KUALA LUMPUR: She may be a successful entrepreneur now, but singer and actress Mila Jirin says that life was not always a bed of roses.
The 35-year-old mother of three, whose full name is Noorsyarmilla Jirin, said that she was the breadwinner of her family when she was just a teenager.
"I come from a poor family. After completing my SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination) at age 17 I had already started to work to support my family.
"I saw my mother and father go through many difficulties. If people were to say that they ate just rice with salt, had no electricity at home, used kerosene, then I've been through all of that.
"My life was hard," she said in a recent news report.
Mila added that her early hardships motivated her to carry on with her struggle to take care of her beloved family.
"That is what became my driving force to chase my dreams and ambitions in order to wrest my family out of poverty.
"Alhamdulillah, Allah provided me with rezeki to become an artiste at the tender age of 19.
"I moved to Kuala Lumpur and brought along my parents and siblings. This episode was the beginning of me becoming the head of the household, where I told my parents that they did not have to work," she said.
The Akademi Fantasia alumnus also expressed gratitude for being able to overcome every challenge that came her way to emerge as the successful entrepreneur she is today.
"When taking on this responsibility, there were many, many tests. Alhamdulillah, I was able to overcome them one by one," she said.