Maudy Ayunda: Actress, Oxford Graduate & Entrepreneur

Maudy Ayunda: The Choices That Took Her From Child Actress to Oxford, Stanford and Beyond

There is a simple way to describe Maudy Ayunda.

She is an actress. A singer. An Oxford graduate. A Stanford graduate. An entrepreneur.

All of that is true.

But listing her achievements doesn’t really explain why Maudy’s career has remained interesting for more than two decades.

The more revealing story is in the choices she made along the way.

She entered films as a child, became a successful singer and actress, walked away from a busy entertainment career to study overseas, chose Stanford when Harvard was also an option, returned to Indonesia with two graduate degrees, became a government spokesperson and later started building businesses of her own.

And in 2026, she was still acting.

At 31, Maudy Ayunda’s career does not look like the usual story of a child star who simply managed to stay famous.

It looks more like a series of decisions to keep starting again.

First Choice: Taking a Film Role Before Most Children Think About Careers

Maudy Ayunda was born Ayunda Faza Maudya on December 19, 1994, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Her acting career began surprisingly early.

In 2005, when she was around 10 years old, Maudy appeared in the film Untuk Rena.

She played Rena, the central character in the family drama.

For many actors, getting a leading film role would become the beginning of an all-consuming entertainment career.

That wasn’t quite what happened with Maudy.

She continued acting, including an appearance in Sang Pemimpi in 2009, but school remained a serious part of her life.

That balance between entertainment and education would eventually become one of the defining themes of her public image.

Even before most people knew what she would become, Maudy was already living in two worlds.

One involved cameras, scripts and film sets.

The other involved classrooms, books and exams.

She never completely abandoned either one.

Then Came Perahu Kertas

Maudy’s career changed significantly with Perahu Kertas in 2012.

She played Kugy in the romantic drama based on Dee Lestari’s novel.

The film helped establish her as a leading young actress rather than simply a former child performer.

But there was another part of Perahu Kertas that mattered.

Maudy also sang the film’s title song.

That meant audiences weren’t just watching her anymore.

They were listening to her too.

Music had already become another serious part of her career, and Perahu Kertas brought her acting and singing identities together in a way that many Indonesian viewers still associate with her.

Films such as Refrain followed.

Her entertainment career was moving forward.

Then Maudy made a choice that could easily have slowed everything down.

She left Indonesia to study.

Choosing Oxford Over Staying Comfortable

By the time Maudy went to the University of Oxford, she already had something many young people spend years trying to build:

a successful career.

Walking away from that momentum, even temporarily, came with a risk.

Entertainment industries move quickly.

Audiences discover new stars.

Roles go to someone else.

But Maudy chose education.

At Oxford, she studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, commonly known as PPE.

It wasn’t a celebrity honorary programme or a short course attached to her name.

It was a full undergraduate degree.

Maudy studied at Oxford from 2013 to 2016.

Her choice became a major part of how people saw her.

She was no longer discussed only as an actress or singer.

Education became part of her public identity.

And perhaps more importantly, university expanded the range of things she could imagine doing beyond entertainment.

She Came Back — But Not as the Same Celebrity

After graduating from Oxford, Maudy could have built her entire public brand around being “the smart actress who studied overseas.”

Instead, she returned to creative work.

She continued acting and making music.

One of her notable later roles came in Habibie & Ainun 3, released in 2019.

Maudy played the younger version of Hasri Ainun Besari.

The film became another major entry in her acting career and showed that studying abroad had not meant abandoning cinema.

But around the same period, Maudy faced another major decision.

And this one became public before she had even made it.

Harvard or Stanford?

In 2019, Maudy Ayunda revealed that she had been accepted to both Harvard University and Stanford University.

For a brief period, her university choice became a national conversation in Indonesia.

It was a very unusual celebrity story.

People weren’t debating who she was dating or which film she might sign next.

They were debating which elite university she should choose.

Maudy ultimately picked Stanford.

The choice made sense for the direction she wanted to explore.

At Stanford, she pursued a joint programme that allowed her to study both business and education.

Two years later, she graduated with an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an MA in Education from Stanford Graduate School of Education.

One master’s degree would have been impressive.

Maudy finished with two.

Education Wasn’t Her Exit From Entertainment

This part of Maudy’s story is important.

Her academic achievements sometimes become so dominant in profiles about her that the entertainment career almost disappears.

But Maudy never really chose between education and creativity.

She kept trying to connect the two.

She released music.

She continued appearing in films.

She wrote books.

She became involved in conversations around education and young people.

And eventually her background led to a role that very few Indonesian entertainers receive.

From Movie Star to G20 Spokesperson

In March 2022, the Indonesian government appointed Maudy Ayunda as a spokesperson for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency.

The decision immediately attracted attention.

Here was someone the public originally knew through movies and music now speaking about one of the world’s most important international forums.

Her task included helping communicate G20 issues to the public, particularly younger Indonesians.

The appointment connected several parts of Maudy’s life at once.

There was the entertainer who understood mass audiences.

The Oxford graduate who had studied politics and economics.

The Stanford graduate with experience in business and education.

And the public figure who already had a large young following.

It was probably one of the clearest examples of how far her career had moved beyond acting.

She Also Became a Founder

After Stanford, Maudy’s career increasingly moved into business and entrepreneurship.

She founded Mod Media Collective, a media and entertainment company involved in areas such as content production, publishing, music and creative projects.

She also became involved in investing.

Then came a completely different industry.

Skincare.

Maudy co-founded From This Island, a beauty brand built around Indonesian botanical ingredients.

At first, celebrity skincare can sound like another endorsement business.

But Maudy’s involvement has gone further than simply putting her name on packaging.

By 2026, From This Island was working with researchers from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) on skincare innovation using Indonesian plant ingredients.

The collaboration included research involving tamanu oil and locally developed technology.

It fits a pattern that has appeared repeatedly throughout Maudy’s career.

She seems most interested when different parts of her world overlap.

Entertainment with education.

Business with research.

Indonesian resources with modern product development.

And Yet She Still Makes Movies

With everything else Maudy Ayunda does, it would be reasonable to assume that acting has become something she left behind.

It hasn’t.

In 2026, she appeared in Para Perasuk, internationally known as Levitating, directed by Wregas Bhanuteja.

The supernatural drama also starred Angga Yunanda, Anggun, Bryan Domani and Chicco Kurniawan.

Maudy played Laksmi, a character that took her into unusual territory.

She admitted that the role initially scared her.

That fear, however, was part of what attracted her to the project.

The film also allowed Maudy to reconnect acting with music.

She recorded songs for the soundtrack, including “Aku yang Engkau Cari” and “Di Tepi Lamunan.”

More than 20 years after Untuk Rena, she was still finding ways to combine the two creative careers that started when she was young.

The Part of Maudy Ayunda’s Story People Sometimes Miss

Looking at her résumé can make everything appear incredibly planned.

Child actress.

Singer.

Oxford.

Stanford.

G20.

Founder.

Investor.

It creates the impression of someone who knew exactly where every step would lead.

Real careers rarely work that way.

What stands out about Maudy isn’t that she followed one perfect path.

It is that she repeatedly allowed herself to leave a path that was already working.

She had an acting career and still went overseas to study.

She finished Oxford and later went back to university again.

She had a public platform and used it outside entertainment.

She built a music and film career, then moved into business.

And after entering business, she didn’t stop acting.

There doesn’t seem to be one final version of what Maudy Ayunda wants to be.

That may actually be the point.

Her Personal Life Has Been Quieter Than Her Career

Despite growing up in public, Maudy has generally kept much of her personal life relatively private.

That made it particularly surprising when she announced her marriage in 2022.

Maudy married Jesse Choi on May 22, 2022.

The two had met while studying at Stanford.

Jesse, who was born in South Korea and grew up in the United States, later moved to Jakarta.

Their relationship attracted considerable attention when the marriage became public, partly because very little about it had been widely known beforehand.

Maudy has continued to keep the relationship relatively separate from the louder parts of celebrity culture.

What Is Maudy Ayunda Doing Now?

As of 2026, Maudy’s career stretches across several different areas.

She remains involved in acting and music.

She continues building Mod Media Collective.

She is also working on From This Island, where her role now connects business with product research and Indonesian natural ingredients.

Her film work also continued through Para Perasuk in 2026.

Trying to decide whether Maudy Ayunda is primarily an actress, entrepreneur or education advocate misses what has made her career unusual.

She has never really chosen just one.

Maudy Ayunda Quick Facts

One More Achievement Worth Mentioning

In 2021, Maudy Ayunda was included in Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list in the Entertainment & Sports category.

By then, she had already been working in entertainment for around 15 years.

The recognition wasn’t simply about having a famous name.

It reflected the unusual mix of entertainment, education and social initiatives that had become part of her career.

But even that recognition feels less important than what followed.

Maudy kept changing direction.

Why Maudy Ayunda Still Stands Out

There are plenty of successful entertainers.

There are plenty of highly educated people.

There are entrepreneurs, musicians, actors and advocates.

Maudy Ayunda became interesting because she kept crossing the lines between those worlds.

She never completely abandoned the child actress who appeared in Untuk Rena.

But she also never allowed that first success to decide everything that came afterwards.

More than two decades into her career, that may be the clearest pattern.

Whenever Maudy reaches a point where she could simply stay comfortable, she seems to ask what else she could learn.

Oxford was one answer.

Stanford was another.

Business became another.

And in 2026, she was still adding new ones.

Frequently Asked Questions About Maudy Ayunda

Who is Maudy Ayunda?

Maudy Ayunda is an Indonesian actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and author. She began acting as a child and later became known for films including Perahu Kertas, Refrain and Habibie & Ainun 3. She is also known for studying at Oxford and Stanford.

What is Maudy Ayunda’s real name?

Her full name is Ayunda Faza Maudya.

How old is Maudy Ayunda?

Maudy Ayunda was born on December 19, 1994. She is 31 years old as of October 2026.

Where did Maudy Ayunda study?

Maudy studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. She later earned an MBA and an MA in Education from Stanford University.

Did Maudy Ayunda choose Stanford over Harvard?

Yes. Maudy was accepted by both universities for graduate study and ultimately chose Stanford, where she completed a joint MBA and MA in Education.

What was Maudy Ayunda’s first movie?

Her acting debut was Untuk Rena in 2005, when she was still a child.

Is Maudy Ayunda married?

Yes. Maudy married Jesse Choi on May 22, 2022. They met while studying at Stanford University.

Was Maudy Ayunda a G20 spokesperson?

Yes. The Indonesian government appointed Maudy as a spokesperson for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022.

What businesses does Maudy Ayunda own?

Maudy is involved in ventures including Mod Media Collective and skincare company From This Island, which she co-founded.

Is Maudy Ayunda still acting in 2026?

Yes. She appeared as Laksmi in Wregas Bhanuteja’s 2026 supernatural drama Para Perasuk and also contributed songs to its soundtrack.