Victoria Swarovski made headlines in June for her extravagant wedding, complete with a million-dollar dress — and it seems every aspect of her life is equally fabulous.
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The fabulous life of Victoria Swarovski, 24-year-old singer, fashion designer, TV star, and heir to the crystal fortune
She chose not to enter the world of Swarovski — and at 24 is a singer, fashion designer, and TV star instead.
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Business Insider met the 24-year-old singer, fashion designer, TV star, and heir to the Swarovski crystal fortune on one of her recent visits to London.
From recording at Abbey Road Studios to launching a new fashion line — and constantly flying around the world — she certainly has a lot on her plate.
Scroll down for a look at the fabulous life of Victoria Swarovski.
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This is 24-year old Victoria Swarovski, singer, TV star, and heir to the Swarovski crystal fortune.
She was born in Austria to Paul and Alexandra Swarovski, who are now separated. She calls herself "a girl out of the mountains."
A singer/songwriter since the age of 12, Swarovski said she was signed to Sony by the time she was 15.
She started out recording dance music, but she didn't like it. At the age of 18, she said she told Sony: "Let me finish my EP then let me figure out what direction I want to go."
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Now, she calls her music "future pop with a touch of soul and R&B." She sang the theme song for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," and also performed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
She's no longer with Sony, and "trying to do my own record thing," she said. "Sometimes it's good to have the great labels because they have great connections, but sometimes they just sign you to keep you calm," she said.
After spending a few years in LA, love took her back to Germany. That love is now-husband Werner Mürz, who works in real estate in Germany investing in industrial buildings.
"I met him through his father, our parents are very good friends," she said. "His father passed away last year in a car accident, but he’s the person who brought us together."
The couple made in headlines in June thanks to their extravagant wedding, where Swarovski wore a million-dollar dress which she says "went viral."
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"It was such a great dress, I was very happy," she said. "My dad was like, 'the dress is not important,' but I was like, 'yes, it is important.'"
She had a number of outfit changes throughout the three-day ceremony in Portopiccolo, Italy, and said she would "never ever try and do something different."
"We'd been together for six years when we got married," she said. "We were engaged for three."
Once Swarovski settled back in Germany, she started working with her manager to figure out how to "make things happen." Then she got an offer to work on the German version of "Dancing with the Stars," called "Let's Dance."
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"In the beginning, I didn't want to do it, because...with the name people judge you before you even start," she said. "Then I did it, and I won, which was amazing."
"People just got to know me and saw that I'm really working hard if I want to do something," she said. "That was actually my point when I took off in Germany."
She then got offered a spot as a judge on Germany's Got Talent, known over there as Das Supertalent. "Now I'm having some great other opportunities in entertainment," she said. "It's just fun — I love it."
Outside of the entertainment world, she's also trying to break into fashion. She launched a line of "dirndl" dresses for Oktoberfest this year, and has other fashion plans in the works — including another line of dirndls next year. "In Germany and Austria it's a big thing," she said. "In Munich they're wearing them a lot — for Christmas, holiday occasions. I got married in a white one and my sisters went in turquoise."
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The launch did "really well" in Germany in Austria, and she has other fashion plans in the works.
She's also been pursuing other business opportunities, both around the globe and in London. It was on a visit to London where Business Insider met Swarovski. She said she wants to break into the British market, which she calls "the next step." "I would love to live in London someday," she said.
"We covered the German market, and I love the Germans and the Austrians and will always be there, but I think it’s time to do the next step and get a new area, and that’s England.
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"If you’re in England and London, the step to America is not that far any more," she added.
She said making it big in Britain involves finding the right song. "I was not in the studio a lot last year, but this year I'm in a lot," she said. She recently recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios, made famous by The Beatles, and has a song on the way.
She tends to spend her Saturdays and Sundays in the studio.
She said she gets her ambition from her mum and dad. Paul was in the Swarovski business for 25 years, while Alexandra was a journalist and model. "Growing up in a family that has such a big background, you kind of get the knowledge just by looking, hearing, sitting there and watching everybody do their thing," she said.
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Her father left the Swarovski business to "do his own thing," which inspired her to do the same instead of taking a role at the family company.
He said, "I love the company, I respect everything you do, but now I'm doing my own thing," she said.
"As I saw that I thought 'Why don't you do that right away?' Yes, I could have done something in the family business, but I guess if my father’s like that 25 years after, I don’t want to waste those 25 years to start my own thing."
He had a printing company, but sold it because "printing is not going to work in the future any more," Swarovski said. He's now working on another venture instead.
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Swarovski did her undergraduate degree at a university in Germany, but after that decided to "learn by doing."
Her sister, Paulina, also chose not to enter the company, and is a model.
Paulina's on the left, Victoria is on the right.
Swarovski is also dedicated to her health, works out a lot, and mixes it up every day. "I do a lot of sports — if I can, every day, in the morning before I start my day."
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"For me I have to do every day something different," she said. "I'm a person who builds up muscles very quick, sometimes I look like a Schwarzenegger if I don't do something different."
She loves kickboxing, running, pilates, TRX, swimming, and something called "supertramp" — which involves jumping on a trampoline for an hour. "Sometimes people ask 'what do you do?' But it doesn't suit everybody," she said. "Everybody has a different body type."
The training for "Let's Dance" looked pretty intense.
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She said the most important thing to her is eating healthily. "If you have a big shoot you try to eat less before," she said. "Try to stay away from the carbs."
She said she never eats breakfast. When we met at The Ned in London for lunch, she had an iceberg lettuce salad and avoided the bread basket. "If I'm at home I drink coffee then fresh pressed orange juice," she said, adding that she tries to eat more at lunch, such as chicken or fish.
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However, she added: "It's not that I'm not eating carbs — I have had [a few] cheat weeks at the moment."
"If I see people eating I get hungry," she said. "I think you shouldn't torture yourself too much, you have one life."
She has an office in Munich, but her main office is in Vienna. "I'm married to a Bavarian guy but I love Austria and I'd never ever leave, so that's why Vienna," she said.
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"I have an amazing team, and we’re growing which is great," she added. She has people working in tech, PR, and management around the world. "There are different people in different areas that's actually one big team at the end of the day."
However, she's often travelling — "Sometimes I have four to five weeks in a row where I'm gone," she said. "But then I have a week like this where I'm four days in the office and one day I'm out."
She added that she "hates flying Ryanair."
"Never, ever again," she said. "I'd rather pay more for nice service."
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"Last year was just travelling, constantly," she said. "It was great, I love travelling, but I also like to be in the office, doing real business."
She's soon headed to LA again to record more music and do a photoshoot. "It’s fun, I'm young and I can do it, so I'm happy," she said.
She occasionally gets to enjoy some leisure travel as well. After the wedding, she and Muerz "took the boat and went from St Tropez to Corsica, then Corsica to Sardinia," spent two days working, then "went to Mykonos for three more days," she said.
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"I love the ocean so for me it was so relaxing," she said, joking that her PR still texted and called her every day. "But that's the name of the game," she said. "Every person has that and I love what i'm doing and I'm so blessed that I'm allowed to do what I'm doing."
Both at home and while travelling, she's often seen gracing red carpets in glitzy dresses. "Events are important because you make great contacts and meet a lot of good people," she said. "I'm not the biggest party girl, but I like to meet new people."
Her favourite spots in London include Sketch, Nobu, Hakkasan, and The London Edition for breakfast or bunch — as well as Selfridges for shopping. "Wherever you go in London it's a cool place," she said. "Even if you go to small pubs, it's incredible."
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She often gets to meet and mingle with celebrities, including actor Ian Somerhalder...
...Kevin Spacey...
...and Lionel Richie.
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Her lifestyle has certainly attracted a dedicated following. She celebrated 200,000 followers on Instagram in July, and now has more than 230,000.
While she has her fingers in many pies, she says that music plays into most things she does. However, she added: "It’s so many things I love to do, it’s hard for me to say what I love the most."
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And she only turned 24 in August.
"I'm 24 and I think I'm in a good direction," she said. "I think every person should decide what they want to do. If you have a strong will and you really want to do something and go for something, you can make it. That's what I go for."
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