You may know our August digital cover star, Timur Gabriel, as your Malaysian big sis aka the online representation of us all, but… think you know the girl beyond the gags? Here are five things you may or may not know about Timur.
Timur Gabriel is something like the internet’s equivalent of an early ‘00s It Girl. She’s super chill yet just a little bit unhinged; she’s charming and packed a distinctive comedic style. From taking up a stint as a host for local variety show The 8TV Quickie to working in marketing and establishing herself as an actress, and now shaking it up on social media (particularly Instagram and TikTok), Timur’s foray in the entertainment world is rather interesting. But despite her videos and skits and online, there’s so much else to discover about Timur outside of what we’ve seen of her. Here, five things you might not know about Timur Gabriel.
Timur Gabriel was almost called ‘Crystal’ Gabriel. According to the actress’ own mum, the alternative name she would have gotten was ‘Crystal’. But she’s glad her mum settled with ‘Timur’. While Crystal Gabriel might roll off the tongue pretty nicely — and sounds more typical ‘Hollywood’ — we agree that nothing beats the uniqueness of ‘Timur’. It harks back to her origin as a Malay born and bred in Malaysia. After all, look toward the east, they say.
She’s a lot smaller than she seems! “I give ‘tall girl’ energy, but I’m actually only 160 cm (5’3″),” Timur says with a laugh. “People often voice their surprise at my lack of… height when they meet me.” I must admit that I was one of them. From her many videos and skits, I had pictured someone who was at least my height. Perhaps it’s her big voice that we’ve been projecting on!
Back in 2020, she released two songs on Spotify. Not many people know this, but Timur has music out to stream on Spotify. As the daughter of famed Malaysian singer Datuk Zainal Abidin, it seems the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree of musical talent. One thing we can confirm is that Timur’s songs Aphrodite and I’m Cool are certified bops!
She has a chubby cat named… Chubby Cat. “I’m not very creative with names,” Timur admits. “My best friend gave me the cat a few years ago. I named him Chubby Cat because… it’s chubby, and it’s a cat.”
She’s got a bit of a sweet tooth. Many would argue otherwise, but I am among the believers that dessert is a must when it comes to cleansing the palate (and generally, happiness.) It seems Timur agrees as well. “I end every meal with dessert,” she says, face serious but her snark showing. “Every single one. I do not recommend this.”
Read our full interview with our cover star Timur Gabriel in the latest issue of LSA Digital Cover Vol. 013 HERE.
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Written by
Puteri Yasmin Suraya
Senior Writer, Features and Tech
Hailing from an English Literature & Creative Writing background, Yasmin has a deep love for fiction and poetry. When she’s not reading or café-hopping, she spends most of her time in the comfort of her own room binge-watching period romances, (badly) belting out show tunes, and curating Spotify playlists to match her mood for the week.
