Mariana Renata Dantec, better known by Mariana Renata and Mariana Dantec, is a French-Indonesian model and actress. She is best known for her roles in the films Janji Joni, The Matchmaker, and Nic And Mar series.
During her modeling career, Dantec has walked on the Paris, Sidney, Milan and New York fashion runways, and has become a model for numerous global brands including Timberland, Kate Spade, Levi’s, Rebecca Minkoff, Hugo Boss, Free People, Nasty Gal, and TRESemmé, among others. In addition to modelling career, Dantec has appeared in several music videos. In 2003, Dantec was featured in the Asian-market version of Josh Groban's She's Out of My Life and Indonesian-market version of Filipino band Rivermaya's Balisong music videos. The following year, Dantec was chosen as the new brand ambassador for Lux. In 2005, Dantec landed her first film, taking a supporting role in Joko Anwar's romantic comedyJanji Joni. The film was screening at the 2005 Tokyo International Film Festival. She won Most Favorite Supporting Actress at the MTV Indonesia Movie Awards for her first performance in the film. Dantec next appeared as a cameo in the 2006 television seriesDunia Tanpa Koma. That same year, Dantec took her first lead role as an eclectic girl who tries to pair off her best friend with a bookshop owner in a short filmThe Matchmaker, directed by Cinzia Puspita Rini and produced by Nia Dinata. The film had its international premiere at The 11th Busan International Film Festival in Asian Shorts segment. Dantec then took a break from acting to finish her master's degree at the University of New South Wales. After she graduated in 2010, Dantec settled in Australia and traveled to Central American countries for a year. Since 2011, Dantec has been residing in New York City where she is represented by Wilhelmina Models and Innovative Artists modeling agencies. In New York, Dantec opts for working as a commercial rather than runway model, saying, "I prefer working as a commercial model. You don't need to be too tall, you don't need to be skinny". In February 2013, Dantec was featured in Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist. Dantec then reunited with co-star Nicholas Saputra, eight years after Janji Joni, in a South Korean-Indonesian joint production film Someone’s Wife in the Boat of Someone’s Husband; a part of Jeonju International Film Festival's Jeonju Digital Project. The film was screening at the 2013 Locarno Film Festival, as well. In January 2014, Dantec became the guest judge in Asia's Next Top Model Season 2 where she was also introduced as the face of TRESemmé for South-east Asia region. The following year, Dantec for the third time acted opposite Nicholas Saputra in LINE's web seriesNic And Mar. A story about rekindled lovers, it was released in March 2015 and aired weekly on Thursday and Friday through Line Story official account. In 2016, Dantec participated in the International Labour Organization's campaign in promoting voluntary counselling and HIV testing for workers. She joined other artists and athletes around the world in the ILO’s “Voice of the Voiceless” initiative to give voice to people living with HIV/AIDS who are not able to tell their own stories. In the campaign video, Dantec lent her voice for the real-life story of Yohana, a plantation worker from Indonesia who found out she was HIV positive after getting tested at work. Dantec’s participation in this initiative was pro-bono. She noted, "Many people living with HIV have no access to information and to care as well as treatment. Even in many countries they lose their rights to employment". In June 2018, Dantec made her Off-Off-Broadway theatrical debut in Deena Levy's theater production Me Too...And You in Broadway, New York. Since November 2018, Dantec joined the Batikcultural preservation campaign.
Personal life
Dantec is the only child in the family. Her cousin, Renata Kusmanto, is a model and actress. Their mothers are twins. Her cousin-in-law, :id:Fachry Albar|Fachry Albar, is an actor. Dantec speaks fluent Indonesian, English and French. From 2005 to 2006, Dantec was romantically linked to Janji Joni co-star Nicholas Saputra.
