More than being an English actress and a television personality, Danniella Westbrook has always held the attention of many for one or two reasons. Even as she announced over a decade ago that she’s done with being a celebrity, it hasn’t made her less famous in any way.
Danniella is still super famous and probably most admired for playing Samantha Mitchell in EastEnders, the BBC soap opera. Most recently, she is known for her role in the Irish TV program Livin’ with Lucy, and In Therapy, a British tv reality series. Tag along as we explore the facts of Danniella Westbrook’s life.
Who Is Danniella Westbrook?
Also known as Danniella Morgan and Danniella Jenkins, this English actress was born on the 5th of November and in the year 1973. If you check her records, you will find that her place of birth was in Walthamstow, located in London, England.
But then, it was in Loughton, Essex that she was raised by her parents alongside her siblings. Her parents, Sue and Andy respectively worked as shop assistants and cab drivers. Danniella has a sister named Georgia Elizabeth Westbrook and two brothers – Andrew Jay Westbrook and Justin Drew Westbrook.
She was one of those kids who knew what they were cut out for even before they comprehend what life is all about. Danniella would agree she’s always wanted to be famous right from when she was still a child. This inspired her to become a model when she was only seven. From modeling, she became an actress and has remained relevant ever since. But then, her journey to stardom brought her a good measure of trouble. The following are facts you should know about Danniella Westbrook.
5 Facts You Need To Know About Danniella Westbrook
1. She’s had a wild struggle with drug addiction
Those who have always made a case about the dangers of fame among youngsters would easily refer to Danniella Westbrook to stress their point. She became famous at a very young age and it got her trying cocaine when she was only 14. In the next few years that followed, she became an addict as her life headed for destruction.
To fix herself, she went for rehab and spent half a year treating her dependency on psychoactive substances. Westbrook came out proclaiming that she had ended her affairs with cocaine but that was far from the truth as it was pretty obvious to everyone that she was stoned almost always. Danniella had to get back to rehab to truly get clean.
2. She was once kidnapped and gang-raped
Danniella Westbrook’s addiction caused her a lot of pain, she spent so much on getting high and ran out of cash at some point. Things got messy for her when she couldn’t pay some group of drug dealers. The guys kidnapped and held her captive for three days; all the while, the group of men took turns in raping her after they drugged her. Owing to her drug problem, Danniella couldn’t bring herself to report the crime, she believed she will only be blamed for what she suffered.
3. Danniella Westbrook has attempted suicide several times
This actress’ addiction to cocaine didn’t only cost her over £250,000; it was so bad it damaged her nose. Danniella Westbrook despised herself for this and made several attempts to take her life. According to her, she overdosed on paracetamol a couple of times to end her life because cocaine made a walking dead out of her.
4. She once dislocated her eye in a car accident
Overdosing on paracetamol to kill herself isn’t the only date Danniella has had with death. Way back in 1998, she and her lover Robert Fernandez were involved in an ugly car crash that left her with a dislocated eye and other severe facial injuries. It is said that she was thrown out through the windscreen of the car that Robert was driving. The man was reportedly overspeeding. Thankfully, the actress didn’t suffer any disfigurement that corrective surgery couldn’t fix.
5. Lady Westbrook has been married twice
Apart from Robert, Danniella Westbrook is known for her relationship with Brian Harvey the English musician. What she had with Robert led to the birth of her son Kia; he was born sometime in November 1996. But then, sharing a child didn’t stop what they had from falling apart. They stopped being lovers in 1997 with Westbrook moving on to Ben Morgan in 1998. He married the van driver that same year but whatever it was that they had ended as quickly as it started. They divorced in 1999 just after 9 months of marriage.
A few years later, precisely on the 27th of December 2001, Danniella Westbrook got married to Kevin Jenkins. With the millionaire businessman, Danniella birthed her second child on the 5th of September 2001 and they named her Jody Jenkins. The marriage didn’t work out for Danniella as she wanted as they divorced in 2014. Kevin once revealed that her addiction made it difficult for them to remain together as a married couple.
