Maya Jama used to charge her family 20p to watch her dance.
The 25-year-old model-and-presenter is thankful her Swedish mother was always "cool" and allowed her friends to hang out round their house until late, where they would stage special performances for the rest of her household.
She said: "I went to nursery [in Sweden] and my younger brother was born there too. When I lived at my mum’s house we would go back to Sweden every Christmas, Easter and summer holiday.
"I had the cool mum that let my friends come and stay late and we would have mini parties in my bedroom.
"I would perform dance moves and songs to all my family members and charge them 20p for a ticket to my front room."
Maya’s mother has always been very supportive but knows she’d have been proud regardless of her chosen career path.
She told the new issue of GAFFER magazine: "My mum was kind of just happy for me in any way shape or form. Even if I worked in a corner shop in Bristol for the rest of our life she would be like ‘I’m so proud of you’."
The ‘Cannonball’ presenter left home when she was just 16 and admitted her life experiences have always made her feel older than her years.
She said: "I moved out at 16 and came to London on my own and was always super independent from a young age and then when I moved to London naturally all my friends became older than me.
"So, from the age of 16 growing up with people at least seven years older than me so I’ve kind of got their state of mind and then the independence of having to pay your own bills from a young age and actually grafting and working and being responsible for yourself."
The full cover interview with Maya Jama is available in the second edition of GAFFER Magazine, which was released on 29 August 2019.
Maya Jama’s early dance shows
