Vanessa-Mae

As of 2007, she was in a relationship with Lionel Catalan.

Vanessa Mae was born on October 27, 1978 in Singapore, to an English father Vorapong Varakom and Chinese mother, Pamela.

Musically blessed, at the tender age of three, she took to playing piano. However, tragedy struck the family as her parents divorced the following year. Subsequently, her mother remarried Graham Nicholas and the two moved to England.

At the age of five, she switched to playing violin instead of piano. She received formal training from Lin Yao Ji at the Central Conservatory in Beijing and Felix Andrievsky at the Royal College of Music in London.

Within a short span of time, she became a renowned figure in the conservative classical music circle of United Kingdom and made regular television appearances in children’s programs.

In 1988, at the age of 10, Vanessa Mae made her professional international debut at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany. Same year, she made her debut on stage with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.

She toured England, playing the Tchaikovsky concerto with her mother as a co-manager. Subsequently, at the age of twelve, she toured with the London Mozart Players. By 13, she had a Guinness World Record of being the youngest soloist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos.

In 1991, she formally began her recording career. Most of her early recordings have been repackaged by Angel today, as The Classical Colle.

Entering teens, Vanessa experienced a makeover of sorts. The traditional conservative style gave way to a more modern, contemporary outlook with her appearing in music videos as a style icon.

In 1995, she made a breakthrough with her debut pop-style album, ‘The Violin Player’. The album comprised of a varied blend of music, both remakes and original. Certified Gold by BPI, it sold more than eight million copies.

Her debut pop-style album, ‘The Violin Player’ has been till date the biggest and most successful album by Vanessa Mae. The album had mixed content, blending both remakes and originals. Right after its release, it ranked at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold. It has sold more than 8 million copies.