Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, accidentally killed her sister during a family vacation in 1981.
The day the accident happened was a few days before Siebel Newsom’s 7th birthday, she told the Los Angeles Times.
Siebel Newsom, the second-eldest of five sisters, was playing on golf carts in Hawaii with other children when she backed her cart up without noticing that her older sister Stacey, 8, was hiding behind it.
The cart ran over Stacey, killing her.
Siebel Newsom responded to the childhood trauma by pushing herself academically, and in the arts and sports, she told the Times.
“I felt the pressure to be perfect, to make my parents forget, by being two daughters instead of one,” she said.
Siebel Newsom attended Stanford University, where she played soccer and earned an MBA.
“I’m sure there was survivor’s guilt, and I’m sure, in my subconscious, it’s like I have to make up for that loss, and I have to do something to improve other people’s lives or have an impact, double my own, which is a little crazy,” the 48-year-old said.
Siebel Newsom made headlines in November when she took the witness stand in Los Angeles to testify against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
She accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in a suite at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills in 2005. Siebel Newsom was an aspiring actress at the time, who had landed guest roles on various television programs and parts in films.
In December, the jury in the case deadlocked concerning her allegations, and prosecutors announced the case would not be retried.
In addition to being “first partner” of California (Siebel Newsom had the title changed from first lady), she is a documentary filmmaker.
Her most recent film is “Fair Play” (2022) based on the book of the same name about gender imbalances in the home.
Gov. Newsom has been raising his national profile in recent months through targeted television ads, and this week sat down for an interview with conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Sean Hannity shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom 90 seconds of Biden’s “struggles,” then asks him if Biden is “cognitively strong enough to lead this country against China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and a new axis of evil.”
Newsom says he’s “seen a master class in results” ? pic.twitter.com/P7iCSiIx2w
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 13, 2023
Newsom’s media push, along with his wife’s lengthy interview with the Times, will likely fuel speculation that he is waiting in the wings to launch a presidential bid, should President Joe Biden decide to pull out of the 2024 race, or perhaps if he appears vulnerable in the Democratic primaries.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.