By Prudence Minayo
When Citizen TV’s power couple and Swahili news anchors, Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdalla produced ‘Maria’ they obviously had great expectations for the show. What they didn’t expect was for the show to be a megahit. With the injection of fresh blood, like, Maria, and the intricately woven plot, the show has won many hearts in Kenya. The addictive show has catapulted the Kenyan film industry to the next level and at the center of it all is Maria, the lead actor. Both children and adults are drawn to the fresh faced innocent that graced the screens in 2019, but who is she?
Real name and family
Yasmin Said is her real name and she hails from a Muslim family. Yasmin is from a middle-class family and has lived a comfortable life, never even lacked school fees. As a staunch Muslim, she currently has no boyfriend and is still living with her parents. The only thing that will make her leave her parents’; home is marriage. During an interview, she revealed that her parents support and are proud of the role she plays in ‘Maria’.
Age
The popular actor is only 20-years-old.
Education
She went to Ribe Girls High School, Kilifi. This year she hopes to join campus. Career Drama was not her cup of tea while in high school as she did not fancy the trips. The only time she participated in drama was when recording a voice over for them.
The lead actor came across the auditions while in high school. A tomboy role was assigned to her, ironically, on a day she had won a long Muslim dress. By God's grace she nailed it perfectly and landed the role, Maria.
Maria Character
Maria is a character far removed from Yasmin Said, who is a humble Muslim girl from a good background and with both parents. In the film, she plays the role of a poor orphan raised by the god mother and living in the slums. A rich compassionate man takes her in and decides to educate her. She wins the heart of the man’s adult children, two boys and a girl. The boys ( Luwi and Victor Hausa) both fall for her but her affections are with Luwi who later marries a different evil woman, Sofia. This is the beginning of an intriguing, emotional journey that will hopefully have a happy ending. Yasmin is very aggressive in the film, she allows no one the chance to put her down. The character also has a good heart and dreams to better herself. It is her combination of aggressiveness and innocence that keeps viewers glued to the screen.
Real life and goals
The talented actor hopes to join university and become a journalist or lawyer. This will all
depend on the schedule as being the lead actor keeps her very busy, she is required on set at all times. The 20-year-old watches herself on TV and takes note of her weaknesses so as to correct them the next time. Swahili telenovelas are also on her watch list as she believes in supporting our own films and also hopes to learn something from them.
In an interview with Radio Jambo, she revealed if there is one thing she would change about her character its the aggressiveness. Viewers should definitely look out for her as she believes she may want to pursue acting further.
Net Worth
Yasmin Said&’s net worth is estimated at 2-4 million Kenyan Shillings due to the deal with Royal Media Services. She is also in the process of signing brand endorsements deals.
Hobbies
Sleeping
Reading novels
The young actor is also a pet lover. You’ll even see her playing with pets on screen.
Role model
The talented actor loves and admired Lulu Hassan. While in journalism club in high school, she always wished to be like her.
