The Story of Sally Marcelina, the 'Warkop DKI' Sex Bomb, Formerly a Roller Skating Athlete - Now Selling Second-hand Clothes

Kapanlagi.com - Written by: Elmira Aubyn Azzahrina

Many of the current generation are unaware of the existence of a 90s old-school artist named Sally Marcelina. Sally Marcelina is a well-known actress, model, and producer from the homeland who rose to fame through the sitcom WARKOP DKI as Kasino's girlfriend. At that time, she was also famous as a hot star who often wore sexy clothes in every film she appeared in.

Who would have thought that the senior artist, born on July 28, 1969, who was once popular, is now known to be running a secondhand clothing business. Her career on the small screen did not always yield results. She even took a hiatus from acting for two decades and finally returned to grace the Indonesian small screen in the film SUZZANNA: MALAM JUMAT KLIWON (2023).

The ups and downs of life, of course, have been experienced by her at the age of 54. Sally Marcelina's struggles are worth appreciating. Starting from opening a restaurant at the peak to support her three children, to being willing to sell imported clothes after being deceived for 3 billion rupiah.

So, how did Sally Marcelina's career journey begin until now? Find out the complete information below!

1. Initially a Roller Skating Athlete

© TonightShowNet

Not only beautiful, Sally Marcelina apparently has a hobby of roller skating. Her love for roller skates led her to become an athlete to participate in the 11th National Sports Week (PON) held in 1985 in Ancol, Jakarta. She was also an athletic athlete who participated in a 21-kilometer marathon.

Thanks to her skill, she was able to get a scholarship after participating in the PON championship. However, she was willing to quit to pursue a career as an actress. She revealed this when she became a guest star on Tonight Show hosted by Vincent, Desta, and Hesti.

“Actually, I got a scholarship because I won in PON. Because of filming, well, finally I stopped. Incidentally, my late grandfather Janis Badar was an editor, I asked for guidance from him. He said, ‘Once you dive into the world of film, you have to be committed and willing to play anything,’" said the 54-year-old actress.

2. Join Casting for Aku Cinta Indonesia (ACI)

© sally_marcellina_official

When she was still in junior high school, Sally Marcelina made her acting debut through a teenage television series titled AKU CINTA INDONESIA (ACI) in 1985. At that time, she was focused on being an athlete and did not expect to receive an offer to join the casting. Initially, her father even forbade her from entering the acting world.

“So there was someone shooting at my house, I watched it wearing roller skates. After watching, I went home and was followed by the crew. They asked me, ‘Do you want to act in a movie?’. I asked my dad, ‘Can I?’. At first, he said no, but eventually he allowed it. That was ACI SMP, I was still a supporting role,” said Sally Marcelina.

She continued, “After ACI SMP, there was an audition for ACI SMA, out of 500 people, I made it to the top 8 for the main role. Eventually, I became one of the main characters in ACI SMA.”

3. Daring to Portray Sexy Characters

© TonightShowNet

At that time, Sally Marcelina was indeed dubbed as the sexiest artist in Indonesia thanks to her frequent display of her body's beauty in several hot films. Just mention BIRAHI DALAM KEHIDUPAN (1987), MACAN KAMPUS (1987), MASUK KENA KELUAR KENA (1992), and AKIBAT HAMIL MUDA (1993).

At her teenage age, she was already bold enough to perform hot scenes and the sexy image had already stuck with her. However, Sally Marcelina felt that at her age, she was still having fun and not just getting offers for 'bold' films.

"After I starred in MACAN KAMPUS, there were many, but not directly bold films. But there were many teenage films with Paramita Rusadi, with the late Rian Hidayat, there were many. Then I entered the WARKOP film. In the WARKOP film, the girls always wore bikinis in the swimming pool, at the beach. I was still a teenager, still okay, still sexy, still cute, right? So, well, I was just happy," she said.

4. List of Popular Films

© TonightShowNet

There have been many old films and soap operas starring Sally Marcelina before she went on hiatus. She has pursued various genres. Not only did she play main characters and extras, she also participated as a producer and scriptwriter, KLovers! Here is a list of her films.

- SI GOBANG: MISTERI SATRIA BERTOPENG (1988)

- DI SANA MAU, DI SINI MAU (1989)

- MANA BISA TAHAN (1990)

- SUDAH PASTI TAHAN (1991)

- MISTERI WANITA BERDARAH DINGIN (1992)

- AKIBAT HAMIL MUDA (1993)

- PENCET SANA PENCET SINI (1994)

- SKANDAL BINAL (1995)

- KEKUASAAN DAN WANITA (1996)

- PENARI MALAM (1997)

- BUKAN HANYA MATA KETIGA (2013)

- SUZZANNA: MALAM JUMAT KLIWON (2023)

5. Scammed for 3 Billion

© TRANS TV Official

From here, a series of trials rained down on Sally Marcelina and her family. As a public figure, her career journey was not always smooth. Everyone surely has bitter experiences, including Sally Marcelina. This Warkop Angels member was once scammed for a fake investment of 3 billion. This happened because the film industry collapsed during the 1998 monetary crisis.

As reported by RUMPI, hosted by Feni Rose, this is Sally Marcelina's story.

“So, because our film was on hold, then there was an offer to invest money in agribusiness. And the company also worked in the film industry, so I invested. At that time, the exchange rate was still 3,000 rupiahs to a dollar, so I invested 3 billion rupiahs. How much is it now?” said the mother of 3 children.

Furthermore, this tragic incident caused her to lose almost all of her accumulated assets since she was young.

“Those were my hard-earned efforts since I was young, and in the end, how many houses were lost, my children were still young,” she continued.

6. Open Restaurant in Puncak

© sally_marcellina_official

There is no denying how Sally Marcelina felt after all her assets disappeared while she had to support her three children. She decided to rise up and move from Jakarta to improve her financial situation.

"Finally, I moved from Jakarta to Puncak, Cisarua. I opened a restaurant there because the film industry was on hiatus at that time. Thank God, from a small restaurant, it grew into a big restaurant, then two restaurants." she explained.

7. Husband Passed Away

© TRANS TV Official

Instead of enjoying the success of her thriving restaurant, Sally Marcelina had to struggle with life's difficulties. Her husband, the late Henri Farel Tobing, suffered from kidney failure.

She continued, "Then my husband got sick with kidney failure. He had to undergo dialysis for three and a half years, three times a week. It cost around 1 to 1.5 million rupiahs per session, not to mention the cost of blood bags and other expenses. So, I focused on the restaurant."

After going through various healing processes, Sally Marcelina's husband passed away in 2012.

8. Selling Used and Imported Clothes

© Media Indonesia

Known as a woman who never gives up, Sally Marcelina tries her best to continue her life. Although she was once an artist, this time, she is involved in selling used and imported clothes. She even has an online store on the E-commerce platform Shopee called Sally Marcelina Shop and on Facebook called Sally Marcelina Online Shop House of Thrifting Look at Me.

"After COVID, I was confused about what to do. Finally, I saw my shooting clothes in one room and they were all full. So I thought it would be a waste if I didn't sell them because they are still in good condition. Then I tried selling them at a bazaar, and all 3000 clothes were sold. They were sold for 30 thousand to 150 thousand rupiahs. Then I thought that selling clothes is a great opportunity. So I started importing clothes from Bangkok, Korea, and Japan. And I have been doing it until now," she explained.

Sally Marcelina often promotes her sales catalog through live broadcasts on Instagram and TikTok, KLovers! She is not ashamed to continue her thrift business amidst her busy schedule, as she is still active in the acting world.

"At first, my friends said to me, 'Sally, why do you sell clothes on the side of the road, online?' But eventually, I realized that there's no need to be ashamed. Everyone is selling online, so what's the big deal? Unless it's something embarrassing like stealing. This is halal," she said.

9. Latest Project by Sally Marcelina

© sally_marcellina_official

After her acting career was put on hold for 20 years, Sally Marcelina is now back in the spotlight appearing on TV shows and starring in films and TV series. It is known that she is still participating as a guest star in JODOH WASIAT BAPAK Episode 2 and 3.

Recently, she starred in the famous Indonesian horror film titled SUZZANNA: MALAM JUMAT KLIWON which was released on August 3, 2023. She played the role of Mintarti, the first wife of the character Raden Aryo (Tyo Pakusadewo). This film also stars Luna Maya and Achmad Megantara.

Not only that, Sally Marcelina is also reportedly preparing for a new teenage drama film about a girl who loves roller skates, as reported by Insertlive. It seems that she is inspired by her childhood story where she loved playing with roller skates.

As a screenplay writer and producer, she has completed approximately 15 feature films. That's really awesome!

(kpl/elm)