13 Facts About Fifi Young

Fifi Young was an Indonesian actress of mixed French and Chinese descent who acted in at least 86 films over her 34-year career.

Fifi Young later switched to Miss Riboet's Orion troupe, where she married the playwright Njoo Cheong Seng when she was 14.

The elder man coached her in acting and convinced her to take the stage name Fifi Young; Young was the Cantonese equivalent of Njoo's Hokkien surname, while Fifi was meant to be reminiscent of the French actress Fifi D'Orsay.

In 1930 the couple established the Moonlight Crystal Follies in Penang, where Fifi Young had her first acting job.

One of these, Oriental Film, signed Njoo and Fifi Young; Njoo was taken as a writer, while Fifi Young was meant to be an actress.

Fifi Young was hoped to be the studio's bankable star, and starred in the studio's first three films: Kris Mataram, Zoebaida, and Pantjawarna.

When Njoo left the studio to join Majestic Pictures upon the invitation of Fred Young, Fifi Young went with him.

The American visual anthropologist Karl G Heider writes that Young performed especially well when acting as an older village woman and that she was well known for chewing betel on-screen.

Fifi Young died on 5 March 1975 after spending several months in hospital.

Fifi Young has a famous badminton player grandson, Rudy Gunawan is a son of one of her daughter Njoo Giok Hwa.

At the inaugural Indonesian Film Festival in 1955, Fifi Young was chosen for the best actress award for her role in Tarmina.

Fifi Young received several nominations from the PWI, including Best Actress for Wajah Seorang Pembunuh in 1973 and Best Actress for Jembatan Merah in 1974.

In November 2003 Fifi Young was posthumously awarded a Budaya Parama Dharma Award by President Megawati Sukarnoputri for her contributions to the development of Indonesian culture.