The Zendaya of Indonesia, Zsazsa Utari – model, actress and dancer – looks to shake up its entertainment industry

19-year-old Zsazsa Utari may be known as ‘Indonesia’s Zendaya’ but she says her country still has a long way to go when it comes to equality for women of colour

The roles she is offered are ‘to be laughed at’ – her long-term goal is to help drive change for people like her within Indonesia’s entertainment industry

Reading Time:3 minutes

Zsazsa Utari is known to her fans as “Indonesia’s Zendaya”. The teenaged actress, model and dancer says the country still has a long way to go when it comes to equality for women of colour.

Published: 6:15am, 18 Jun 2022Updated: 6:49am, 18 Jun 2022

Zsazsa Utari, a 19-year-old Indonesian model, actress and dancer, has made quite a name for herself and is known as “Indonesia’s Zendaya” by her fans.

Of Jamaican heritage, she started acting 12 years ago and got her first break playing the boisterous child Sari Wati in the Indonesian soap opera Si Cemong.

Although she dreams of getting the same sorts of role as the superstar American actress she is compared to, Zsazsa has struggled as one of the few women of colour in Indonesia’s entertainment industry.

“It’s very difficult for a dark-skinned person like me to have the opportunity to be placed in a good role,” says Zsazsa. “Usually, I just get a lot of ridiculous role offers just to be laughed at.

“Meanwhile, in America, they provide many opportunities for different types of people to get roles. I’ve watched Ginny & Georgia on Netflix – hopefully Indonesia can do something like that.”

Indonesian model and actress Zsazsa started acting 12 years ago.

Indonesia is ethnically diverse, with around 1,300 ethnic groups spread across the island nation.