Our August 2025 cover star, Amelia Henderson, stays real on and off screen.

In 2006, Amelia Thripura Henderson began acting. Factually speaking, she first began acting at 10 months old. A fantasy for most, but a matter-of-fact reality for the actress who would incidentally have more experience than most of her older peers, for starting early on. Then, in 2008, she got into voice acting. To some, that may seem like a cause for concern. Acting at such a young age might not necessarily be right for an infant child. But speaking to Henderson for a mere five minutes immediately gives you a great understanding of why she got into acting in the first place. It also explains all of her successes. 

Well, sure, it was her mother who secured her first few acting roles in commercials. But from then on, she’s been booked and busy in movies, TV shows, and has successfully started a pickleball and padel court business. People can get you through the door with interviews and opportunities, but grit and perseverance are a necessity for any role you want to subsist in. You’ve got to have some love for it and be good at it, too. It would be remiss not to say that Amelia Henderson was born to do exactly what she’s doing right now—and she’s most certainly meant for more. Greatness is definite.  

Having been in the limelight for the good part of 30 years now, I was stumped when building my set of questions to ask her. What do you ask someone who’s been interviewed endlessly her whole life? How would I make it interesting? Different, even. So, like any writer would, I researched her as much as I could. After we had some pleasantries out of the way when we finally met, I posed my very important question to her: “Has anyone ever asked you if you were in the Barbie movies?”. She smiled, thought for a second, and looked at me with a glint in her eye. 

“You know, I can’t say that anyone has, actually.” What was initially supposed to be a 30-minute conversation while she was getting her makeup done for our cover shoot ended up being a five-hour-long conversation. Our conversations took place between outfit changes, touch-ups, and a lunch had on the floor of the changing area with my podcast mic in her lap as she lunched on mushroom nuggets. The conversations were electric, and her ability to stay tuned in for five hours was impressive. Her time on movie sets as a kid, hosting shows, and podcasting on Studio Sembang has shaped her into a great conversationalist and an even better listener. It felt like meeting someone for the first time and realising that they were most certainly going to be your friend.

She returns to her makeup chair after lunch for minor touch-ups to her face. As rouge paints her lips, her eyes locked into mine, I ask, “What is one question you wish people would ask you more often?”. In doing my research on her, Henderson’s public persona ends up boxing her in, as it does with other personalities, performers, and creators alike. People tend to speculate, wonder, and assume who she is and what she does, as people do. We’re all curious by nature. But in that vacuum between a celebrity—in this case, Amelia Henderson—and the public, things get lost in translation. “What are you most proud of?” she explains in a half-question. I nod in agreement and ask her: “What are you most proud of, Amelia?”

She giggles and explains that she knew that question was coming. She gathers herself promptly and explains that of all of the things that she’s ever done, one thing she considers the most proud of is meeting and speaking to someone for the first time and them realising that she’s substantial. “I think making a really good first impression is something I am proud of. It’s exciting to meet someone for the first time, to have a great conversation with them, and to be found substantial. For them to realise that I’m not a façade. Not just a pretty face.” She explains that our conversation was thrilling, and in a moment of embarrassment, to turn myself away from the conversation, I explained that I am a nobody. She was great as is. After all, this was the same person who starred in Yasmin Ahmad’s Talentime and has a very successful podcast, Studio Sembang. Of course, she was substantial! 

“No! Why would you say that? That sentiment is nonsensical. What does it even mean to be somebody or a nobody? Everyone has a seat at the table. It’s the privilege that a person has that sets us far apart from one another.” I looked at her in disbelief, for was it true that someone like Henderson, who is already so self-aware, willing to admit and call out the imbalance in the status quo? I pry, but not before asking, “How does it make you feel when someone sees you for who you are? The real you?”  She answers candidly. “It makes me feel seen. I love creating. I see myself as an artist, and to me, there is so much meaning in being seen, being understood.” 

And as an actress and a creative, Henderson realises that there is a limitation in being married to a singular identity. Rigidity does not exist in her lexicon, and neither does it in practice; rather, fluidity, instead, is a necessary practice. “It stimulates creativity!” The turbulence of being a performer can be cumbersome to many, but the years of being acquainted with the role has given her a panache that comes from a sheer, unabridged understanding that she could either live in the worst parts of it and let that define her for who she was, or she could roll with the punches and make the best out of what she has. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a privilege to be where I am, doing what I do. But like any great thing, there are evident setbacks. I feel far removed from myself with how much things change so quickly. But I’ve learned that there’s some fun in that. It shows up a lot in the ways that I dress, especially. Edgy on some days, preppy on others, and androgynous when I don’t feel like being anything.” 

She affirms that her life is a pastiche of all the creative outlets she exists in and works she has done, alongside the community of people that she values and works with. That said, her rise to acting took place during a time that favoured the “pan-Asian.” When anyone gives her credence for her Indian heritage, something that she shares on her mother’s side, she refutes it. “I benefited so much from looking the way I look. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge this fact, considering that I have gained so much from being in a country that has been conditioned and abused by colonial powers. I’m white passing, and it puts me at odds with my beliefs when I am platformed as a brown woman. I am one, but I feel like I can’t, and more importantly, should not claim it all the way. Indian people experience a different set of issues that I am not privy to and never will experience.” 

She expounds that it is jarring to be in a position where brown folk claim you as their own when she’s been conditioned to be someone else for the silver screen. Regardless, that does not stop her from claiming her roots. “I am at heart, a brown girl, even if I don’t look like it. I’m from Klang! It’s in my soul, and it is who I am as a person. My connection to my Indian identity is something dear to me because it’s something I share with my mother, my hero. My middle name is my grandmother’s. She used to bring me to the temple so often when I lived with her as a kid. ” As a means to stand by her community and kinfolk, Henderson does what she can behind the scenes, a way to hone in on her advocacy without having to perform for anyone. “I don’t do jobs that focus on skin whitening. It’s not who I am, and I don’t believe in such a wild concept. I have had multiple jobs restructure their marketing plans to fit what I’ve asked for. You can’t change social issues and injustices in a day, but you can do it bit by bit, and if I can get one win-and it’s this-I’m happy. There’s more to be done, of course, but my relationship to my Indian heritage is also a very personal one.” 

We come to the end of our conversation, amidst her shoot. I ask Henderson about her upcoming film, Magik Rompak, a film directed by Adrian Teh. “I can’t give away too many details because that would take the magic of the film away, but it’s in the title. It has to do with magic, and there is a grand scheme to it. Some stealing,” she explains with a smile. She shares that alongside a stacked cast with a set of brilliant actors, the director’s vision is something that she found refreshing and invigorating. “I can’t say too much about my character either, but Adrian is a visionary, and he pushes the boundary of what the market is typically used to watching. The movie is going to be brilliant because his vision is so clear. Movies beloved by Malaysians are either action thrillers or horror because that’s what we typically put out, but this is something different.” Having played so many feminine characters in the past, her character in her forthcoming film pushed her out of her comfort zone. “I learned how to ride a superbike for the movie, and now on weekends, I go to a driving range to practice riding a bike just for fun.”

With a new movie coming out later in the year, and with her new pickleball and padel venture—Pickle Depot and Padel Depot—that has just opened in Sentul Depot, I pose the busy actress a question out of curiosity. “What do you do in your free time? For when you want to decompress?” Next to riding a superbike, Henderson paints Warhammer collectibles with her best friends, and she journals in her alone time. She ends the interview with an anecdote, explaining that we are given the agency to choose who we want to be and what we want to be at any point in our lives, something she keeps in practice always. As an entertainer, her role is to keep putting out compelling, entertaining works. “I’ve been in the industry for a long time, and regardless of that time spent here, it still feels like I’m at the beginning of what I’m about to do next.” Like you and me, Amelia Henderson is only just starting. There’s always so much more to come. 

Photography: Chuan Looi
Creative Direction: Ian Loh
Styling: Joseph Cheng
Hair: VV Chan
Makeup: Shiyo Joo
Styling Assistant: Lorraine Chai
Photography Assistants: Richy, Zi Xin, Ying Rou, Wan Xing, Eugene, Jin Peng
Videography: Ng Joe Ee

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