IMAN FANDI

NOT YOUR GIRL NEXT DOOR

Iman Fandi is – for the most part of our conversation – open, honest and genuine. The 23-year-old lights up when we talk about her three cats: Two of them are short-haired black and white felines, and she has recently welcomed a cream Maine Coon kitten into the fold. She shares that she’s fuelled by numerous goals – one of which is to make her family proud – and has a penchant for embracing new challenges, despite the anxiety that comes with trying new things in the public eye.

However, the local singer-songwriter is more guarded when it comes to the topic of her family – understandable, for someone who has grown up under heavy media scrutiny. After all, her father, former professional football player Fandi Ahmad, is a much beloved figure in the local sports scene, and regarded as one of Singapore’s most successful footballers and sportspeople. Her mother is former model Wendy Jacobs. Her four brothers are all following in her father’s footsteps – Irfan, 26, and Ikhsan, 24, both play for Thai League 1 club BG Pathum United in Thailand, while Ilhan, 21, plays in the Challenger Pro League for Belgian club Deinze. Iryan, 17, is currently playing for Singapore Premier League club Hougang United.

“For sure, I’ve always thought about what life would be like if I was never born in Singapore, if [I was born] in a different country; how life would be if we were never in the public eye,” she says carefully, when asked if she has ever wished for a little more privacy. “It’s like envisioning an alternate universe. Of course, it would be different, but it’s hard to imagine that too, because I don’t know what that reality is like.”