Twilight movie star and ex-EastEnders actress Judi Shekoni revealed how determined she was as a teenager to get to Hollywood in a speech to pupils at Central Foundation Girls’ School.
Her childhood dream was to be an actress and her belief that this was her calling was her driving force, she told Year 11 pupils at their Motivation Day event.
"The biggest thing for me was mentality," Judi said. "I believed in myself and took risks and if I had a dream to 'grow' it."
She moved down to London from Manchester after completing her A-levels when she landed a hard-fought role in EastEnders, then bought "a one way ticket to California". Her her perseverance paid off when she landed the role of Zafrina in the blockbuster Twilight.
The Aspiration Day at the school in Bow was part of its Key Stage 4 programme. Another guest speaker was ex-pupil Adizah Tejani, now a senior HSBC manager, on her journey from school the world of business.
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