Zahirah Marty Age: Birthday, Career and Biography 2026

Zahirah Marty is a South African television presenter, travel journalist, producer and destination-marketing specialist known for programs including Top Billing, Top Travel, Great Getaways and My Travel Diary. Her career has taken her from South African television to Dubai and, later, to international travel programming.

So, how old is Zahirah Marty? The clearest publicly documented answer comes from a January 2, 2025 Khaleej Times profile, which reported that Marty was 36 years old at the time. However, her exact date of birth has not been reliably published by a primary source. That means her precise current age in September 2026 cannot be stated with confidence simply by adding years to the 2025 figure.

Marty’s age is only one part of her story. Her career is notable because she has worked across television, public relations, marketing, destination promotion and travel production rather than remaining solely a TV presenter.

Zahirah Marty Age at a Glance

The age figure above should be understood as a dated report, not as a confirmed birth-date calculation. Khaleej Times specifically described Marty as 36 in its January 2025 profile.

How Old Is Zahirah Marty?

Zahirah Marty was 36 years old in January 2025, according to Khaleej Times. The same profile described her as a South African expatriate and travel-show producer and presenter who had already spent 14 years in Dubai.

Her exact birthday and birth year are not sufficiently established through a reliable primary public source. Because of that, websites that provide a specific date of birth should not automatically be treated as authoritative.

This distinction matters when answering a search such as “Zahirah Marty age.” A person can have a reported age at a particular point in time without having a publicly verified full birth date. In Marty’s case, the documented age is useful, but it does not justify presenting an exact birthday as fact.

As of September 2026, therefore, the safest description is that Marty was reported to be 36 in January 2025, while her exact date of birth remains publicly unconfirmed.

Who Is Zahirah Marty?

Zahirah Marty, also known professionally as Zahirah Variawa, is a South African-born television presenter and travel professional who built her career around storytelling, destinations and lifestyle media.

She was raised in Westville, Durban, and her first major television opportunity came through a presenter-search competition. According to Daily FT, a friend submitted her application without her initially expecting it to lead anywhere. Marty eventually reached the competition’s top 12. Although she did not win, the exposure helped open the door to television presenting.

That opportunity eventually led to work on South Africa’s well-known lifestyle program Top Billing. She later became involved with Top Travel, giving her an early connection to the travel television format that would become central to her career.

Her professional identity has since expanded beyond television. She has worked in marketing and public relations and developed expertise in destination marketing, brand communication and travel content.

Zahirah Marty’s Early Television Career

Marty’s television career began in South Africa, where she moved into presenting after her unexpected entry into the presenter-search competition.

Her breakthrough came with SABC’s Top Billing, a lifestyle and entertainment program that had a strong association with travel, luxury, fashion and celebrity culture.

Marty later presented the first season of Top Travel. In a 2025 interview with Daily FT, she recalled that she initially felt overwhelmed by the demands of travel television because she had little experience in that specific format.

That early experience is important because it helps explain the direction of her later career. Travel presenting did not appear as a completely separate second career. It developed from the combination of television, communication, travel and storytelling experience she had already gained.

She also worked on SABC3’s Mela. News24 reported in 2016 that Variawa was a presenter on the program and was involved in Dubai travel segments around the time of her wedding.

Why Did Zahirah Marty Move to Dubai?

Marty moved from South Africa to Dubai in 2011. At the time, she was 22, according to a 2025 Daily FT profile.

The move became a major turning point in her professional life.

Instead of immediately continuing along the same television path, Marty moved into marketing and public relations. Her work included clients and businesses in areas such as restaurants, hospitality and lifestyle.

This period gave her experience that later became highly relevant to destination marketing. She was no longer only presenting destinations to an audience; she was also learning how brands communicate, how tourism businesses attract customers and how experiences can be presented to the public.

A 2025 interview published by Living similarly described her professional development as a combination of branding, media, presenting and travel. Marty explained that after moving to Dubai, she initially became involved with luxury fashion and hospitality before frequent hosting opportunities brought her back toward presenting.

Zahirah Marty and Marketing

Marty’s career cannot be fully understood through television credits alone.

She founded Think Liquorice Marketing Management, a Dubai-based marketing and communications business, and later developed The Destination Institute, which focuses on travel and destination marketing.

The Franschhoek Literary Festival describes Marty as a destination marketing specialist, travel-show host and producer. Its profile also identifies her as the founder of Think Liquorice Marketing Management and The Destination Institute.

This part of her career provides important context for people searching for her biography. Marty is not simply a television personality who occasionally travels for work. Her professional background includes the business and communication side of tourism.

That combination has become particularly useful as travel content has moved beyond traditional television. Tourism boards, hotels, airlines and travel brands increasingly rely on storytelling and destination-focused media to reach audiences.

Zahirah Marty and Travel Television

Travel television eventually brought Marty back into the area where her career had started.

In 2022, she returned to travel journalism after working in marketing and public relations for years. Daily FT reported that she received a call from producer Buddy Gaylard about hosting a travel show for an American network.

That opportunity was connected with Great Getaways, an international travel program associated with Allen Media Group and MyDestination.TV.

Marty has since presented travel programs that have taken her to destinations around the world. Her work has included travel storytelling in places such as Namibia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and other international destinations.

The career progression is significant: her early television experience introduced her to presenting, her years in marketing developed her communication and business skills, and her later travel work brought the two areas together.

Great Getaways and Zahirah Marty

One of Marty’s notable international television credits is Great Getaways.

She has been associated with episodes featuring destinations around the world, including Namibia. The work has also received industry recognition.

The TASTE Awards listed Great Getaways: Namibia, Africa with Zahirah Marty among its nominees and recorded it as a winner in the Best International Program category as well as the Best Single Camera Production category.

Marty herself also publicly discussed the awards on LinkedIn, noting that the production received two awards for the Namibia program.

The recognition is relevant to her biography because it demonstrates that her international travel work developed beyond simply appearing on screen. Production quality and the wider creative team were also part of the project’s success.

My Travel Diary

Another important project in Marty’s recent career is My Travel Diary.

Marty has described the program as a project in which she works both in front of and behind the camera. In a LinkedIn post announcing the project, she identified herself as a co-producer and presenter and explained that the show was being developed with experienced creators.

The first episode focused on Madagascar. In another post, Marty described the production as an independent travel project designed to tell authentic destination stories and provide practical travel information.

The project illustrates how her career has evolved. Earlier in her career, her primary public identity was television presenter. More recently, she has also taken on responsibilities connected with production, storytelling, destination marketing and project development.

Zahirah Marty and The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar

Marty’s international television work continued into 2026 with The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar.

The program was hosted by Marty and received a 2026 Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program category. TheGrio reported that the nomination was announced in July 2026 and described the program as following Marty through Madagascar while exploring the region’s primates, habitats and wildlife.

The nomination represents another significant stage in her travel-television career because it places her work within a major U.S. television awards program.

A 2026 profile from Press Express Africa also identified Marty, using her professional name Zahirah Variawa, as the host of the Emmy-nominated Pets.TV special.

Zahirah Marty Husband and Family

Zahirah Marty is married to Andrew Marty, an Australian veterinarian.

News24 reported that the couple married in March 2016 in Dubai. The report identified Andrew as an Australian veterinarian working in the United Arab Emirates.

Marty has also publicly discussed motherhood. A 2021 Travel Essence profile identified her husband as Andrew Marty and their son as Noah, describing the family as living in Dubai at the time.

Her family life is publicly documented only to a limited extent, so there is little reason to add private details that are not supported by reliable sources.

Where Does Zahirah Marty Live?

Marty has been based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for many years.

She moved there from South Africa in 2011 at age 22, according to Daily FT.

Her long-term connection with Dubai has influenced both her personal and professional life. The city became the base from which she developed her marketing career, built businesses and later returned to international television.

At the same time, she continues to maintain a strong connection with South Africa. She has spoken about growing up in Durban and about the importance of the African continent in her travel storytelling.

What Does Zahirah Marty Do Now?

Marty’s current professional work spans several connected areas.

She works as a travel television host and producer, while also operating in destination marketing, communications and travel consulting.

The Franschhoek Literary Festival describes her as a destination marketing specialist and producer whose work includes tourism boards, luxury travel brands and corporate clients.

Her 2025 interview with Living also described her work as a combination of producing shows, training in influencer and destination marketing, and helping brands develop luxury travel experiences.

This means her career today is broader than the traditional definition of a television presenter. Her television work, marketing background and travel expertise overlap.

Does Zahirah Marty Have a Publicly Confirmed Net Worth?

There is no reliably verified public figure for Zahirah Marty’s exact net worth.

Some entertainment and biography websites may publish estimated figures, but a net-worth number should not be presented as fact without a credible financial source.

Marty has worked in television, marketing, consulting and destination promotion, so she has multiple professional activities. However, those activities do not provide enough information to calculate her personal net worth.

Company revenue, business activity, television appearances or travel projects should not automatically be converted into a personal wealth figure.

For that reason, the most accurate description is that Zahirah Marty’s exact net worth has not been publicly disclosed or independently verified.

Why Is Zahirah Marty’s Age Difficult to Confirm?

The main reason is simple: a reliable public source has reported her age, but her complete date of birth is not consistently documented by authoritative sources.

The January 2025 Khaleej Times article gives a clear dated reference: Marty was 36 at that time.

Other biography websites sometimes provide a birth year or exact birthday, but those claims do not necessarily trace back to a primary source.

For a people-first biography, it is better to preserve the uncertainty than to turn an unsupported date into a fact.

Therefore, readers searching “Zahirah Marty age” should distinguish between:

• Documented: She was reported as 36 in January 2025.
• Not reliably verified: Her exact date of birth.
• Not safe to state as fact: A precise current age in September 2026 based on an unverified birthday.

That approach gives the reader a more accurate answer than simply repeating an unsupported birth date.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Zahirah Marty?

Zahirah Marty was reported to be 36 years old in January 2025 by Khaleej Times. Her exact date of birth has not been reliably verified through a primary public source.

When was Zahirah Marty born?

Her exact birth date is not reliably publicly confirmed. A January 2025 Khaleej Times profile reported that she was 36 at the time.

Where is Zahirah Marty from?

She was raised in Westville, Durban, South Africa. Her early television career developed in South Africa before she moved to Dubai.

What is Zahirah Marty famous for?

She is best known for her work as a travel and television presenter, including Top Billing, Top Travel, Great Getaways and My Travel Diary. She is also a destination-marketing specialist and producer.

Is Zahirah Marty married?

Yes. She married Andrew Marty, an Australian veterinarian, in Dubai in March 2016.

Does Zahirah Marty have children?

Publicly available profiles identify her as the mother of a son named Noah.

What is Zahirah Marty’s net worth?

Her exact net worth has not been publicly disclosed or independently verified. Available information about her career does not provide enough evidence to establish a reliable personal net-worth figure.

What does Zahirah Marty do now?

She works across travel television, production and destination marketing. Her recent work includes The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar, which received a 2026 Daytime Emmy nomination.

Final Takeaway

The most reliable answer to Zahirah Marty age is that she was 36 years old in January 2025, according to Khaleej Times. Her exact date of birth has not been reliably confirmed, so a precise September 2026 age should not be presented as established fact.

Beyond her age, Marty has developed a career that connects South African television with international travel media. Her early work on Top Billing and Top Travel led into years in Dubai working in marketing and public relations. She later returned to travel television through international productions such as Great Getaways and developed her own production work through My Travel Diary.

Her recent career also includes The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar, which earned a 2026 Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program category.

That combination of presenting, production and destination marketing is what best describes Zahirah Marty today. Her age can be reported carefully; her broader career can be documented with considerably more certainty.

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