Deanne was born on 10 December 1968[6] to a Scottish and Nepalese father and a Luso-Indian mother.[7] After completing her education as a trained commercial artist at Delhi Polytechnic, she transitioned into the modeling industry upon relocating to Mumbai[8] and appeared in Baba Sehgal's pop video "Aage Aage Ladki" in 1993. She married Chikki Panday on 5 March 1994, after a decade-long relationship,[8] and the couple has a son and a daughter.[9] Panday also studied personal training and gym management at a fitness academy in Australia, making her the first individual in India to undertake such training abroad during that period.[10]
Career
She started her career at an early age and began training at the age of just 12.[11] In 2000, she assumed the role of training the contestants of the Miss India pageant for 30 days.[12][13] In 2008, she founded Panday Trading Private Limited and Play Health and Fitness Private Limited, a gym which she managed for a span of four years.[10]
She started her career as an author in 2011 with her debut book, "I'm Not Stressed: Secrets for a Calm Mind and a Healthy Body," which was published by Random House India. Following the success of her first book, she released "Shut Up and Train!: A Complete Fitness Guide for Men and Women" in December 2013.[14] Both of her first two books became national bestsellers.[15] In 2016, Deanne was the recipient of the Elle Fitness Expert Award as part of the Elle Beauty Awards presented by Elle (magazine), recognizing her significant contributions to the fitness industry.[16] She authored her third book, "Balance: The Secret to True Health and Happiness in 13 Ways," in December 2020. She was among the first trainers to introduce anti-gravity yoga to Mumbai[17] and was the only certified anti-gravity fitness expert in India in 2013.[18]
