Siti Nurhaliza binti Taruddin was born on the 11th January 1979 at Kampung Awah, Temerloh, Pahang. As a kid, she was labeled a "tomboy" because of her active attitude and her preference to boyish looks. When singing was wanted to be a policeman like her father. Her family was tight on finance and she helped her mother selling "kuih" all around the village. During these days, her will to help her family grew day by day.
Her mother was her mentor into bringing her up to the image of the well-behaved Malay girl. She started to sport a more feminine look when she started school. Siti's family performed traditional shows and other performances for marriages and other special events. Siti was given a chance at 12 to sing traditional and folk songs like her mother did. She performed numerous in-house performances and her talent built up day by day.
She went to Sekolah Menengah Clifford, Kuala Lipis, Pahang for her secondary education. Siti was an active sportsgirl during her schooldays. She represented the school in netball and other sports such as field hockey, handball and volleyball. She was well loved by her colleagues and teachers for her fine behaviour.
Siti got herself into singing seriously when she actively participated in many local competitons. She won the Merdeka Day Singing Contest in 1991 and the another contest during the Karnival Lipis. In Form Four, Siti contested in the Juara Bintang HMI 1995 singing contest sponsored by RTM. She captured the sight of the famous composer, Adnan Abu Hassan during the quarter finals. He tutored Siti during the short period of time and gave tips and tricks of vocal performance. She won the contest.
She then got her contract drawn with Suria Records, where Adnan was a director. She had a tough time on her first album because she got to manage her time between her career and her education, since she was bound to sit for the SPM exams in 1996. Her first album was self-titled - Siti Nurhaliza. Siti have a soul-capturing unique voice and also a unique style of vocalization. She got a rep of being an ethical and punctual celebrity. She refuses to be photographed with any male without any reasonable purpose due to fear of controversy, "fitnah" and bad rep. With this personality plus her special vocal plus a fine, cute looks, she was bound to be the singer of the millenium.
Siti went on further expanding her wings internationally and improving herself greatly by the years. Maybelline was convinced enough with Siti's credibility and style to grant her a position as a spokesperson for the internationally renowned cosmetics company. Maybelline TV advertisements instantly was done by Siti Nurhaliza and Siti paced up to their marketing and promotions. Lately, Siti had also accepted the Red Crescent Society of Malaysia to be their patron.
Siti Nurhaliza can not be only called a singer. She is a social icon of the Malaysian society. She is Siti Nurhaliza by name and nobody is Siti Nurhaliza other than she.
