Maya Karin Roelcke (born on October 29, 1979) is a Malaysian actress, television personality singer. Commonly known as Maya Karin, she is more famously known for her roles in supernatural horror and thriller films. Maya is born to a German father, Gottfried Roelcke, and a mother of Malay, Chinese and Indian parentage, Che Zan, from Pulau Pinang. She was born in Bayreuth, Germany. Maya is the oldest of three siblings. Her brother is called Armin and her sister Irina. Growing up, Maya did some theatre work in Indonesia, and she later graduated from Limkokwing University in media and marketing. In 2000, she was cast as a television show host for Malaysia’s TV3 lifestyle entertainment programme "Wavelength", which began her mainstream career and exposure. She began to receive film offers within a year and was soon cast in her first film role as one of the leads in Aziz M. Osman’s Sri Dewi Malam. The role brought her significant public and media acclaim, and lead her to win the Best New Popular Artist Award at Malaysia’s Anugerah Bintang Popular (or the Popular Star Awards) and the Anugerah Media Hiburan (Media Awards) in 2001.
In 2003 she was involved in film Mr.Cinderella 2 opposite established stars Erra Fazira and Yusry (KRU). Other films filmed followed, including Metrowealth Pictures’ ‘Tujuh Perhentian’ (7 Stops), which resulted in her being nominated for the Most Popular Female Artist Award at the Anugerah Bintang Popular (Popular Star Awards) in 2004.