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Che Puan Julia Abdul Rais, (born 19 February 1971) is a Malaysian former model and actress. She is a member of the
Bendahara dynasty The Bendahara dynasty (, Jawi:) is the current ruling dynasty of Pahang, Terengganu and Johor – constituent states of Malaysia. The royal house were of noble origin, holding the hereditary position of bendahara (the highest rank in Malay nob ...
by marriage, as the second wife of
Abdullah of Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (; ; born 30 July 1959) is the sixth modern Sultan of Pahang. Abdullah was born during the reign of his grandfather, Abu Bakar of Pahang, Sultan ...
, the 6th modern
Sultan of Pahang Sultan of Pahang (, Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Abdullah of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of Islam in the state and the s ...
and 16th
Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...
of
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Julia had a successful, but short, career in Malaysia as a film actress in the early 1990s and was known for her European features. She played the title character in the 1990 films ''Isabella'' and ''Mira Edora'' and in the 1992 film ''Nadia''. Julia also had roles in the films ''Hati Bukan Kristal'', ''Driving School'', and ''Suci Dalam Debu''. She received two awards and a nomination for Best Actress at the 9th Malaysian Film Festival in 1991. She ended her acting career shortly after marrying into the Pahang royal family.


Early life and family

Julia was born in
Kota Bharu Kota Bharu ( Kelantanese: ''Koto Baghu''), colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mout ...
,
Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...
on 19 February 1971. She is of Malay and English ancestry. She is the daughter of Abdul Rais Yeop, a Malaysian businessman and former board member of Sri Jaya Vehicles, from his second marriage to a English wife. She grew up in
Damansara Jaya Damansara Jaya is a township in Petaling Jaya, Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia, situated in the Sungai Buloh mukim. Consisting of Section SS22 and SS22A, it covers an estimated area of and has an estimated population of 12,000 residents. ...
with her late father and late stepmother, Zaedah-tul Laily @ Lily Ibrahim. She has a sister, the late Zalina, and two stepsiblings, Mohd Rafiza and Fazlyn. She is also a cousin of the politician
Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: محمد نظري بن عبدالعزيز; born 15 May 1954) is a Malaysian politician and barrister who most recently served as Malaysian Ambassador to the United States from February 2023 to ...
and a step-cousin of award-winning actress Juliana Ibrahim.


Career

Julia began acting and modelling in the late 1980s in television commercials for
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...
and Rejoice Shampoo. Her first film was the 1990 romance film ''Isabella'', where she played the title character. From 1990 to 1992 she appeared in several films as a supporting character. She played Nina, a journalist, in the film ''Hati Bukan Kristal'' and was the lead role in the comedy ''Driving School''. She also had lead roles in the films ''Mira Edora'', ''Nadia'', and ''Suci Dalam Debu''. At the Malaysian Film Festival in 1991, Julia won the Bintang Harapan Award and the Best Film Award for ''Hati Bukan Kristal'' and was nominated for Best Actress for ''Mira Edora''. She ended her career in the entertainment industry shortly after marrying into the Pahang royal family.


Marriage and issue

In 1991 she married Al-Sultan Abdullah, who was then the heir-apparent to the Sultanate of Pahang, as his second wife. Her husband's first wife is
Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: تونكو عزيزة أمينة ميمونة إسكندرية بنت المرحوم سلطان إسكندر الحاج; born 5 August 1960) is ...
. They had a private ceremony at
Fraser's Hill Fraser's Hill (Malay language, Malay: ) is a hill resort in Raub District, Pahang, Malaysia, on the Pahangese and Selangor, Selangorean sections of the Titiwangsa Mountains. It is about north of Kuala Lumpur. In 1890, Louis James Fraser estab ...
. Upon her marriage she was bestowed the honorific prefix of '' Che Puan'' (equivalent to the English "
Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...
") as a Sultan's consort that was of non-royal blood. She is styled as ''Yang Amat Berbahagia'' (''The Most Honourable''). Her husband succeeded his father as the sixth Sultan of modern Pahang on 15 January 2019. He was the sixteenth
Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...
(King of Malaysia) from 31 January 2019 until 30 January 2024. She and the sultan have three daughters together: *''Her Highness'' ''Tengku Puteri Raja'' Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan (born on 11 November 1992); married ''His Highness'' Tengku Abu Bakar Ahmad bin ''Almarhum Tengku Arif Bendahara'' Tengku Abdullah ** ''His Highness'' Tengku Zayn Edin Shah (born on 23 July 2019) ** ''Her Highness'' Tengku Aleya Norlini (born on 2 February 2022) *'' Her Highness'' ''Tengku Puteri Raja'' Tengku Puteri Ilisha Ameera (born on 1 October 1993) * ''Her Highness'' ''Tengku Puteri Raja'' Tengku Puteri Ilyana Alia (born on 20 April 1997)


Personal life

Julia is a practitioner of
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
and a spiritual follower of Yasmin Mogahed. She lives in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
with her mother, who is British. She did not attend the wedding of her eldest daughter in 2018.Naressa Khan. (23 February 2021)

Style by South China Morning Post.


Filmography


Film


Television film


Television


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Videography


References


External links

* {{Authority control Living people 1971 births 20th-century Malaysian actresses Malaysian expatriates in England Malaysian female models Malaysian film actresses Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of English descent Malaysian people of Malay descent Pahang royal consorts Princesses by marriage People from Kota Bharu Royalty and nobility actors Royalty and nobility models