Breaking into the music industry requires spirit and self-determination, so St Albans singer/songwriter Laura Jeanne should have no trouble achieving her goal of pop stardom.

The 24-year-old has been writing her own songs since the age of 17. She attended Garden Fields School and St Albans Girls before taking a fashion design degree at The University of Hertfordshire.

Laura Jeanne Smith is a talented artist, as you can see from the live drawing she does on the video for her debut single Coincidence and she’s also been able to create her own look, an intriguing blend of military style jackets teamed with floaty, feminine skirts.

“I always thought I’d be an artist,” says Laura Jeanne. “I did a fashion degree mainly because I did a deal with my parents that once I’d got my qualifications I could then go for it with the music. I actually didn’t know I could sing until I was 16. I was in the school play and it was a musical of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night done ‘80s-style, called Night Twirl. I did the backing vocals and they said ‘you’ve got to do something with that voice’.

“I’ve always been passionate about music. I learned violin from the age of four to 13 using the Suzuki method where you are taught by ear but could cope with the theory. Then my parents bought me a guitar as a hobby, but then I taught myself some chords and wrote some poetry and by an organic process they’ve become songs.”

Although unsigned, Laura Jeanne played at an open-air concert in Cassiobury Park in Watford about three years ago and recently had gigs at London venues such as The Hard Rock Café, Chinawhite, Café De Paris and The Troubadour. She has also written songs for EMI and recorded some of her own original material at Universal Music.

Listening to Laura Jeanne’s music, I can see she has potential – there’s a dreamy quality to her voice and the guitar-led songs would certainly appeal to the European market. For me, the mix wasn’t quite right though – I wanted Laura Jeanne’s lyrics to power through more not be drowned in instrumentals, but it’s early days, so hopefully remixes should address that problem.

In the meantime, this plucky young woman is brushing up on her performance skills by working as a film and TV extra. She’s already worked on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2), Sherlock Holmes 2, Holby City and EastEnders. More recently she was chosen to be a nurse on Downton Abbey and worked as Anna Friel’s body-double in a new ITV drama.

You get the feeling, wherever she gets her lucky break, it won’t be long before things start to pay off for Laura Jeanne.

“I am working very hard to make sure I realise my dream. So far, I have done absolutely everything on my own without a manager. I’ve done it all from teaching myself guitar and piano, to designing my own fashion collection to wear for my stage performances. You have to be 100 per cent focused and dedicated.”

Coincidence is released on May 22. Details: www.myspace.com/laurajeanneuk