Karrueche Tran looks to the future: I want my work to speak for itself

Karrueche Tran may have been introduced to the world via tabloid headlines, but the aspiring actress refuses to let her on-off relationship with Chris Brown define her future. Speaking to IBTimes UK, the 28-year-old former celebrity stylist reveals that she is focusing on carving out a successful career on the big screen.

With a multiple film roles in the pipeline, a fashion range and a YouTube channel that boasts over 240k subscribers, she is working hard to reinvent herself away from the gossip columns. "Now people aren't just seeing me as the girl they see on TMZ or social media, they are seeing Karrueche as a business woman, as being more career-driven," she insists. "I don't want to have to explain myself all the time or to anybody. I want my work to speak for itself."

The budding actress has already made waves in the acting world thanks to the success of online series The Bay. Tran and her fellow cast members received a gong in the Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series category at the Daytime Emmys.

Shedding light on her bid to parlay her tabloid exposure into a springboard for her own success, Tran revealed that she ventured into the world of vlogging to 'connect with her fans' and has landed roles in two independent movies due for release later this year. It's important to her, she says , to hone her craft.

"One was a sci-fi movie and the other was a romantic thriller. I love that I'm able play different roles because that opens me up as an actor," she says, adding that she wanted to try her hand at multiple roles before deciding what works for her because "you never know what you may fall into".

However, she admits that the transition has been far from easy and she is still struggling to distance herself from her past. "It was kind of tough to differentiate from the drama and the stuff that was being said online opposed to naturally who I am, but [it has gotten easier] as I continue to build my brand and as I continue to grow as a person and from a woman that has been trampled over."

While Tran is determined to expand her empire, music is one area she will not be venturing into. "No I don't sing," she says. " I don't dance, I have two left feet. It's so funny because that question has been brought up a lot. Me being into music and singing and stuff. I don't have any musical talent so to force that would be unauthentic and not genuine. I don't want to do things just to do things. I don't think singing will be in my future any time soon."