Yasmeen Saiedi, who plays the lead actress on popular Kenyan telenovela ‘Maria’, has opened about her acting career like never before.
Speaking during an interview with Sunday Nation, Saiedi,20, revealed that Kenyan film industry pays well, at least depending on the film company.
“I haven’t been around long enough. But my opinion is that the acting industry has money. With my little knowledge, I’d say that it depends with the production company you work with. For my part, I’m grateful for where I landed,” said Saiedi.
The vicenarian also addressed rumors that she recently bought a Ksh 23 million mansion in the leafy Karen suburb.
“That’s False. What happened is, I tagged my location on my pictures on Instagram while in Karen, and the assumption made was that I had bought a house. But it’s a good rumour, who wouldn’t want to own a house worth such a sum?” Saiedi said.
Speaking on her career, Saiedi revealed that she landed the acting gig on ‘Maria’ just after she had completed high school.
“I finished my high school studies in 2018. Basically, at that particular time, there wasn’t much I was doing. I landed the ‘Maria’ role in early 2019. I learnt that there were auditions for a TV show through my circles and I thought to myself, “why can’t I go and give it a shot?”. There wasn’t much I would lose from trying.”
Adding that;
“Honestly, I didn’t know ‘Maria’ was going to be as huge as it is. I was doing something to keep me busy and perhaps earn a little coin. My life has changed a great deal. Being famous is not an easy thing, unlike it may seem too many. I no longer run my errands with ease as before, because of all the attention I get every single moment I show up in a place. I also lost a lot of friends when I became famous.
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Saiedi also spoke on landing her first money minting ambassadorial deal and her mother being her manager.
“Maria made all that possible. The Supa Mojo brand realised the character Maria’s portrayal of a young, naive, ghetto girl was relatable to many and felt we should work together in building both brands,” said Saiedi.
Speaking on her mother managing her finances, Saiedi said that;
“I started earning at the age of 18 and, at the time, I felt like I couldn’t handle such huge figures by myself. I needed some guidance from someone I trust.”
