Ratna Setiawati Assan (born December 16, 1954) is an American actress, model, dancer, and singer. She is the only daughter of

Devi Dja Devi Dja (born Misria Dja; August 1, 1914 – January 19, 1989), better known as Miss Dja, was an Indonesian-born American actress, dancer, and singer. A member of the Dardanella Opera group, founded by Willy A. Piedro, who later became her husb ...

with her third husband, Ali Assan, and became the first woman of Indonesian descent to be featured in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' magazine. Assan started her career as a singer and dancer, then began acting in television series before rising to stardom as the 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 Gresik Regency ( older spelling: Grissee, ) is a regency within East Java Province of Indonesia. As well as a large part of the northern and western suburbs of the city of Surabaya, it includes the offshore Bawean Island, some 125 km to the ...

, and

, an actress and dancer from

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

. She was named after Ratna Asmara, a friend of her mothers from the Dardanella theatre company and co-star in ''Dr. Samsi'' (1937). Assan's mother migrated to the United States in 1940 to develop her career as a dancer. At the age of three, Assan was trained by her mother to dance, sing, and model. During her high school years, she joined the cheerleading squad, and received a brown belt in Karate.

Personal life

Assan was married to a carpenter from

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, and had a daughter, Aisah Dewi (born 1975), before later divorcing.

Career

Assan began her career at the age of seven as a srimpi dancer and singer at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

in Los Angeles, California, and was featured in the far eastern ballet and dance troupes led by her mother. She made her acting debut in ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' as a child actress. She also appeared in episodes of the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

'' Destry'' (1964) and the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Mister Roberts'' (1965), and performed as one of

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...

's wives in ''

Anna and the King ''Anna and the King'' is a 1999 American biographical period drama film directed by Andy Tennant. Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes loosely based their screenplay on the 1944 novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'', which gives a fictionalized a ...

''. In September 1972, Assan auditioned for the film '' Papillon'' (1973), and was cast to play the role of an Indian girl, Zoraima, co-starring with

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

. During filming, Assan expressed her discomfort at

catcall Street harassment is a form of harassment, primarily sexual harassment that consists of unwanted sexualised comments, provocative gestures, honking, wolf whistles, indecent exposures, stalking, persistent sexual advances, and touching by stra ...

s by the film crew. The film was a box office success, and Assan was praised for her role and audacity to appear topless. During the screening of ''Papillon'' in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, Assan's scene was censored to the point of being almost non-existent. Later, Assan signed a contract with ''

'', and became the first woman of Indonesian descent to be featured in ''Playboy'' magazine, in February 1974. In an interview with Wimar Witoelar in 1973, Assan expressed excitement to start a career in Indonesia. But because the media business in Indonesia at that time was not yet developed, Indonesia was unable to contract a Hollywood star, and Assan did not continue her film career. She received criticism, with claims that she did not want to memorize her scripts, or travel to the shoot location.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Assan, Ratna 1954 births Living people 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers American film actresses Actresses from Torrance, California Actresses from Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses 1970s Playboy Playmates American people of Indonesian descent