Ziana Zain signed a contract to record an album under BMG Asia Pacific (which has now become BMG Music). In 1991, she released her debut album Madah Berhelah and the hits single is “Madah Berhelah” in English we call fake compliment. The other songs that made her to be the most powerful vocal are Riwayat Cinta, Dalam Kesakitan ini and Rentak Hidupku.

Ziana’s second album, Ziana Zain was released in 1993 and sold more than 85,000 copies. The album featured one foreign language track, “Chitose Bashi”. The singles of the album included “Anggapanmu” and “Putus Terpaksa”.

Her third album, Setia Ku Di Sini was released later in 1995 and she worked very closely with local composers. The album was certified 3x Platinum by RIM with 175,000 copies being sold. The album garnered her the “Best Female Vocalist in an Album” award at 1996’s Anugerah Industri Muzik award. Ziana released five singles from the album and the lead single, “Kemelut Di Muara Kasih”, was another commercial success. Four other singles, “Bersama Akhirnya”, “Setia Ku Di Sini”, “Sangkar Cinta” and “Tiada Kepastian” and the famous track on the album is Tuduhan and Antara Ikhlas dan Paksa went to top significant charts across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. The song “Bersama Akhirnya” garnered her the Best Solo Performance award in Pujaan 10 Nescafe.

In addition to her music career, Ziana also diverted her focus into acting. Her acting career transpired when she was approached by Dato’ Yusof Haslam. She agreed to appear in his film Sembilu, as a supporting actress with the role “Ziana”. The film marked her debut as an actress. It was a successful box-office, grossing RM4.2 million. The film also helped Ziana established herself as a successful actress, especially after winning the Most Popular Supporting Actress category in 1994’s Anugerah Bintang Popular Awards, alongside her co-star Erra Fazira who was catapulted into fame after her debut appearance through this film. The film’s soundtrack also featured a number of Ziana’s songs including “Ku Cinta Padamu”, “Anggapanmu” and “Mimpimu Bukan Mimpiku”. In the 1996 Sembilu follow-up, Sembilu II, Ziana reprised her role to critical claim.

Ziana released her fourth album, Puncak Kasih, on 28 May 1997. It won Best Pop Album in 1998’s Anugerah Industri Muzik. The lead single of the album, “Puncak Kasih”, was a success. It managed to stay at No. 1 in Carta Muzik Muzik for 15 consecutive weeks. The song also won Best Ballad Song in 1998’s Anugerah Juara Lagu. The other single is Satu Detik, Kalau Mencari Teman and Ada Cinta. The Music Video Ada Cinta is shotting at car park in K.L.

Her comeback album was released in 2001 right after her pregnancy. The album, Aku Cintakan Mu, sold more than 20,000 copies. The album won Best Album category in 2002’s Anugerah Planet Muzik. The album received a nomination for “Best Female Vocalist in an Album” in 2002’s Anugerah Industri Muzik. The album’s lead single, “Menadah Gerimis”, won Best Ballad Song category in 2002’s Anugerah Juara Lagu award. It also won Best Song in Anugerah Planet Muzik that year, apart from being voted as the Best Pop Song Choice award in Anugerah Era. Two other singles from the album were released, namely “Bagai Gahara” and “Terkenang Jua”. Both of the singles did not make it to the final round in Anugerah Juara Lagu. This album was Ziana’s last studio album with BMG label.

In 2005, Ziana became the first Malaysian artist to release her own perfume, “Truly”, which was distributed by Nutrimetics company. In addition, Ziana Zain has been an endorser of the product VONO Mattress for 10 years.

Other box-office films that Ziana has performed include Maria Mariana (1996), Merah (1997), Maria Mariana II (1998), Sembilu 2005 (2005), Pontianak Menjerit (2005), and Qabil Khusry Qabil Igam (2007). Besides acting in film, Ziana also appeared in television dramas. Her first drama acting was directed by Erma Fatima entitled Cermin Pada Bulan. Ziana was the leading actress in the drama and her performance in the drama generally received notable compliments. In 2007, Ziana varied her acting skill by accepting a role in a comedy drama entitled 4 Diva Sekampung, which is about four divas who get stuck in their way back to their hometown because of their van’s breakdown. The drama was screened during Hari Raya. Ziana also appeared as a leading actress in Tetamu Allah as well as her latest drama which is Nur Kasih di Jabal Rahmah. Both dramas were directed by Erma Fatima.

She released a mini album in 2008 entitled Dingin. The album featured four tracks and was nominated for Best Pop Song category in 2008’s Anugerah Industri Muzik award. The song also managed to get into the final round of 2008’s Anugerah Juara Lagu in Best Ballad Song category. However, it was lost to Faizal Tahir’s “Sampai Syurga”.

In February 2009, it was confirmed that Ziana was pregnant with twins. She gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl on 23 July 2009 in Shah Alam.

In January 2010, after six months of absence, finally Ziana returned to public as a surprise guest in the second annual gathering of Murai.com to celebrate the launching of a new fashion segment, Stailista, in the web portal. In that event, she stated that she would release two new singles from her upcoming untitled album. The singles, Pawana and Dirimu Satu, were expected to be released in June 2010.

Furthermore, Ziana was one of the mentors in the fourth season of a singing competition called, Mentor. As the singing competition ended in July 2010, Ziana and her protégé, Mohd were announced as the winner for that season. With that success, they managed to take home RM 100 000 and a trophy.

Apart from singing, acting and being product ambassador, Ziana is also involved in theatrical performance. Together with fellow singer Misha Omar, she was cast in the second season of a musical theatre production entitled Teater Muzikal Gamat 2. The performance, which commenced on 12 March 2010, was held in the Auditorium of Malaysian Tourism Centre (MaTiC), Kuala Lumpur, for 11 consecutive days. This was Ziana’s second participation in theatre after Musical Theater Antara.

In 2011, Ziana Zain made some controversial remarks on Malaysian artist associations where she said the participation of Malaysian celebrities in these associations is just a waste of time. According to her, associations such as the Artists Association of Malaysia (Seniman), Karyawan Association (Karyawan) and Papita only serve the interests of a selected few and therefore should be disbanded.

In April 2014, Zain announced her solo concert, I Am Ziana Zain will be held in September 2014. The concert was scheduled to be held at her home state, Malacca International Trade Centre. This will be her first solo concert after 15 years. Unfortunately, due to “organizer’s internal problems” the concert was cancelled.

On 15 July 2014, Zain stepped out in a new look, wearing full hijab with the approval of media outlets and fans. Zain also revealed in an interview that her upcoming album is in the works. She is working with Faizal Tahir and Awi Rafael for the new album.