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A COLLAPSED JAW
Once a household name on EastEnders, 16-year-old Danniella Westbrook captured the hearts of viewers with her fiery portrayal of Sam Mitchell, quickly becoming one of the UK’s most beloved soap stars.
However, behind her rise to fame lay a steep price. Today, Danniella faces the painful consequences of her past: deteriorating bones, a collapsed jaw, and a shattered cheekbone — all due to years of battling addiction.
DREAMING OF FAME
Born in 1973 and raised in Loughton, just outside London, Danniella Westbrook had dreams of stardom from an early age. By the time she was seven, she had already started her modeling career. Unlike many of her showbiz peers, Danniella didn’t come from a celebrity family — her father was a taxi driver, and her mother worked as a shop assistant.
Despite this, her career took off early. As a child model, she landed major gigs with global brands like Coca-Cola and Opel. Before long, Danniella stepped into acting, eventually making a name for herself in a way she had only dreamed of.
She appeared as a young thief in Melvyn Bragg’s London Programme, performed in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and even starred in the music video for Queen’s The Invisible Man.
Perhaps most ironically, Danniella’s first appearance on EastEnders came when she was just 11, roller-skating across Albert Square as an extra. A local paper even ran a story predicting she might one day become the show’s star. Little did they know how true that would be.
A DANGEROUS ADDICTION
By the time Danniella turned 16, her childhood dream was becoming a reality. She landed the role of Sam Mitchell, the fiery younger sister of Phil and Grant, on EastEnders in 1990. After a successful audition, she became an overnight sensation. With her natural charisma and on-screen presence, Danniella quickly became a fan favorite, starring in some of the show’s most iconic storylines.
However, after just three years, she made the shocking decision to leave the show in 1993, eager to explore other acting opportunities. But fame was not done with her yet. In 1995, EastEnders producers invited her back, offering her a chance to reprise her role as Sam Mitchell.
Behind the scenes, however, Danniella was battling a dangerous cocaine addiction — one that was slowly consuming her life and career.
Her addiction began long before her rise to fame. She first tried cocaine at 14, and by the time she landed the role of Sam Mitchell, she was already immersed in London’s party scene. What started as occasional use quickly spiraled into regular cocaine use, with Danniella admitting to using “half a gram” once a week.
She later reflected, “I was always in clubs and everyone was doing coke and it was glamorous – except, obviously, it wasn’t at all. I was just very young, very stupid, and easily led. I think there should be someone at EastEnders to warn young people, ‘Your life is about to change, and you’ll be offered drugs.’”
A COSTLY ADDICTION
As her addiction grew, so did the consequences. Danniella’s behavior became erratic, and she started arriving late to work. Her career, once on an upward trajectory, began to crumble.
In 1995, Danniella checked herself into the Charter Nightingale Clinic in London, a renowned rehab facility. At the height of her addiction, she admitted to spending over $300,000 on cocaine. The toll it took on her life was more than just financial. Her addiction destroyed her relationship with pop star Brian Harvey and spiraled into a series of emotional and physical lows.
She later admitted, “I’m every parent’s nightmare. I’ve done it all. I’m constantly apologizing to my mom and dad.”
Danniella continued to use cocaine during her first pregnancy, which worsened her health. At her lowest point, she revealed that she had attempted suicide multiple times while struggling with the depths of addiction.
STEPPING AWAY FROM TV
By 1996, EastEnders producers had seen enough. They made the decision to write her out of the show. Despite her troubled past, they took a gamble on Danniella in 1999, bringing her back as Sam Mitchell. However, years of drug abuse had left lasting damage. Her nasal septum was destroyed, and producers had to film her from certain angles to hide the damage.
Throughout the 2000s, Danniella’s appearances on EastEnders were sporadic. Sometimes she played Sam Mitchell; other times, she was replaced by Kim Medcalf. Outside the soap, she appeared on reality TV shows like Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Big Brother. Despite stepping away from television in 2016, she continued to make headlines in the British press.
HEALTH STRUGGLES
Danniella’s struggles have not only been career-related. She has faced serious health challenges, including mental health issues. In a 2017 appearance on Loose Women, she opened up about her diagnoses, saying, “I have borderline personality disorder, I’m bipolar, [paranoid] schizophrenia, I’ve got lots of different things.”
In 2018, Danniella was misdiagnosed with womb cancer, but thankfully, she was given the all-clear the following year. In 2022, she was hospitalized with sepsis, but with swift treatment, she made a full recovery.
A HORRIFIC CAR ACCIDENT
In 1998, tragedy struck when Danniella was in a horrific car accident. She was thrown through the windshield at 85 mph, suffering severe facial injuries, including a dislocated eye. Miraculously, after surgery, she avoided permanent disfigurement.
Later that same year, Danniella married Ben Morgan, a van driver she had only known for eight weeks. They moved to Australia, but their whirlwind romance fizzled out, and they divorced less than a year later. She then married Kevin Jenkins, a businessman, in 2001, shortly after giving birth to their daughter, Jodie.
For a time, Danniella seemed to be settling into a quieter life. After appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2003, she even declared that she was done chasing fame, saying, “These days, I live an ordinary life. I work occasionally, but I also do the school run and laundry and prepare my family’s dinner.” However, by 2014, her marriage to Kevin had ended.
DANNIELLA TODAY
As of 2025, Danniella continues to make headlines, but now it’s often due to her appearance rather than her acting career. At 51, she has undergone numerous plastic surgeries, some of which have led to painful complications. After a surgery in Turkey, she struggled with excruciating pain while in Portugal, describing it as “the worst in days.”
She’s faced heavy criticism from fans for her cosmetic procedures, but Danniella has admitted to feeling anxious about the results. After undergoing liposuction, fillers, and Botox, she confessed, “I can’t lie. After the liposuction, fillers, and Botox, I was so swollen I thought I was going to burst, and I think the medical team was tired of me asking if this was normal.”
Some of her surgeries, however, have been necessary for health reasons. She was forced to undergo jaw reconstruction after cocaine abuse caused significant bone deterioration. Reflecting on the effects of her addiction, she said, “I just don’t look like me anymore. It’s clear I’m going to age much faster because of drugs, but I didn’t need that.”
At one point, she even experienced her cheeks collapsing. She described waking up to find the left side of her face completely sunken, a far cry from the glamorous look she once had.
Danniella’s journey has been filled with both physical and emotional struggles, but she continues to share her experiences, remaining in the public eye despite everything.