FINDING HER LIGHT

Established model, rising actor. Rita Nadira navigates her way under the spotlight of two separate worlds with her signature grace, charm and ambition.

- TEXT & STYLING BY ABDUL AZIZ DRAIM

When you meet Rita Nadira, all 5’8” of her exudes an unassuming elegance that belies her growing stature in Malaysia’s entertainment industry. At 26, she’s the kind of woman who seems like she’s been graced with an unrelenting calm, with a warmth in her smile that instantly sets you at ease. It’s fitting, then, that her ascension in the worlds of fashion and television feels equally balanced, a delicate dance between two demanding careers that she somehow makes look effortless.

Born on 7 June 1997 in Kuala Lumpur as the youngest of six siblings, Rita Nadira didn’t always envision a future on the big or small screen, much less to have her face plastered across billboards and magazine covers. But life had other plans. At 15, she took her first steps into the modelling world, nudged by her sister, model Rita Suraya (who herself graced our cover in April ’23). What began as casual gigs quickly snowballed when, at 18, Rita Nadira realised she had the potential to truly make a name for herself. “I didn’t initially have a desire to become a model,” she admitted. “But once I stepped into it, I truly fell in love with the craft.”

And that love runs deep. After graduating with a Diploma in Performing Arts (Theatre) from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), plans to further her studies were put on hold when modelling offers poured in consistently. By the age of 21, she was already an in-demand model, so much so that when the idea of moving into acting was introduced—at the suggestion of her manager who felt it was time to put her diploma to good use—Rita Nadira had a tough decision to make.