Chelsea Elizabeth Islan or better known as Chelsea Islan born in Washington DC, United States of America on 2 June 1995 is an American-born Indonesian actress, model, and activist. She has received two consecutive Citra Award nominations in the Best Actress category for Di Balik 98 (2015) and Rudy Habibie (2016).
Islan rose to fame for her role in the popular sitcom Tetangga Masa Gitu in which aired from 2014 to 2017 alongside Sophia Latjuba, Deva Mahenra, and Dwi Sasono. She won four Indonesian Choice Awards for Actress of the Year in a row from 2015 until 2018, the last year the award show was held.
Early life
Born in Washington DC to an American mother and an Indonesian father, Islan moved to Jakarta to start elementary school and stayed until she finished high school at the Mentari International School. As an elementary student, she appeared in a stage play of Once on This Island.
Career
She made her feature film debut in the 2013 drama film Refrain alongside Afgansyah Reza and Maudy Ayunda before achieving mainstream success with the action film Street Society and the biographical film Merry Riana: Mimpi Sejuta Dolar as well as the sitcom Tetangga Masa Gitu in 2014.
She appeared opposite Boy William in the historical drama Di Balik 98 in 2015 and another biographical drama Rudy Habibie in 2016. Both roles garnered Islan consecutive nominations at the 2015 and 2016 Citra Awards in the Best Actress category, which she lost to Tara Basro (A Copy of My Mind) and Cut Mini (Athirah) respectively.
For her role in the 2016 biopic film 3 Srikandi, Islan won the 2016 Maya Award for Best Supporting Actress, the 2017 Indonesian Movie Award for Favorite Supporting Actress, as well as a Best Actress Award at the 2016 Bandung Film Festival. Also in 2016, she appeared as a doctor in the Mo Brothers’ action film Headshot.
She was cast in the lead role of Alfie for Timo Tjahjanto’s solo directorial debut May the Devil Take You, which was released in 2018 to critical and commercial success. She reprised the role in the 2020 sequel May the Devil Take You Too and is set to appear in the third insallment May the Devil Take You: Dajjal.
Islan has appeared in multiple commercials for brands such as L’Oreal, Garnier, Tokopedia, Pizza Hut, Oppo, Magnum, Rexona, and Matahari Department Store.
Personal life
Islan established ‘Youth of Indonesia’, a youth community dedicated to be a platform to contribute to Indonesia and protect the values of pluralism, on the 88th anniversary of the 1928 Youth Pledge on 28 October 2016. She also serves as president of the community She was named an Innovative Young Leader at the 2017 Southeast Asian Leaders Summit in Jakarta.
Filmography
Film
| Title | Year | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Refrain | Annalise | |
| 2014 | Street Society | Karina | |
| 2014 | Merry Riana: Mimpi Sejuta Dolar | Merry Riana | |
| 2015 | Di Balik 98 | Diana | |
| 2015 | Guru Bangsa: Tjokroaminoto | Stella | |
| 2015 | Love You… Love You Not | Amira | |
| 2016 | 3 Srikandi | Lilies Handayani | |
| 2016 | Headshot | Ailin | |
| 2016 | Pinky Promise | Chelsea | |
| 2016 | Rudy Habibie | Illona Ianovska | |
| 2017 | Ayat-Ayat Cinta 2 | Keira | |
| 2018 | May the Devil Take You | Alfie | |
| 2020 | May the Devil Take You Too | Alfie | |
| TBA | May the Devil Take You: Dajjal | Alfie | |
| TBA | Godam & Tira | Susie/Tira |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2017 | Tetangga Masa Gitu | Bintang Howard Bornstein | NET TV | |
| 2016 | When You Wish upon Sakura | Elly | WakuWaku Japan |
Music video
| Year | Title | Artist | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ”Tak Lagi Sama” | Noah |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3rd Maya Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Street Society | Nominated | |
| 2015 | 2nd Indonesian Choice Awards | Actress of the Year | Herself | Won | |
| 2015 | 9th Indonesian Movie Awards | Best Actress | Merry Riana: Mimpi Sejuta Dolar | Nominated | |
| Best Chemistry | Nominated | shared with Dion Wiyoko | |||
| Favorite Actress | Nominated | ||||
| 2015 | 35th Citra Awards | Best Actress | Di Balik 98 | Nominated | |
| 2016 | 3rd Indonesian Choice Awards | Actress of the Year | Herself | Won | |
| 2016 | 36th Citra Awards | Best Actress | Rudy Habibie | Nominated | |
| 2016 | 5th Maya Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 3 Srikandi | Won | |
| 2016 | Bandung Film Festival | Best Actress | Won | ||
| 2017 | 11th Indonesian Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
| Favorite Supporting Actress | Won | ||||
| 2017 | 4th Indonesian Choice Awards | Actress of the Year | Herself | Won | |
| Creative and Innovative Person of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2018 | 5th Indonesian Choice Awards | Actress of the Year | Won |