Ratna Assan
Born
Ratna Setiawati Assan

(1954-12-16) December 16, 1954
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • dancer
  • singer
Years active1961–1974
Notable workPapillon (1973)
Parent

Ratna Setiawati Assan (born December 16, 1954) is an American actress, model, dancer, and singer of Indonesian descent. She is the only daughter of Devi Dja with her third husband, Ali Assan, and became the first woman of Indonesian descent to be featured in Playboy magazine. Assan started her career as a singer and dancer, then began acting in television series before rising to stardom as an Indian girl Zoraima in Papillon (1973).

Early life

Ratna Setiawati Assan was born on December 16, 1954, in Torrance, Los Angeles, as the only child of Ali Assan from Gresik, and Devi Dja, an actress and dancer from Yogyakarta. She was named after Ratna Asmara, her mother's friend during her time in Dardanella and co-star in Dr. Samsi (1937).

Assan's mother migrated to United States in 1940 to develop her career as a dancer.[1] At the age of three, Assan was trained by her mother to dance, sing, and model.[2] During her high school years, she joined the cheerleading squad, and received a brown belt in Karate.[3]

Personal life

Assan was married to a carpenter from Las Vegas, Nevada, and had a daughter, Aisah Dewi, before later divorcing.[3]

Career

Assan began her career at the age of seven as a srimpi dancer and singer at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, and was featured in Devi Dja Far Eastern Ballet and Devi Dancer, dancer troupes lead by her mother.[2][3] She made her acting debut in Bonanza as a child actress. She also appeared in episodes of the Western Destry (1964) and the sitcom Mister Roberts (1965), and performed as one of Yul Brynner's wives in Anna and the King.[2]

Assan and Steve McQueen in a scene from Papillon (1973)

In September 1972, Assan entered the auditions for the film Papillon (1973), and was cast to play the role of an Indian girl, Zoraima, co-starring with Steve McQueen.[1][2] During the film production, Assan expressed her discomfort from catcalls by the film crew.[2] The film became a box office success, and Assan was praised for her role and audacity to appear topless.[1][2] During the screening of Papillon in Indonesia, Assan's scene was censored to the point of being almost non-existent.[1] Later, Assan signed a contract with Playboy, and became the first Indonesian descent women to be featured on Playboy magazine in February 1974.[1]

In an interview with Wimar Witoelar in 1973, Assan expressed excitement to start a career in Indonesia.[1] But because the media business in Indonesia at that time was not yet developed, Indonesia was unable to contract a Hollywood star.[1] Assan did not continue her film career and was criticized. It was claimed that she did not want to memorize her script, nor travel to the shooting location.[3]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1973 Papillon Zoraima

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bhawono, Aryo. "Ratna Assan, Perempuan Indonesia Pertama di Majalah Playboy". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tidak Menyangka". Tempo (in Indonesian). 1974-03-09. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Ratna Assan, Perempuan Berdarah Indonesia Pertama yang Tampil di Majalah Playboy". Historia – Majalah Sejarah Populer Pertama di Indonesia (in Indonesian). 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
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