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DUNDEE GRADUATE ON GROWING UP IN POVERTY, HER Star of hit Netflix estate agent show goes from rags to riches
She is the new star of glamorous Netflix hit Selling Sunset and lives in a £ 4million beachfront mansion in California – but Chelsea Lazkani has told how she grew up penniless living in a council house.
The 29-year-old luxury estate agent – who has a Masters in oil and gas management from Dundee University – said her dad left his homeland of Nigeria with just a small amount of change in his pocket in a bid to better himself.
And her early years growing up in north London were a world away from the life she now enjoys wearing top designer clothes while selling some of the world’s most expensive properties.
Selling Sunset is a reality show revolving around The Oppenheim Group, a high-end real estate firm which brokers property deals worth millions.
The smash-hit show premiered in March 2019 and the fifth series, which started at the end of last month, now has millions of fans around the world, making Oppenheim agents like Chelsea household names.
But despite her incredible success, she has vowed to keep her feet on the ground and never forget her humble beginnings.
Sitting down for an exclusive interview inside her latest listing – an £ 18million Manhattan Beach mansion just a stone’s throw from her own home – Chelsea said: “We don’t come from money. We had nothing at first. My dad came to the UK with just £13 to his name.
“When I was four to seven, we lived on council estates.
“I remember as a kid going to a grocery store and not being able to pick out an extra loaf of bread or simple things I take for granted now. Because we had nothing, we had to be very costconscious. I always knew the value of a pound.”
Chelsea’s dad Segun has gone on to become a successful archi tect and her mum Elizabeth has forged a trailblazing corporate career and is chief people officer at Emerson.
The family now own several properties, including their former council house which Chelsea said she “will never let go” as it is a reminder of all the hard work her family has put in over the years.
She said: “Growing up, I always had a strong work ethic because I saw my parents working so hard. My mum worked in a supermarket when I was yyoung. g She got into human resources andd started to cl imb the corporateporate ladder.
“When I was about 12, she got an opportunity to workrk in Switzerland. Dad stayedyed behind in the UK andd we all moved. My parentsents knew it was a greatat opportunity for us.”
Thehe fami ly, including Chelsea,elsea, her older sister Oyinda,nda, now 30, and younger brotherther Richard, 24, werere reunited in a homeome in
London ndon after just under a year. Chelsea said: “We lived in Edgware for four or five years. It was the first home where I had my own bedroom.”
After completing her A-levels, Chelsea studied economics at Buckingham University before gaining her Masters.
She travelled to LA with one suitcase in 2015, not expecting to stay for more than a few weeks. But she met businessman Jef f Lazkani , mana g ing partner at a marketing and ad firm, on her first Tinder date. Chelsea, who previously worked as a business strategist and solar analyst with oil and gas firms, said: “I just thought I’d go check out the US and see what’s going on. I didn’t plan on staying for long – I just had one suitcase. But I got busy on Tinder and met myy husbandusbad ono myy firstst date. “Jeff and I are very similar, we have simi lar backgrounds. We hit it off right away.”
Chelsea and Jef f got married in 2017 and have two children together – son Maddox, three, and daughter Melia, 18 months.
She gained her real estate licence in 2017 and initially worked with a firm called Rodeo Realty, where she oversaw more than $10million in sales in her first year as an agent.
Chelsea said: “I always loved real estate and wanted to shadow someone who looked like me in luxury real estate. But there just wasn’t anyone like me, so getting into luxury real estate was a very daunting task.
“I had some negat ive experiences as a black agent. I was doing all the networking I could but I found it very hard to generate leads. I saw my peers working less than me and getting listings. I thought, ‘What’s going on here?’
“I realised ppeoplep want a real estate agent who looks like them. They want an agent they see themselves in.
“I felt demotivated for a while but I thought, ‘I can sink or swim’. I decided to knuckle down and make it work. I kept working and got one client, which led to another, then another. It was very slow but I still wanted to go to a luxury brokerage to further my career.”
When Chelsea heard Jason Oppenheim and his twin Brett – who run The Oppenheim Group featured on Selling Sunset
– were looking to hire, she put herself forward.
She is now navigating LA’s cut- throat property market alongside her Selling Sunset pals, including Chanel-obsessed ice maiden Christine Quinn, former Hollywood actress Chrishell Stause and Olympic swimmer Emma Hernan.
Chelsea said: “I knew I had to be a big character with a ‘can do’ attitude to be a success.
“I did feel some pressure when I joined. But I had to make it work because I did not want brownskinned women around the world seeing I hadn’t succeeded.”
Chelsea said she also loves fashion and making sure she can keep up with her glam colleagues on the show.
She said: “I wear new and upcoming brands which can look as good as high- end designers. It’s about how you wear things, not what you wear.”
Chelsea is thrilled to be a part of the show and is committed to making her family proud and achieving as much as possible in her career.
She said: “My family love the show. It’s jaw-dropping to them. The property business in the UK is different, for sure.
“As to the future, the sky is the limit. I would love to build a real estate team. I’d love to have a team of minorities because it’s a door I want to open.
“I don’t see many people like me in Los Angeles doing this, so I want to make it happen.
“But my main focus right now is my work for Brett and Jason and making the show a success.”
Chelsea added: “Doing this is my calling, it’s what the universe wants me to do.
“It’s an opportunity for me to give back and I know I’m very blessed.”