Che Puan Sarimah binti Ibrahim (born 19 February 1979)[1] is a Malaysian television host, radio announcer, actress and singer.[2]
Sarimah was born in Dublin, Ireland to a Malaysian father of Malay and Chinese descent, Ibrahim Ahmad who hailed from Batu Pahat, Johor and an Irish mother who is of Irish and Italian descent, Elizabeth Hanlon are from Kilkenny, Ireland who is also converted from Catholicism to Islam prior to her marriage. She is the eldest of four siblings.[3] She spent her secondary school years at the Emirates International School in Dubai, UAE. She also attends Wesley College, Dublin where she obtained her O-Levels. Sarimah holds an Advanced Diploma in Psychology from College of Allied Educators in Singapore and Bachelor's Degree of Psychology (Hons) from HELP University in Malaysia.[4][5]
In 2001, she released her debut album “Sarimah”. winning her Best Breakthrough Artiste at AIM Awards 2002. In 1998, she became the first Female Disney Channel Asia Host. In 2009 she became the first Malaysian celebrity to host the first season of The Biggest Loser Asia on Hallmark Channel Asia.[6] She has won several awards as TV Host including Anugerah Seri Angkasa as Best TV Presenter in 2011. She continued her recording artist career with releasing a self produced English single ‘You On My Mind’ in 2013 and a Bahasa Malaysia single of ‘Destinasiku’ in 2016.
Expanding her artistic range and reach, Sarimah joined two popular Breakfast Show's as a radio announcer for Red FM alongside Lil Kev and Mix FM radio stations for its flagship breakfast programme the Mix Breakfast Show alongside Rod for two years.[7]
Sarimah went on to be the first Malaysian Celebrity Host given her own Talk show "The Sarimah Show" aired during primetime on national TV station TV3 in 2017.
In order to continue flourishing her acting career, Sarimah has starred in an Astro Ria TV series as herself in "Jack Yusof"[8] with Malaysian actor Rosyam Nor and as a human rights lawyer Lydia, who defends daughter and friends from a sexual predator/lecturer in a Astro Premier TV series known as Riot!.[9]
Recent media articles[10][11] reveal Sarimah has set her sights further afield, reportedly undergoing tutelage from an Irish acting coach Gerry Grennell[12] who has "worked with the likes of Marlon Brando, Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, Josh Brolin, Cillian Murphy, Bruce Willis, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Brian Cox, Ewan McGregor and Orlando Bloom. Johnny Depp and Andrew Garfield have both been frequent collaborators (“If you are lucky enough to be taught by Gerry you should listen,” Garfield once said), as was the late Heath Ledger," wrote Alex Ritman[13] for the Hollywood Reporter.[14]
In 2006, Sarimah was married to an Australian man, Amir Andrew Abdullah (né Andrew John Browning)[15] but the couple divorced on 15 May 2009.[16][17]
In April 2015, she married His Highness Tunku Nadzimuddin bin Tunku Mudzaffar (also known as Tunku Jamie), a grandson of the tenth Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja’afar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Tunku Ampuan Najihah. Her father-in-law is Tunku Mudzaffar ibni Tunku Mustapha, the Tunku Kecil Besar of Negeri Sembilan and her mother-in-law is Tunku Naquiah binti Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar, the Tunku Dara of Negeri Sembilan.
Prior to their marriage, they were engaged on 27 September 2014 and had a private wedding reception at one of the prestigious hotels in Kuala Lumpur.[18]
Upon her marriage, she was granted the honorific prefix of Che Puan (equivalent to the English "Lady") which signifies her as the consort of a royal prince that is not of noble or royal bloodline.[19] She is styled as Yang Berbahagia (The Felicitous).[20][21]
Sarimah and Tunku Jamie had a daughter together named Tunku Sofia Najihah. She was born on 19 July 2019.[22]
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