Ann Thomas is the 23 year old event and talent coordinator. She was crowned Miss Universe Malaysia 2010 on May 15, 2010.

She is representing Malaysia in the Miss Universe 2010 on August 23, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Maya is born to a German father, Gottfried Roelcke, and a mother of Malay, Chinese and Indian parentage, Che Zan, from Penang. She was born in Bayreuth, Germany. Maya is the oldest of three siblings. Her brother is called Armin and her sister Irina.

She is married to her British boyfriend from Manchester, Steven David Shorthose. The wedding was held in August 2008 in Italy. The couple met in 2001 when Steven was tutoring Maya’s brother, Armin, at the Garden International School, Kuala Lumpur. Steven, born 1970, converted to Islam in 2004, is also known by his Muslim name Muhammad Ali, after the boxer. He now teaches Maths at The Alice Smith School in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.

Growing up, Maya did some theatre work in Indonesia, and she later graduated from Limkokwing University Of Creative Technology in media and marketing.

Maya began her entertainment career as an endorsement model for brands such as Pantene (Hair Care Brand), Wella (Hair Care Brand) and Halle and Yishion (Fashion Apparel Brand). She also experimented in theatre productions, and was involved in plays for Actor’s Studio such as ‘Mahna Mahna’ and ‘In the Mind’s Eye’.

Television and film

In 2000, she was cast as a television show host for Malaysia’s TV3 lifestyle entertainment programme “Wavelength”, which began her mainstream career and exposure. She began to receive film offers within a year and was soon cast in her first film role as one of the leads in Aziz M. Osman’s Sri Dewi Malam. The role brought her significant public and media acclaim, and lead her to win the Best New Popular Artist Award at Malaysia’s Anugerah Bintang Popular (or the Popular Star Awards) and the Anugerah Media Hiburan (Media Entertainment Awards) in 2001.

In 2003 she was involved in film Mr.Cinderella 2 opposite established stars Erra Fazira and Yusry (KRU). Other films filmed followed, including Metrowealth Pictures’ ‘Tujuh Perhentian’ (7 Stops), which resulted in her being nominated for the Most Popular Female Artist Award at the Anugerah Bintang Popular (Popular Star Awards) in 2004.

In 2004, her praised performance as the lead female role in Pesona Pictures’ Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam enhanced Maya’s position as one of the leading Malaysian and regional talents. She received international awards including the Best Actress at the 49th Asia Pacific Film Festival 2004 (Fukuoka, Japan) and the Best Actress Estepona Fantasy and Terror Film Festival 2005 (Malaga, Spain). In 2005, she won the coveted Most Popular Actress Award at the Anugerah Bintang Popular (Popular Star Awards).

Despite her growing feature film career, Maya continued her involvement in television, and in 2004 was invited by Channel [V] International to join their VJ team. In 2006, she was voted Best VJ in Star Buzz Editor’s Choice Awards 2006. Other shows that she has hosted are the bridal programme ‘Ratu Sehari’ (Queen for a Day) in 2004 for Malaysia’s ASTRO Ria channel and the travelogue programme ‘Beauty Secrets From The East’ in 2005 for Malaysia’s local TV3 channel.

In 2005, Maya reprised her role as the lead in Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam II. Maya received critical acclaim for her portrayal, and received the award for Best Actress at Penghargaan Seniman Pelakon Wanita Terbaik 2006 (Malaysian equivalent to the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards) and a nomination for Best Actress at Pilihan Persatuan Pekerja Filem Malaysia (PPFM) (Malaysian equivalent of the Academy Awards).

In 2007, Maya played the lead in Pesona Pictures’ Waris Jari Hantu, Persona Pictures’ 1957: Hati Malaya and Tayangan Unggul’s Anak Halal. An upcoming film Maya is involved in is KRUfilm’s Duyung, where Maya plays the mermaid of the title. The film is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2008. In this film, Maya did all the underwater scenes on her own in the open sea of Sipadan Island.

Music career

In 2002, Maya recorded her debut music album ‘Erti Cinta’ (Definition of Love). The album garnered her nominations for Best New Singer and Best Video awards at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (Malaysia’s local Grammys). A third album is currently in production.

Endorsements

Maya’s mass popularity as an actress and entertainer led to her appointment as the first Malaysian Ambassador and Power Icon for local telecommunications giant Celcom in June 2006. By 2007 she is also the only female brand ambassador for Celcom, a role she shares with other celebrities such as Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Wang Lee Hom and Robert Pires. In August same year Maya was appointed spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris Malaysia and endorsee of its 2006-2007 skincare and cosmetics line.

Conservation activism

Having been influenced by her father, Maya has been very passionate about the environment from a young age. Maya is actively involved with the World Wildlife Federation (WWF). Maya Karin and WWF are in the midst of planning an Elephant Collaring Expedition so as to garner more information about our local elephants in order to help these animals from being extinct.

Fasha Sandha (born March 28, 1984) is a Malaysian actress who has appeared in movies, television shows, and commercials. She was born in Johor Bahru, Johor, but moved to Penang and later to Perlis due to her father’s work. Since graduating from the Kuala Lumpur-based Institut Kebudayaan Negara in 2000, she has appeared in movies Black Maria, Bujang Senang, , Gong and Cicak-Man.

Sandha was named most popular new actress in the 2005 Anugerah Bintang Popular for her performance on television drama Natasya. She is also famous for her best-selling novel, Sumpahan Fasha (Fasha’s Curse).

In 2002, Tan represented Malaysia in the 2002 Miss Global Petite World Finals in Montreal where she won Second Runner Up and the “Miss Congeniality” subsidiary title. In 2006, she was voted by FHM as Malaysia’s sexiest woman. Tan has appeared in a number of advertisements, including an advert for Lux in which she appeared alongside Karen Mok. She has hosted numerous Malaysian television shows, including What Women Want on 8TV, Motorsports@Petronas on Astro Super Sports, Ringgit Sense on TV3, Girls’ Club on NTV7, Looking Good Feeling Good on NTV7 as well as being part of the cast for Sketches also on NTV7.

Career in music

Tan’s debut music album is Crossing Bridges, which she collaborated with internationally-acclaimed composers/writers Jorgen Elofsson, Phil Thornalley, Andrew Fromm and Chris Rojas. The album also contained three songs Tan personally wrote and composed. The first single off the album is In Between, which won the Best Pop/Dance category at the 2006 Hitz.fm MET10 Awards. She is currently working on her 2nd album, scheduled for release in 2008.

Career in acting

In January 2008, she made her debut into the Malay entertainment scene by playing the lead role in her very first Malay tele-movie, BEZANYA CINTA, directed by the infamous Zulkifli M. Osman. To add on to that, some of her own songs were also featured in the movie, adding to the memorability of her dynamic introduction into an entirely new market segment and proving that racial indifferences should never be used as an excuse in a country like Malaysia.

Arguably one of the most sought after non-Malay female entertainers in the country, Hannah was invited in October this year by multiple-award winning film director Afdlin Shauki to play the lead female role alongside veteran actors AC Mizal and Harun Salim Bachik among many others in his latest project with KRU Productions, My Spy. This film is set to hit the local cinemas in 2009 while Hannah sets foot in the Land of The Rising Sun.

Honors and charity work

Implementing leadership by example, Hannah encouraged youths all over the country and celebrities alike to give back to the society by organizing the recent self-funded ‘H’ Factor Nationwide Creative Youth Workshop, a pioneering four-state community service initiative which touched the hearts and inspired the dreams of thousands of young people all over the country.

Sony Pictures has appointed Hannah as the ambassador for Animax Asia, effective November 2007. MDeC has also recently appointed Hannah as the ambassador for the World Congress on Information and Technology (WCIT) 2008.

Hannah also appeared on the Live Earth stage at Live and Loud KL 2007 before acts such as Elliott Yamin, Shaggy and Whitney Houston.