46 Facts About Danniella Westbrook

Danniella Westbrook was born on 5 November 1973 and is an English actress and television personality.

Danniella Westbrook is best known for playing Sam Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Danniella Westbrook competed in the fifth series of Dancing on Ice in 2010, with US Pairs Skater Matthew Gonzalez, and finished fourth in the competition.

In 2013, Danniella Westbrook appeared in the soap opera Hollyoaks as Trudy Ryan.

Danniella Westbrook had a much publicised cocaine addiction throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, which caused the complete erosion of her nasal septum.

Danniella Westbrook has released two autobiographies, The Other Side of Nowhere and Faith, Hope and Clarity.

Danniella Westbrook was born in Walthamstow, London, and grew up in Loughton, Essex.

Danniella Westbrook's father Andy was a cab driver, and later a carpet contractor, while her mother, Sue, was a shop assistant.

Danniella Westbrook has a younger brother, Jay, and an elder half-brother, Justin, from a previous marriage of her father's.

Danniella Westbrook started modelling at the age of seven and then progressed to acting.

Danniella Westbrook joined the Sylvia Young Theatre School when she was eight, attending Saturday classes.

Danniella Westbrook was sent to a local private school, until, at the age of 12, her parents allowed her to attend Sylvia Young Theatre School as a full-time student, where Denise Van Outen, Dani Behr and her future EastEnders co-stars, Nicola Stapleton and Samantha Janus, were among her contemporaries.

Danniella Westbrook started off modelling at the age of seven for the supermarket Asda.

Danniella Westbrook went on to launch Next's children's fashionware, became the face of high street store Tammy Girl, took part in a Weetabix campaign and featured in advertisements for Opel cars and Coca-Cola.

Danniella Westbrook progressed into acting, appearing as a child thief in Melvyn Bragg's London Programme and the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Danniella Westbrook appeared in the music video for the song "The Invisible Man" by Queen and had a minor role in Grange Hill.

At the age of 16, Danniella Westbrook was put forward for a much bigger role in EastEnders, Sam Mitchell.

Danniella Westbrook's audition was successful, and her first appearance on EastEnders was aired in July 1990.

However, Danniella Westbrook was regularly using cocaine and it began to affect her work.

However, Danniella Westbrook's drug taking had not ended, and in 2000, she was asked to leave EastEnders again.

Danniella Westbrook returned to screens in September 2009 for two temporary stints, departing on 7 January and 21 September 2010.

Danniella Westbrook again reprised the role of Sam for four episodes airing between 30 June and 8 July 2016.

Danniella Westbrook played a part in Dave Stewart's short film directorial debut, Entertaining Mr Simpson.

In 2003, Danniella Westbrook was a contestant in the second series of British ITV reality television show I'm a Celebrity.

Danniella Westbrook quit the show after nine days, before being voted off.

In 2006, Danniella Westbrook appeared on a reality TV special of The Weakest Link where she lost in the head-to-head final round.

Danniella Westbrook was reportedly offered the role of Natalie Buxton in the ITV prison series Bad Girls, but she declined because of her nose rebuilding operation.

Danniella Westbrook turned down a small role in Footballers Wives and the role of money grabber Suzie Samson in ITV soap opera Crossroads.

Danniella Westbrook, who has admitted to having breast enhancements, co-presented Cosmetic Surgery Live alongside Vanessa Feltz.

Danniella Westbrook has presented and starred in a series of fitness DVDs.

Danniella Westbrook competed in the fifth series of Dancing on Ice and was partnered by newcomer professional Matthew Gonzalez in 2010.

Danniella Westbrook was eliminated from the show in the semi-finals, placing fourth overall.

Danniella Westbrook was due to reprise her role as Trudy on Hollyoaks in 2015, however this was cancelled with a representative from Hollyoaks claiming that she "breached her contract".

Danniella Westbrook has not performed for TV or film since mid 2016.

Danniella Westbrook played The Fairy Godmother for one-night only, on 12 December 2022, at The Prince of Wales Theatre on Drury Lane.

Danniella Westbrook said that she first tried the drug at the age of 14, in a nightclub.

In May 2000, Danniella Westbrook was photographed at the British Soap Awards, where an image of her missing columella was given to a series of tabloid newspapers, unveiling her secret and highlighting her improper drug use.

Danniella Westbrook was checked into rehab and, six months later, she appeared on the Channel 4 programme The Priory with the claim that she was clean and had been free from drugs for months.

However, hosts Jamie Theakston and Zoe Ball struggled to get coherent answers from Danniella Westbrook, who was clearly under the influence of drugs despite her claims of abstinence.

Danniella Westbrook has since undergone reconstructive surgery on her nose, to replace her eroded septum and columella.

In 2019, Danniella Westbrook appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show to talk about her continued drug use, and it was arranged for her to enter drug rehabilitation.

Danniella Westbrook said on Channel 5's Jeremy Vine that Kyle's intervention had saved her life.

In 1998, Danniella Westbrook was involved in a car accident which left her with severe facial injuries, including a dislocated eye.

Danniella Westbrook was flung through the car windscreen but survived, and after corrective surgery had no long-term or major disfigurement.

Danniella Westbrook married businessman Kevin Jenkins on 27 December 2001, almost four months after the birth of their daughter on 5 September that year.

In May 2017, Danniella Westbrook discussed her mental health on the panel series Loose Women, saying: "I have borderline personality disorder, I'm bipolar, [paranoid] schizophrenia, I've got lots of different things".