SAYAT DEMISSIE TRIPLE THREAT

Sep 10 , 2022.

Shah Rukh Khan, Israel, handmade gifts, and Feresegna have at least one thing in common. They are all favourites of Sayat Demissie, one of Ethiopia’s most recognisable young personalities, known for a career that spans from modelling to performing. She has been in the public’s consciousness for over a decade as a musician. Recently, she made a splash playing a pivotal character in the much-touted TV series, “Eregnaye”, a four-season drama that recently wrapped up.

Sayat is not new to public attention. She won a Miss Ethiopia pageant and participated in an international contest in high school. Not long after, she broke into the movie industry, acting in early Amharic films such as “Sara” and hit romantic comedies such as “Laundry Boy” and "Selanchi". The model-turned-actress also got into the music scene. Among her most heard singles were “Tew Maneh” and “Hasabun Mesereq”, which were popular in playlists at parties and nightclubs. Sayat’s acting work has re-entrenched her into the public’s consciousness. In “Eregnaye”, she played one of the main characters, Enana, a rural woman. It has proven to be her favourite role to date, whose “innocence and naivety are represented as her defining qualities” and symbolise “sacrifice,” as Sayat explained to Fortune’s Ruth Taye, reflecting on her career.

PUBLISHED ON Sep 10,2022 [ VOL 23 , NO 1167]