The dimpled smile is one of her distinguishing features, gracing quite a few TV commercials.



But there’s lots more to the package that makes up Siti Saleha Baharum.

 

The edge of her lips curl up to reveal a flawless set of pearly whites, something most of us would kill for.



“When I was younger, my father used to take me to the dentist every six months so I would have good teeth,” the 21-year-old starlet cum model tells Star Rev.











However, she had a close call three years ago and almost lost that Colgate winning smile during the shooting of the 5 Jingga TV series.



Siti Saleha slipped on a wet floor and fell face down, chipping one of her front teeth in the process.



“It was a scene where I was supposed to splash someone with water. But that did not happen but the floor somehow got wet. I slipped, felt my face hitting the hard floor and heard a snapping sound.



“Even before I could get up from the floor, almost everyone had scrambled around me asking if I was all right. During the commotion, I never found the chipped off part,” she says, sporting a wide grin.



As the incident happened quite late where most dentists would have closed for the day, Siti Saleha continued with the shoot.



“From most camera angles, the chipped tooth wasn’t visible,” she says.



Subsequent visits to the dentist sorted out the matter.



The chirpy Siti Saleha was born in Britain to a Malay father and a British mother. Her father brought her back to Klang when she was four.



Her elder brother, Shamsul Annuar, is the lead vocalist of local alternative music band Bunkface and Siti Saleha has had an eye for the entertainment and arts scene since young but had to focus on her studies.



The chance to be featured in an advertisement came along when she was 13 and Siti Saleha seized the opportunity, appearing for Maxis.



She has since moved on to countless commercial and print advertisements, among them for Enchanteur Paris, Celcom, Wrigley’s DoubleMint, Gillette, Maggi, Nestle, Honey Soft, Pantene and F&N.



The Inti College mass communications student is currently the brand ambassador for Enchanteur Paris.



Besides modelling, Siti Saleha has also dabbled in television acting.



“My tight varsity schedule does not allow me to go on long shoots,” she says.



Other than 5 Jingga, her efforts are seen in Kasut Tumit Tinggi, Habil dan Qabil, Awan Dania and Ustaz Amirul.










More recently, her Nora Elena drama on TV3 garnered the most views - some 1.75 million on www.tonton.com.my during the series’ 24-episode run early this year.



The website allows those who missed the original airing of certain TV series to view the shows again on the website.



She hopes to get a break on the silverscreen with a role in a horror movie.



 “I have gone for casting and so far, the director is still thinking of the role of my character,” she says.



When it comes to cars, Siti Saleha drives a Proton Saga BLM 1.3 automatic, which she bought in 2009.



“I wanted to get a Perodua Myvi but all my friends were already driving this model. Besides, my father preferred the Saga as it has a spacious boot,” she says.



Being an automatic, she finds it easier to drive in Kuala Lumpur’s traffic jams.



Siti Saleha also has a fancy for 4X4s and crossovers and the  Mitsubishi ASX (Active Smart X-over) which we brought for the shoot seemed to hit the right note with her.



Taking the car out for a spin, Siti Saleha feels the ASX takes off quite briskly and changes gears smoothly without any jerks - courtesy of the continuously variable transmission.



Being a woman, she of course liked that there was also a vanity mirror on the driver’s sunshade.



 Other plus points for her include being able to increase the boot space by folding down the rear seats.



“I need to carry my stuff such as clothes, shoes and filming equipment,” she says.