Violette Wautier is worried about this interview. Not so much about what we’re going to ask, but that talking—answering, explaining, even laughing—means straining her voice. And right now, that’s the one thing she can’t afford to do. “I’m having vocal problems right now. I can hear myself getting raspy already,” says the 32-year-old actress-singer, sounding half-resigned. “My world is collapsing.”

For most of us, a strained voice is an inconvenience. But for a singer, it is something else entirely: A loss of identity, livelihood, and everything that makes her who she is. Violette explains that the issue lies not just in the vocal cords themselves, but in the surrounding muscles and the system that supports them. “I have to relearn how to sing again. I’m working with a lot of doctors on that right now.”

Violette Wautier On Losing Her Voice & Relearning How To Sing — From top: Tiffany HardWear Large Link earring in gold with diamonds; and Graduated Link necklace in rose gold with diamonds, TIFFANY & CO. Jacket, POLO RALPH LAUREN.

This condition has introduced a kind of uncertainty that is difficult to plan around, but Violette remains hopeful that she will recover and return to the stage. “I’m leaning into life and trusting whatever the universe gives me,” she says. “I truly believe that something good will happen after you fall. Lean into it—see where it goes.”

That decision to slow down and pay closer attention has started to shape the way she moves through her days lately. It’s an adjustment that feels particularly relevant now, but one she admits she probably needed even before this setback. “Sometimes you kind of forget to live,” she says. “You kind of drown yourself in work… and you’re not focusing on what you’re doing at the moment.”

She traces part of this to the way information is consumed now: Constant doom-scrolling, overstimulation, and emotions that change rapidly with every swipe. “When you’re on TikTok, it brings you everywhere,” she says. “You see something cute, you laugh; then something makes you cry; then something makes you mad… your emotions travel really fast.”

The result is that very little sticks. So she has been trying to interrupt that cycle in small ways, by sitting with her thoughts and allowing moments to unfold without immediately moving on from them. “Maybe it’s okay to be bored and not occupy yourself with anything. Try living moment by moment,” she reflects. It sounds simple, but it requires a shift in perspective.

Violette has always occupied a space that is slightly off-centre. Born in Japan to a Belgian father and Thai mother, and raised in Thailand, she grew up navigating multiple cultural identities at once. It is what makes her unique, but also what occasionally leaves her feeling slightly out of place. “In some ways, I do feel like I belong everywhere, like I’m a citizen of the world,” she says. “Sometimes I don’t feel like I belong 100 per cent, but at the same time, I know I do. It’s a very in-between feeling.”

That sense of being an outsider has never quite resolved itself, and perhaps it doesn’t need to. Instead, it has shaped the way she observes and processes the world. As a child, she was confident and expressive, naturally drawn to performing. “I was very loud and very performative,” she says. Her parents, she adds, gave her the freedom to explore both sides of that personality. “They really let me be myself, in the best and the worst ways possible.”

Music was always present in her life—through Disney films, piano lessons, and her father’s eclectic playlists. Artists like Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and The Beatles formed part of that early exposure, alongside newer discoveries. Her own influences now include Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lauv, and Rosalia. “I love [Rosalía’s] “Berghain”. Sonically, it’s very interesting. It’s so different from what we’re having in the market right now.”

She began writing songs in her teens, first on the piano and later on the guitar. At the time, she was also drawn to film and went on to study it at university. Music, however, offered something more immediate and personal. “Songwriting is a way for me to form my thoughts, to put my feelings into words, and understand how I really feel,” she says. “It’s very healing for me.”

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Her writing process isn’t fixed. Sometimes a melody comes first, followed by lyrics; other times it goes the other way; or everything falls into place at once. What remains consistent is where it comes from—Violette writes from the heart, drawing on her own experiences and emotions.

Her appearance on Season 2 of The Voice Thailand (2013) marked the first time she was introduced to a wider audience. She auditioned with “Leaving On a Jet Plane” and earned a four-chair turn, but didn’t make it past the knockout round. But the exposure opened doors: She landed her first acting role in the horror film The Swimmers (2014), and soon after, she received acting awards for Heart Attack (2015). She also signed with Universal Music Thailand in 2015 and was frequently invited to record songs for the films and television series she acted in.

The desire to shape her work on her own terms led to a more decisive move in 2018 when she left Universal Music to launch her own label, The Wautier Record. That year, she released her first English-language single, “Drive”, followed by “Smoke”, which became the most-viewed English song by a Thai artist on YouTube, with over 90 million views. It also ranked No. 1 in eight countries, including Singapore and Malaysia.

Now back at Universal Music, Violette admits that going independent for a couple of years was less about breaking away, and more about gaining a better understanding of her creative style. “I’m very particular about how I write and how I want to wrap lyrics with some kind of music,” she says. “I think I might be too controlling… not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. But I do want to let go a little bit more.”

Given her current circumstances, she is learning to loosen that control and let things happen naturally. It is a change she is still figuring out, but one that is necessary. “This is a new journey for me—to let go and let it flow more. We’ll see where it goes.”

No one understands the unpredictability of the entertainment business better than her boyfriend of seven years, Jirayu La-ongmanee (aka Kao), an actor and the lead singer of the band Retrospect. “He’s currently releasing an album, and it’s a lot to go through,” she shares. “Our relationship feels comfortable and safe, because there’s somebody who understands your situation. He’s always there for me, and I’m doing the same thing for him as well.”

Through the ups and downs, Violette has learnt that her career is never hers alone. She knows she is part of something much larger. Having moved between music, film, and now fashion shoots, she has seen how every collaborator—producers, stylists, photographers, crew—plays a role in shaping the final result. “There are so many people behind the scenes who make you who you are,” she says. She describes them as “parts of a machine”, each essential to the whole. It shows in the genuine rapport she shares with the people around her.

Looking back at the early years of her career, what stands out is not the sudden onset of fame, but her mindset. She describes a younger version of herself that was more guarded, more concerned with projecting a darker, moodier, and more “mysterious” image. She explains: “When I was younger, I wanted to look cool and be cool. It was so silly. If I could tell my younger self something, it’s just be yourself and do whatever you feel.”

Today, her priorities are clearer. “As a person, I want to stay true to myself and not get in my head… to a point where I want to do it for the money or fame,” she says. “I don’t want that to be the priority. I want it to always be about art and inspiration.”

Photographer AUPOR
Fashion Director JEFFREY YAN
Make-up Artist JIDAPA MOGMUED
Hairstylist MIN BOONSOD
Producer WANIDA PHANPAN
Photographer’s Assistants PANOT KOETANAN; SIMILAN PRANGPRASERT; KRISSADA SUKTHAVORN
Producer’s Assistant MONTRAI TOWANDEJSIRI
Stylist’s Assistants APINAN NITHIPANICH; WARATCHAYA PERNGRAT
Hairstylist’s Assistant KITTITHAT GANPAIROAR