Born and raised in South Africa and now enjoying her modelling and acting career in India, Gabriella Demetriades recalls the time when it was hard to stay away from her family in a new country. However she believes that life is enjoyed the most when there are tough times to overcome.

"I think that life is enjoyed when you have the difficulties to overcome, it makes the sweet sweeter. I found it very hard to be away from my family and I had to overcome being alone.

"Also focusing on one thing has always been a challenge as I really have multiple passions, I was lucky that along the way I remained the focus," she told IANS over an email from Mumbai when asked if being an international face, it was a challenge for her to start her career in a new country.

Being a South African model and actress, Gabriella was a Miss Indian Premier League (IPL) Bollywood 2009 contestant and was chosen as one of FHM's "100 Sexiest Women In The World" contenders. She acted in a promo song of Malayalam movie "Red wine" with the song 'Neelakasham kaividum'. She also appeared in a music video opposite Aditya Narayan, in his single "Tu Hi Pyar Hai" along with appearing in the movie "Sonali Cable".

She has been roped in as a part of fitness brand HRX family along with another model, Diva Dhawan With this association, the brand is set to grow its HRX family with some of India's flagbearers of fitness and fashion.

From the runway to the gym, Diva and Gabrielle push the limits to break boundaries and prove that nothing is impossible. They are seen in HRX womenswear campaigns.

An active sports enthusiast and entrepreneur, Gabriella has taken the fitness path to compensate for her packed lifestyle. She is also in the news for reportedly dating actor Arjun Rampal.

Calling India her second home, she said: "India is now home as I've been here for 10 years but South Africa is a beautiful place and the outdoor lifestyle is beyond. All my family is still there and it holds a very special place for me. I love the outdoors and working out outdoors so I miss that a lot about South Africa. I always wanted to be in fashion.

"I started out styling and then modelling just sort of happened. It's been fantastic as it's led me to my path of being a brand owner," she said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)