Titien Sumarni

Raden Ajeng Titien Sumarni (28 December 19? – 13 May 1966) was an Indonesian actress, producer, and businesswoman active in the 1950s. Often regarded as the most beautiful actress of her time, she became the first Indonesian actress to establish a film company.

Born in Surabaya, Sumarni moved to Tasikmalaya as a child, where she developed an interest in stage acting. She trained under her uncle and future husband, Mustari Natanegara, and later performed for republican troops during the Indonesian National Revolution. Sumarni began her film career in 1951, debuting in Seruni Laju. Over a five-year span, she appeared in thirty films, founded her own production company, and became one of the most popular Indonesian actresses of her time. After her final film, Sumarni gradually withdrew from the spotlight and eventually died in 1966.

Sumarni was born on 28 December 19? in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies, as the only child of Memet Sukardi and RA Sarimanah. She was of mixed Javanese–Sundanese descent. Her father, an assistant wedana in Surabaya, died when she was three years old. To support their daily needs, Sumarni's mother started a hotel business. When Sumarni was six, she moved to her mother's hometown of Tasikmalaya, where she spent the rest of her childhood.

While attending junior high school in Bandung at the age of 15, Sumarni began studying acting under her uncle, Raden Mustari Natanegara, who was 16 years her senior. They married in 1948, reportedly as an act of revenge against her lover, an Indonesian military officer who had cheated on her with Natanegara's wife, according to author Rd. Lingga Wisjnu. After marriage, Sumarni left school and began a career as a stage actress, performing for troops during the Indonesian National Revolution until she eventually moved to Jakarta with her husband. The couple had a son, Tommy Sjarif Natanegara, who became a singer under the stage name Tommy Soemarni & Co.

After gaining popularity, Sumarni divorced Natanegara and, in 1957, married Laurens Saerang, a wealthy entrepreneur from Minahasa; however, this marriage also ended in divorce. She later married Subjakto, an entrepreneur from Jombang, but this marriage, too, ultimately ended in divorce.

Sumarni was reported to have had affairs with several men. Her relationship with Enoch Datubrata led to the birth of her son, Mochamad Jusuf Danubrata. She then had an affair with Entje Senu Abdul Rachman, which resulted in another son, Mochamad Patah Abdurachman. Sumarni also had a relationship with Sampetoding, which led to the birth of two sons, Mochamad Nur and Mochamad Rahmat Sampe.

In 1959, Sumarni began a relationship with Muhammad Jahja Ali, an entrepreneur from Bandung who had been a colleague of her father. They first met in 1939, when Ali was working at the Hollandsche Beton Maatschappij (HBM) in Surabaya. In 1945, Sumarni became friends with Ali's wife and often visited his home to see his sister-in-law, who was also her friend. After Sumarni married and moved to Jakarta, their meetings became infrequent. They reconnected in December 1958 at Persari Studio, where Ali was working on buildings owned by Djamaluddin Malik. The two eventually married but began feuding in August 1959.

Sumarni accused Ali of neglecting her during her pregnancy, even when she experienced bleeding that led to the loss of their baby; Ali reportedly never came to see her. Due to his actions, she demanded that Ali compensate her for losses amounting to Rp. 5 million. Ali, however, denied being the biological father of Sumarni's child, claiming he had last seen her in April 1959. He alleged that Sumarni was pregnant by her second husband and was filing for divorce in the Surabaya religious court.