Darja Schabad (russian: link=no, Дарья Шабад; born 6 January 1983) is a vocalist and actress originally from

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia.

Early life and education

Darja Schabad (pronounced "Daria") grew up in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Germany before moving to London, England, where she studied at Bradfield College to complete her A-Level studies. She speaks four languages fluently due to her international upbringing – Russian, German, English and Spanish.

Career

Schabad deferred her university education to participate in the popular German reality TV show '' Popstars'' in 2001. More than 11,000 singers attended open television auditions in Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, Hamburg and Munich, conducted by choreographer Detlef "D!" Soost, producer

Alex Christensen Alex Christensen (born 7 April 1967), also known by his stage names Jasper Forks or Alex C., is a German dance music producer, songwriter, and DJ generally known as the face and one of the founding members of U96. Since 2002, he has been coll ...

and singer and radio host Noah Sow. After auditioning in Frankfurt and after multiple "recalls", Schabad was chosen as one of 32 contestants who immediately travelled to

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

, Spain, to get trained in singing, dancing and fitness. In the end, three females, including Schabad, and five males remained who again moved into a loft in Munich to start working on their performance and publicity skills. During a special episode on 11 November 2001, judges Soost and Christensen eventually disclosed that

Ross Antony Ross Anthony Catterall (born 9 July 1974), known by his stage name Ross Antony, is a British singer, entertainer and presenter based in Germany. He rose to fame as a member of the R&B/ pop group Bro'Sis. Since the group disbanded in 2006, Anto ...

, Hila Bronstein, Shaham Joyce, Faiz Mangat,

Indira Weis Indira Weis (born Verena Weis; 30 September 1979) is a German singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of the R&B/Pop group Bro'Sis. Biography Early life Weis was born the second daughter to Manju, an Indian interpreter and her Ge ...

and

Giovanni Zarrella Giovanni Zarrella (born 4 March 1978 in Hechingen) is a German-Italian singer and television presenter based in Germany. He was a singer on the pop group Bro'Sis from 2001 to 2006. He was one of an "international" sextet, later quintet, of si ...

were chosen to become part of the multicultural group

Bro'Sis Bro'Sis was a multicultural R&B/ pop group from Germany, which was formed through the TV series '' Popstars – Du bist mein Traum'' in 2001. The group comprised the singers Ross Antony, Hila Bronstein, Shaham Joyce, Faiz Mangat, Indira Weis, ...

. Schabad was voted out in that episode. During ''Popstars'', Schabad gained significant publicity in Germany and started working on a solo career with producer Tony Coutura. She rejected a solo record deal offer by East West Records to pursue a BSc in international relations at the London School of Economics. While still at university, in 2003, Schabad participated in the second season of

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's '' Pop Idol'', where she was selected into the last 5 groups of 10 in the competition. After her performance of Shakira's " Underneath Your Clothes", Simon Cowell stated that Schabad has " The X Factor". After graduating in 2005, Schabad transferred to New York City in 2007 to pursue an acting degree at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

. Since her graduation, she has appeared in films, commercials, industrials and voiceovers, representing companies such as Perkinelmer, Canon, UBS Investment Bank and

PUMA Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

, where she is the voice of the PUMA Perfume Animagical global commercial campaign, featuring Usain Bolt. Schabad is currently working as a host and executive producer for CorporateProfile.com. She is still active as a singer and is currently working on her

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstra ...

album release. Most recently, she has performed at The Montauk Music Festival.

External links

* *
Events – No day, no month, no year – New York, NYC

Previous Committees (2000 – Present)
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120502152606/http://www.german-society.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/08/11_0445-GermanSymposia_Bklt_Final_Web1.pdf * http://www.theateronline.com/pb.xzc?pk=34935 {{DEFAULTSORT:Schabad, Darja Living people 1983 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Actresses from Bremen (city) Russian emigrants to Germany