When I started modeling, I didn't know anything about fashion, but I'd watched the Victoria's Secret show.
I got into modeling first, then acting came along pretty soon, and I landed my first role in a Korean drama without education, without any acting experience whatsoever.
As a means to an end, modelling was good, but I had to distance myself from it when I started working as an actress, because even though I wasn't high-profile, I found in my first write-ups that I'd be referred to as 'model Gemma Chan.'
Had I not been a model at the beginning of my career, probably acting would not have happened.
My father, Ralph Fernandes, was a model before he became an interior designer. He was very supportive of my decision to become a model and then an actress.
For some reason, I don't like the term 'model-turned-actress' - which is what I am, essentially.
My mom used to model when she was younger, before she went to law school, and I think she thought it was pretty cool. I think my parents saw that acting ultimately made me happy, even though it was a rough ride for a little bit.
Increasingly, stars are recruited from the ranks of professional models, with the result that today's starlets are better dressed and better groomed than ever before, though it is doubtful if they are better actresses.
I have a tough skin and enough confidence not to worry too much about being underestimated because of my last name, my relative youth, or my modeling background. It comes with the territory.
