Cinta Laura

1993-2007: childhood and early career

Laura was born on August 17, 1993 in Quakenbrück, Germany. Her father, Michael Kiehl, was a German hotelier, and her mother, Herdiana Soekarseno, was an Indonesian lawyer of ethnic Sundanese descent. Due to her father’s job, Cinta grew up in several countries such as the UAE, Malaysia, Germany and finally Indonesia, which led her to grow up with English as her first language despite her German and Indonesian background.

Upon her move to Indonesia, Cinta began to cultivate her love for sports. Her love for swimming led her to become a competitive swimmer, competing against dozens of international schools in the country. By the time she was 12, she had attained 10 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 7 bronze medals from various swim meets. In 2006 Cinta suffered from appendicitis, which led to an operation that required her to remain inactive for three months. During this break, her dance teacher encouraged her to join an acting/modeling competition. Though initially hesitant due to her preference for sports, she took up the challenge and participated in the competition. Little did she know that this competition was going to change her life forever.

To Cinta’s surprise she won the first place for modeling. One of the judges, who was a casting director for one of the biggest production house in Indonesia, immediately offered her a contract for a leading role in a local TV soap series. Weeks later she signed a contract with MD Entertainment and started her journey as an actress. Due to her rusty Indonesian and inexperience in acting, MD Entertainment provided Cinta with both an Indonesian teacher and acting coach. In February 2007, her first soap, Cinderella: Apakah Cinta Hanyalah Mimpi? aired on SCTV. Within weeks it became the most popular show in the country. Cinta’s popularity rose at an immense pace. Shortly before her 14th birthday in August 2007, she received an award for Best Actress, beating other female actresses who have been in the industry for years. The show also won Best Sinetron (TV soap) that year. Cinderella: Apakah Cinta Hanyalah Mimpi? lasted for 310 episodes and ended due to Cinta’s need for a break in order to attain some normality in her teenage life.

2008-2010: Oh Baby & Cinta Laura

Her break from the industry did not last long as Cinta began to shoot her first movie Oh Baby in February 2008. The Step Up inspired movie was catered to young teens as it depicted a young girl pursuing her dream of becoming a dancer in order to provide for her beloved grandpa while finding love on the way. In 2008, Cinta also began her singing career, having her first single debut as the soundtrack of her film. Her first single "Oh Baby" reigned in the number position of various charts in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. 2008 proved to be Cinta’s year as she received numerous awards from various renowned teenage magazines such as Gadis, in which she was dubbed Artist of the Year. She also won her first Kids Choice Awards (Indonesia) for Best Actress and was also nominated for Best Singer. Midway through 2008, Cinta also began filming her second TV soap series, Upik Abu dan Laura, which was a tremendous success in both Indonesia and Malaysia.

In 2009 Cinta made the executive decision to slowdown as the 11th grade was approaching. Aware of the difficulty of the last two years of High School prior to university, Cinta decided to switch her focus not to studying but to the music industry as it consumed less time. However, as a farewell gift to her fans, Cinta filmed her last TV soap series, Air Mata Cinta over the summer of 2009. As she entered the 11th grade, she began restricting her schedule to weekends, in which she spent time recording her first self-titled studio album, Cinta Laura. The album was released in February 2010 and sold over a million copies, which made it a great success. In the summer of 2010, Cinta received the most honorable award one could receive from the Kids Choice Awards (Indonesia), the Wannabe Artist Award of 2010.

2011-present: Early international career

Later in 2010, Cinta filmed another movie called SKJ: Seleb Kota Jogja, which validated her role as both an actress and a singer. Due to her academics, Cinta decided to take a real break. Her hectic schedule alongside stress from having to juggle both her education and career led her to decide on quitting the movie industry in Indonesia. Nonetheless, it all paid of as she graduated from the Jakarta International School (JIS) with honors in June 2011. In the summer of 2011, prior to her preparation for college, Cinta focused on recording her second studio album titled, Hollywood Dreams. In addition to all that, Cinta was also offered to act in an American produced movie After the Dark, starring Bonnie Wright and James D’Arcy. As a result, plans changed and Cinta began filming her first Hollywood movie in June 2011.

In September 2011, Cinta moved to the United States to study at Columbia University in the city of New York. While at Columbia, she joined the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta. Despite her full-time dedication as a student, Cinta spent her winter break in January 2012 recording two singles with American music producers in Los Angeles. These two singles, "Boomerang" and "Playlist" became her first English singles and were placed in her second studio album, which was released in July 2012. In the summer of 2012, Cinta again spent her holiday touring Indonesia to promote her album.

Soon after, Cinta took a yearlong break from the industry and did not return to Indonesia until the summer of 2013. She was offered to do a live show called YKS: Yuk Kita Sahur, a show conceptually similar to Saturday Night Live. To everyone’s surprise the show became a big hit and has been rated number one ever since. As a result of the show’s great success, Cinta rejoined the cast of YKS during the months of December 2013 and January 2014.

Despite Cinta’s success and achievements, education has always been her number one priority. Her determination and ambition has led her to attain great success at Columbia University, allowing her to graduate a year earlier than expected. She is also a teaching assistant (TA) for Professor Herbert Terrace in Columbia’s psychology department. Cinta graduated cum laude from the university in May 2014. Additionally, she is also preparing for her move to Los Angeles in order to pursue her acting career in Hollywood.

Additional

According to Herdiana Kiehl and Cinta Laura, Cinta has been offered Marshall Scholarship and Rhodes Scholarship for her master's degree, both of which she postponed in order to pursue her acting career in Hollywood. Rhodes Scholars Elect Class of 2014, the complete list of students who have been elected as Rhodes Scholars, however, indicates that Cinta has not been offered the scholarship. Likewise, Cinta Laura is not listed as one of the winners of 2014 Marshall Scholarships.