Badran was born 12 November 1961 in
Sydney, Australia, one of two daughters, to Frederick George Badran, a
Lebanese Australian businessman in the textile industry, and Swiss-born Helga Badran (
née Horisberger; later
Countess
Fabbricotti; born 1936). She has an older sister Karin Tamina Deilmann (
née Badran). Her father was a
Lebanese Christian from
Beirut who came to Australia in the 1920s where he built up several businesses from scratch, including textile firm Badran's of
Wollongong. Later he was able to build a factory for menswear. Her father was introduced to her Swiss-born mother while staying at the
Baur au Lac in Zurich on a business trip. Badran spent her early years living in
Darling Point, Sydney, before relocating to Zurich in 1966. She attended the local schools before spending two
gap years traveling the world before studying
biology at the
University of Zurich. Badran also obtained a
licentiate in
economics and
political science from the
University of St. Gallen. == Professional career ==