When Rachel Marete won Miss Universe Kenya in 2005, she became the second Kenyan to win the title, which was formed in 2004. As opposed to many Kenyan pageant winners who use their fame to set up foundations which never last for long, she worked around the clock to be the best she could be in life.  Just recently,when she unveiled photos for her latest shoot with renowned photographer , who has photographed the likes of Barack Obama, Bruno Mars and Lionel Richie.

In 2007, at the tender age of 20, Rachel left for the US for better opportunities, all alone. It was a grand risk but as you know, go-getters go far.

She has since become an actress, TV host and singer, who’s making major moves in Beverly Hills, California. Rachel has seen her dream come true, setting up a company in LA.

All of this never came easy. She had to make sacrifices. For example, the gorgeous lady never sought to be a celebrity groupie. In fact, in a 2014 interview with an online publication, she said that she tries to keep her circle small.

“I keep my circle tiny because I believe it’s better to have 1 or 2, but good, friends than 100 that I can’t count on to have my best interests at heart. I do have many acquaintances though but I give the title of “friend” to a very select few,” she said.

From my interaction with her, I could tell that she’s all about the positive things that matter in life.

“Remember, people only shake a tree because they want to make it's fruit fall down. My motto in life is and has always been "you only fail if you don't try". I believe in you. Just daring to dream alone tells me you can so do it,” she told me.

For those who think that life in Los Angeles is all about glamour and the fast life, you’ll be surprised to know what people are doing when not on TV or doing photo shoots for magazines.

Click to know what actors do in Hollywood when they are not filming or auditioning! >

“Well, the actors and actresses working on restaurants obviously are not the big name people yet because they are still hustling, hence the reason. There's even a reality show here called Vanderpump Rules that follows this group of hot waiters and waitresses that are also aspiring actors at this trendy restaurant called Sur. They are now famous for being struggling actors working in a restaurant! I find that funny,” she reveals.

For her, going to the top has always been about consistency and hard work.

Rachel has been in the TV scene for a long run but decided to take a break to set up her business. Before she did, she was an employee working across many fields, from sales to marketing. The hardest part of the job is that she was being closely monitored! From having GPS trackers cars to struggling to find her lone time so that she could go to auditions, it was not a joke.

“I'd taken a two year break from the entertainment business because I got to a point where I felt burned out and thought I needed a break. I focused on building my Medical Sales business and this year was my official comeback. Turns out it was the best decision. I'm now rejuvenated and have the fire back and I recently got myself an amazing Hollywood agent so I've been auditioning a lot lately and I'm part of an Indie movie with a great cast that's in pre-production now,” the Beverly Hills resident adds.

“My biggest challenge was always needing a regular supplementary income job so as not to starve while hustling as an actress/ TV host because there are millions of us here, all very talented going for the same roles, so it can get tough. I was always driving and my employers would have these GPS trackers that track our every move so sneaking off to auditions was quite tricky."

"In the end I'd just be too exhausted to dedicate anymore time to what I actually wanted to do. As a result, the job you took to pay bills with ends up taking over your whole week and it's very frustrating. Being a foreigner, I'm independent so I did not have the luxury of not doing it. Or some trust fund from rich parents so I didn't have to worry so I hard to work work work. On the other hand, I was pretty good at my job and figured I could do this on my own."

"That's when I decided to start my own company, call my own shots to where my bases are covered financially but I have time to pursue my dreams. It was a big risk and really tough to begin but it has been well worth it.”

Rachel is a perfect example of a young lady who early in life. She went for her dreams and achieved them. You too can be the best you can be in life. Be sure to follow her on and to get her latest updates!