Mariam Baharum

Who was Mariam Baharum?

Mariam Baharum was a Singaporean-Malay film actress who was known for her work during the 1950s. She was nicknamed Mariam Tahi Lalat by her fans.

Baharum was born in 1935 in Singapore. She was the sister of another Malay film actress, Datin Saadiah, and the mother of pop singer, Rahimah Rahim.

Baharum's career reached its zenith during the 1950s as an actress signed to Malay Films Production Studio in Jalan Ampas, Singapore. Her most well known movie is perhaps the 1952 film, Anjuran Nasib, which was directed B. S. Rajhans and co-starred P. Ramlee. In 1953, Baharum was named the "Second Favorite Female Artiste Malaya" by Filem Raya Magazine for her role in Anjuran Nasib.

Baharum other film credits included Aloha, Dewi Murni and Kembar, all of which were released in 1950. She appeared in the 1952 film, Aladdin, Kipas Hikmat in 1955, Abu Hassan Penchuri in 1955 and Antara Dua Darjat 1960. Baharum co-starred in her films with most of the major Malaysian film stars of the era, including Kasma Booty, Aziz Sattar, S. Shamsuddin, Osman Gumanti and Datuk Mustapa Maarof.

Baharum was nominated for the Veteran Actress Award at both the 15th Malaysian Film Festival in 2001 and the 22nd Kota Kinabalu Film Festival in 2009.