Recently, veteran artist Yati Pesek has been widely discussed. Her big name emerged after an old video showing Gus Miftah's joke about her went viral on social media. The video sparked a strong reaction from the public because it was considered to belittle Yati Pesek.
The jokes made in the video referred to Yati Pesek's physical appearance inappropriately. Many parties, including women activists, condemned the action as something that goes against the values of tolerance and respect. The hashtag #GusMiftah even became a trend, accompanied by netizens' requests for clarification and an apology.
After investigating, Yati Pesek is not just anyone. Her name is quite famous in the entertainment industry, especially in traditional arts. Her career began in the 1960s, making her one of Indonesia's multi-talented artists. In addition to being known as a sinden, she is also active in the world of dance and wayang.
So what is Yati Pesek's career journey like? Let's take a peek at Yati Pesek's career journey, brilio.net reported from various sources, Sunday (8/12).
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Yati Pesek is known as a comedian and legendary ketoprak player of Javanese descent. He was born on August 8, 1952 to Sujito and Sujilah. His father was known as a pengrawit, while his mother was a dancer. Both of his parents were artists involved in the wayang orang performance art.
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He first learned to dance from his mother. In addition, in his childhood he also took private lessons from RM Joko Daulat, a dance teacher from the Surakarta Karawitan Conservatory and Basuki Koeswaraga, a teacher from Yogyakarta.
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Since the age of seven, Yati Pesek has been involved in traditional arts. Because at that time she once performed an opening dance at a wayang orang performance.
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After that, in 1964, he began to join the Wayang Orang Jati Mulya community from Kebumen. One community to another added to his experience in the entertainment arts. He even joined the Wayang Orang Adjutant General of the Military Resort Command (Ajen Rem) 081 Madiun in 1968.
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In 1969, Yati Pesek began to develop her talent by joining the Ketoprak Mudha Rahayu group in Yogyakarta. Her career journey continued the following year, when she joined the Ketoprak Siswa Budaya group led by Siswanda HS in Tulungagung. This step was an important beginning in Yati's artistic journey in the world of ketoprak.
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In 1980, Yati was recruited by Handung Kussudyarsana to join the KR Humorous Drama which was broadcasted on TVRI Yogyakarta once a week for ten years. Yati Pesek's name became increasingly well-known when she appeared with Marwoto and Daryadi in the KR Humorous Trio show.
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The great potential that Yati Pesek had in the world of acting attracted the attention of film directors. One of the famous directors, Arifin C. Noer, invited Yati to play a role in the film Serangan Fajar which was released in 1982. Two years later, R. Suprantio entrusted Yati to appear in the television series Kiprah Anak Dalang which aired in 1984.
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Yati Pesek's popularity is not only known in the world of ketoprak, but also attracts the attention of other artists. In 1986, legendary puppeteer Ki Manteb Sudarsono invited Yati Pesek to come on stage while he was performing at Taman Ismail Marzuki.
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In 1991, Bagong Kussudiardja as the leader of Ketoprak initiated the birth of Ketoprak Plesetan and recruited Yati along with Marwoto and Daryadi as the main players. This trio was later widely known as "Trio Plesetan," which brought a new color to traditional performing arts.
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Yati's career continued to climb until she became a commercial star for the stomach medicine product Konimaag from Konimex between 1997 and 1999. It didn't stop there, in 2003, Yati Pesek created the show Limbuk Cangik which successfully aired on Indosiar for 67 episodes. Even from 2019 to 2025, Yati Pesek took roles in various films, such as Yowis Ben 3, Gendut Siapa Takut?, and the latest Cocote Tonggo (2025).