Started modelling as a hobby; owe my success to my parents: Jacqueline

By Vandana Srivastawa

on June 04, 2018

Jacqueline Fernandez is all geared up for her upcoming film Race 3 which has an ensemble cast of Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Freddy Daruwala, Saqib Saleem and spearheaded by Salman Khan. Directed by Remo D’Souza the film is slated for a June 15, 2018 release. Jacqueline, in a recent interview, opened up about her life prior to stepping into the Hindi film industry. She spoke about the importance of parents letting their kids choose their own career path as long as they work hard and become the best at it.

Jacqueline revealed that her first modeling assignment was at age five for s shop that sold baby clothes. She started out as a professional model when she turned 12 years old. She said, “I grew up in the small island country of Bahrain and my sister had started doing ramp shows — at the time, modelling was more like a hobby. As kids, we were earning good pocket money, which we were very happy about and never bothered our parents for anything. But I’d always had this dream of becoming an actress and it lingered in my mind for a while; I had figured it was too far-fetched, and never pursued it.”

Jacqueline took up Mass Communications at the University of Sydney and had set her sights on becoming a journalist, keeping her modeling aspirations aside. She says things changed for her when she won the Miss Sri Lanka Universe title. She said, “I started getting modelling assignments in India and it paved way for a lot of travel and good money. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid so much for one show.” She further said, “Also, early on in my modelling career, I started getting film offers. Honestly, I didn’t expect much until I got a call for Sujoy Ghosh’s Aladin which also had Mr Amitabh Bachchan, the biggest superstar in one of the largest film industries in the world. It may have been different from what I initially dreamt of — which is Hollywood — but I didn’t want to let the opportunity get away. Now, I am in love with what I do.”

Jacqueline stressed the fact that parents should let their children find their own vocation in life and said, “When I look back, it was just following my heart that brought me here. That’s why I feel it’s important for parents to let their kids do what they want to so long as they work hard and become the best at it. I feel blessed that my parents always supported me.”