Nurnaningsih (5 December 1925 – 21 March 2004) was an Indonesian actress. She has been described as Indonesia's first sex bomb.

Biography

Nurnaningsih was born in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies, on 5 December 1925. She dropped out of school in the first year of senior high school. She made her feature film debut in 1953 with Usmar Ismail's Krisis (Crisis). The comedy was the most successful film since Terang Boelan in 1937.

In D. Djajakusuma's 1954 film Harimau Tjampa (Tiger from Tjampa) she appeared half nude, making her the first native Indonesian actress in such a role. This occurred during a period of contention between artists and the censorship board. She later told the press: "I am not ruining art. I'm breaking away the old views of art that are still held in Indonesia." She released another film, Klenting Kuning, later that year.

In mid-1954 nude pictures of Nurnaningsih by an unknown photographer began circulating in Jakarta. This resulted in her being brought in for questioning by the Jakarta police in early October, while the prosecutor's office also expressed an interest in the case. The general populace was outraged at the pictures, which they considered to be against Eastern values, and Nurnaningsih's films were boycotted in East Kalimantan. She released one film in 1955, Kebun Binatang (Zoo), before disappearing from the spotlight.

Nurnaningsih wandered the Indonesian archipelago for twelve years, taking odd jobs as a sketch artist, stage performer, English teacher, seamstress, singer, and – for six years – a football goalkeeper. She returned to film in 1968 with a bit part in Djakarta, Hongkong, Macao. After several more bit parts, she headlined in Seribu Janji Kumenanti (A Thousand Promises I Await) in 1972. She continued taking roles in the 1980s.