Another string to her bow: Vanessa-Mae puts down the violin for a new career – as an Olympic skier!
- The 34-year-old hopes to qualify for the giant slalom event at the Sochi Olympics in Russia next year
- The musician is a British citizen but she also holds a Thai passport
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Violin prodigy Vanessa-Mae has put her music career on hold while she rehearses for a new role - skiing at the Olympics.
The 34-year-old musician has been training in Zermatt, Switzerland, for three years and has set her sights on representing Thailand at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
The former child star will take part in her first skiing event in April before competing in at least five internationally recognised competitions before she can qualify for the slalom at the Sochi games in February next year.
Talented: Violinist Vanessa-Mae has swapped her violin for a pair of skis in the hope of competing in the next winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia
'People are surprised when they see me skiing - a classical violinist, Oriental, who has lived in the city all her life,' she said.
'But it has been my dream to be a ski bum since I was 14. This is something I am determined to do.'
The violinist is a British citizen but she also holds a Thai passport.
She was born in Singapore to a Chinese mother and a Thai father but she was brought up in England when her mother remarried a Briton.
Vanessa-Mae, whose full name is Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, would be only the second Thai to compete at a Winter Olympics if she qualified.
Academic Prawat Nagvajara represented Thailand in cross-country skiing at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
'I wanted to compete for Thailand because there is a part of me which I have never celebrated - being Thai,' said Vanessa-Mae.'
Violinist Vanessa-Mae started skiing at the age of four but music has always been her priority
'My father, like most Thais, has never skied but he's really excited about me doing this as is the Thai Olympic Committee.'
Vanessa-Mae started skiing at the age of four but music has always been her priority.
She made her international professional debut aged 10 and made her mark on the world stage when she broke from tradition and became known for mixing her glamorous style with classical music and pop.
Her first techno pop-style album, 'The Violin Player,' was released in 1995 and reached Number 11 in the UK albums chart and she has not stop touring since.
However, she has not released a new album since 2004.
Stunning: Vanessa-Mae was famed for mixing her glamorous style and ability to play classical music with pop music
Musician Vanessa-Mae made her professional debut aged 10. Her first techno pop-style album was released in 1995 and reached number 11 in the UK charts
THE MAKING OF A CLASSICAL SUPERSTAR
Vanessa-Mae, the world famous violin prodigy, continues to delight audiences the world over.
Her family moved to London from Singapore when she was just four and she started to learn the piano and later violin.
At the age of seven she won a prestigious competition for 'Young British Pianist of the Year' but decided to concentrate exclusively on playing violin.
When she was 11, she passed entrance exams for a one-year course at Royal College of Music and had already begun making concert appearances.
She played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London as the youngest soloist in history to play Bach's, Mozart's and Kabalevsky's concertos with the orchestra.
The success of The Violin Player justified a bold creative gamble she wanted to take - a new synthesis of classical and pop sounds.
The albums that followed confirmed this success - worldwide sales have topped 8million units so far, earning more than 40 international platinum awards.
She has collaborated with pop legends including Janet Jackson and Prince, performed on the soundtrack of the Disney animated feature Mulan, played Bach for the British Royal Family on the 250th anniversary of the composer's death and performed as she modelled a wedding dress on the runway of a Jean-Paul Gualtier fashion show in Paris.
People magazine voted her one of the '50 Most Beautiful People in the World' and FHM named her one of 'The World's 100 Most Beautiful Women.'
WATCH VANESSA-MAE PERFORM STORM LIVE
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