Manohara Odelia Pinot

Biography

Manohara Odelia Pinot (born Manohara Odelia Manz; 28 February 1992) is an Indonesian animal-welfare activist and former model and actress. She began modelling in her teens and was included in the 100 Pesona Indonesia list published by the Indonesian edition of Harper's Bazaar. In August 2008, when she was 16, she took part in a marriage ceremony with Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra, a son of the Sultan of Kelantan, a state of Malaysia. After returning to Indonesia from Singapore in May 2009, she alleged that Fakhry had confined and abused her while she lived in Kelantan. Fakhry and the Kelantan royal family denied the allegations, and the case received extensive coverage in Indonesia and Malaysia. Fakhry won a defamation suit against Manohara and her mother by default, and the Kuala Lumpur High Court awarded him RM6 million in damages. In separate sharia proceedings, the Kelantan Sharia High Court treated the marriage as valid and continuing and ordered Manohara to return to Fakhry and repay money that the court found she had borrowed. Manohara later worked in television before leaving the entertainment industry in 2014. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Indonesia's House of Representatives in the 2019 Indonesian general election and, by 2024, was active in animal welfare and environmental protection. In 2026, she said that she had never entered a valid marriage with Fakhry and asked Indonesian media and several digital platforms not to refer to her as Fakhry's former wife.

== Early life and career == Manohara Odelia Manz was born on 28 February 1992 in Jakarta to George Manz, an American, and Daisy Fajarina, an Indonesian. At 17, she held United States and Indonesian passports. She later used Pinot, the surname of her stepfather, Juergen Reiner Noack-Pinot. She worked as a model in her teens and was included in the 100 Pesona Indonesia list published by the Indonesian edition of Harper's Bazaar.

== Relationship with Tengku Muhammad Fakhry ==

=== Meeting and 2008 ceremony === Manohara met Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra, a son of Sultan Ismail Petra of Kelantan of the Malaysian state of Kelantan, at a party in Jakarta in 2006, when she was 14. Manohara and Fakhry continued to meet over the next two years, usually in the presence of her mother, Daisy. Manohara said that Fakhry's mother informed her in August 2008 that a marriage ceremony would take place immediately and that a royal aide persuaded her to participate. The ceremony was held in Malaysia on 26 August 2008, when Manohara was 16. She later said that she had opposed the arrangement, did not speak during the ceremony and did not sign marriage documents. Manohara returned to Jakarta soon afterward and resumed her modelling work.

=== Separation from her family === In February 2009, Fakhry invited Manohara, her mother and her sister Dewi to perform the umrah pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Manohara and Daisy said that, as the group prepared to leave Jeddah on 9 March, Fakhry left with Manohara on a private plane while Daisy and Dewi were left at the airport. Daisy said that when she travelled to Kuala Lumpur to see Manohara on 19 March, Malaysian immigration officials sent her back to Indonesia without giving a reason. She said that she last spoke to Manohara by phone on 21 March and was unable to contact her afterward.

=== Return from Singapore and abuse allegations === Manohara and members of the Kelantan royal family travelled to Singapore in late May 2009 while Sultan Ismail Petra received medical treatment there. Malaysian businessman Kadar Shah said that Manohara passed him a written request for help during a meeting and that he then contacted Daisy. At the hotel where the royal party was staying, Manohara activated an elevator alarm and was reunited with her mother after security personnel intervened. A spokesperson for the United States Embassy in Singapore confirmed that embassy personnel assisted Manohara but did not disclose the nature of that assistance. Manohara returned to Jakarta with her mother on 31 May 2009. After returning, she alleged that Fakhry had confined her and subjected her to physical and sexual abuse while she lived in Kelantan. Manohara later filed a police report in Indonesia concerning the alleged treatment. Fakhry denied the allegations and filed a police report in Malaysia against Manohara and Daisy, accusing them of making false statements. The Kelantan royal family also denied the accusations. The Kelantan palace later described the dispute as a personal matter between Manohara and Fakhry and said that it did not involve the Sultan.

== Legal proceedings ==

=== Civil defamation case === On 20 July 2009, Fakhry filed a defamation suit against Manohara and Daisy in the Kuala Lumpur High Court, seeking RM105 million over statements they had made at press conferences between April and June 2009. The law firm representing Manohara and Daisy later withdrew, and on 29 October the court gave them until 5 November to appoint new lawyers. The court entered judgment in default for Fakhry on 5 November after they did not appoint replacement lawyers. Fakhry later testified at a hearing to determine damages, maintaining that the allegations were false and had damaged his reputation. On 11 March 2010, the High Court awarded him RM6 million in damages against Manohara and Daisy. The Times reported that Fakhry would need to begin legal proceedings in Indonesia to enforce the award there.