Vanessa Mae

Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson was born October 27, 1978, in Singapore. Incidentally, she shares a birthday with the classical composer, Paganini. The daughter of a Chinese mother and Thai father, Vanessa relocated to London at the age of 4 with her mother.

By the time she was 3 years old, Vanessa was already taking piano lessons, and 2 years later, she began to study the violin. Despite her multi-talent at playing both the piano and the violin, Vanessa decided to focus on the violin, ironically after winning a prize at the British Young Pianist of the Year Competition.

Vanessa Mae might not be the world's most renowned celebrity, but among violinists she pales only to Itzhak Perlman for name recognition. The young prodigy has created a new style of music mixing classic instrumentals with contemporary beats to become a "techno-acoustic fusion violinist". Not only is she talented, but Vanessa Mae is extremely prolific. Before the age of 20, she had already released 15 albums.

The new style of instrumental pop hasn't been a success with music critics and classical purists who blast Miss Vanessa constantly for degrading the value of violin playing. The Singapore-born, London-raised beauty couldn't care less about critics though, she considers them the rejects of the music industry who didn't have enough talent to succeed. She certainly has the leverage, after all, her 1995 album The Violin Player sold 3 million copies, and was in the Top 20 in 25 countries. In 1997, Vanessa also added singing duties to her resume, releasing a poppy album in which the focus was her voice.

She played with the London Philharmonic at 10, toured with the London Mozart Players at 12, and recorded her first classical album at the age of 13. Talent? It's safe to assume that the answer is "yes".

In 1997, Hong Kong honored Vanessa by inviting her to perform at the Hong Kong to China Re-unification Ceremony, the only non-Chinese performer that night. Among her other notable accomplishments, she worked with Janet Jackson on the song "Velvet Rope". In 1997, Vanessa-Mae won the World Music Award for Best Selling Classical Artist and her albums have sold close to 10 million copies combined.

Her fame, though, is limited to the Far East and the UK. She has yet to make any kind of impact in the world's biggest music market, the United States.

Thanks to AskMen.com for the information. The complete article can be read here:
Vanessa Mae