Vanessa-Mae

This article is about the person. For the minor planet named after her, see 10313 Vanessa-Mae.

Vanessa-Mae
Vanessa-Mae in 2014
Born
Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson

(1978-10-27) 27 October 1978 (age 46)
Singapore
NationalityBritish[1]
Other namesVanessa Vanakorn
Occupations
  • Violinist
  • musician
Years active1990–present
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentViolin
Labels
Websitewww.vanessamaeofficial.com

Vanessa-Mae (Chinese: 陈美; pinyin: Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978),[2] also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson,[3] is a British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the United Kingdom in 2006.[4] She competed under the name Vanessa Vanakorn (Thai: วาเนสซ่า วรรณกร, romanized: Wa-nes-sa Wan-na-kon; her father's surname) for Thailand in alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She was initially banned from skiing by the International Ski Federation (FIS) after participating in a qualifying race allegedly organised to enable her to qualify for the Winter Olympics. An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport led to the ban being nullified, citing lack of evidence for her own wrongdoing or any manipulation.[5][6] The FIS later issued an apology to her.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc-20141111 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Vanessa Vanakorn at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
  3. ^ Sarah Knapton (20 January 2014). "Winter Olympics 2014: violinist Vanessa-Mae to ski for Thailand at the Sochi Games". The Telegraph (UK).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc-tops2006richlist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Vanessa-Mae has four-year competitive skiing ban overturned". The Guardian (online ed.). Manchester. Press Association. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Alpine Skiing – Vanessa Vanakorn (Mae) appeal: Four-year ban cancelled, but ineligibility to compete in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games confirmed" (Press release). Lausanne, Switzerland: Court of Arbitration for Sport. 19 June 2015.
  7. ^ Tom Sweetman (24 February 2016). "Vanessa Mae awarded defamation damages over race-fixing claims". CNN.