Fresh-faced Timur Gabriel takes centre stage as our New Gen July 2024 cover girl. Flaunting chic and exquisite sartorial pieces from Marciano’s Spring Summer 2024 collection, Gabriel is shining bright and bold.
Noteworthy, life-altering moments sometimes come with a grand entrance—significant, vivid, and remarkable. However, most of the time, they are quiet and modest, and only in hindsight can you understand their true significance. For 30-year-old Malaysian actress Timur Gabriel, her big break came in bold, bright and brilliant. “Creating comedy content on social media really happened by accident,” Gabriel explained. Now a fascinating and multifaceted star with the world at her feet, Gabriel is showcasing her steadfast commitment to creativity — encountering and encouraging life-changing phenomena that put her in the limelight.
Meeting A Star
Creating a new archetype for herself, Gabriel has always been forthright with her ideas. She always felt she had a right and responsibility to make her voice heard — opening the gateway to her content creation. ”You’re not tired; you’re just scared.” Gabriel showed true potential when the actress made a reaction to a video a girl created about Malaysian potato chip flavours. When that went viral, she wrote the script for her “Nasi Lemack” video, which acted as a springboard for all of her success afterward. Captivating audiences with her charm, wit, and grace, Gabriel showed great splendour with her diligent professionalism that belies her years. “Whenever I feel demotivated or weary about something, I think twice about what’s holding me back: a lack of stamina or courage.”
Though generally positive about her experience, she remains conscious that her foray into acting was never an obvious choice. Moving seamlessly from role to role, the daughter of singer Datuk Zainal Abidin and model Natasha Yvonne Gabriel has always been passionate about the film industry. Still, she has always felt that the odds were against her in Malaysia due to the beauty standards favouring fair skin.
“Growing up, I was never made to believe I was traditionally beautiful, rather ‘exotic’ and ‘interesting’ so I never really gave it a shot.” But, after the success with Crazy Rich Asians, she was determined to give acting a chance. “It was now or never,” she gushed. Maintaining a childlike curiosity and enthusiasm for acting, she instilled the importance of dedication in her work. “Acting is not just about acting. It’s always important to fine-tune your skills and make room for improvement,” said Gabriel. Keeping a positive attitude from the start, the actress is known to enrich her own experience with the people she works with. With confidence and finesse, there’s certainly no shortage of opportunities presented to her right now; if anything, the challenge is to choose which to go through.
Finding Happiness
Despite making a name for herself, Gabriel still feels normal and unaffected by the limelight — she still harbours the same personality, identity and morals on the other side. Wise and sensitive well beyond her years, Gabriel enjoys taking long walks, learning new languages and reading to create a healthy disconnect when she’s burned out. “I, too, enjoy reaching out to my closest friends and trying to re-align myself through their precious company.” Striving for your dreams and goals can be emotionally taxing, but that has never deterred Gabriel from being happy. Through it all, her main focus is prioritising the positives and living her life to the fullest with the help of her friends and family.
Even when the inner workings of her mind churn gloom-ridden thoughts, Gabriel is known to find happiness within her family. For the actress, seeing her mom and brother beaming is what makes her truly happy. “Happiness can be very fleeting, and the three of us weren’t put in the best position after my parent’s divorce, so knowing that we’ve finally come to a place where we can comfortably experience joy without “waiting for the other shoe to drop” is something I’m incredibly grateful for,” she said. The uproar of this narrative arc propelled her into one of the darkest moments in her life, but she still held her head high, pushing forward and lighting her life the best way possible. “People need to be reminded of the love you have for them. That it’s important to express your affection for your family and friends and to take the time to do so,” she enthused.
Sharing an appetite for life and love, now the 30-year-old actress has become an unwavering force and a fighter. And though her work takes up the bulk of her time, she still finds time to appreciate other things in life and love — be it films, fashion or books. Gabriel is someone who is passionate, outspoken, fearless and takes on the world and then some. Equipped to handle most things in life, we can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon for Gabriel, someone who is passionate, outspoken, fearless and takes on the world and then some. “There will definitely be more screen time. Can’t say more than that at the moment, but when it happens, you will know.” With tons of projects lined up for her, there’s nothing that can stop her from flourishing.
Timur Gabriel is seen wearing @Marciano #Marciano. The Marciano collections are now available at Guess Pavilion and Guess TRX.
Credits:-
Photographer: Edmund Lee
Videographer: Zakwan Taufiq
Creative Direction: Amalina Anuar & Syameen Salehaldin
Make-Up: Ezad Ibrahim
Hair: Philex Chin
