegawai Tinggi (cited by Film Varia as Zaenah's greatest opportunity to gain domestic fame equal to Titien Sumarni),^[3] and Bintang Baru.^[1]

In the 1960s, as the domestic film industry was suffering, Zaenah moved behind the camera. She worked as producer on four films: Kamar 13 (Room 13, 1961), Lagu dan Buku (Song and Book, 1961), Bakti (Service, 1963), and Ekspedisi Terakhir (The Last Expedition, 1964).^[4] She returned to the theater for a short time when she toured Java with the group Sapta Daya. Her fellow actors during this tour included Astaman, Awaludin, and M. Budharasa.^[5]

Zaenah was married to her second husband, John R. Sibih, the President Director of Gema Masa Film, in 1965, and was attended by actress Sri Redjeki.^[6] By the 1970s, she was working as an entrepreneur, focusing on mercantile efforts.^[1] Zaenah died in Cimahi, West Java, on 4 January 2009, at the age of 81.

During her sixteen-year career, Zaenah acted in thirty two films. She also produced four productions.^[4]