- Jennifer Siebel Newsom opens out about accidentally killing her older sister in a freak accident 40 years ago
- The actress and documentary filmmaker revealed that the incident left her feeling "pressure to be perfect"
- At the time of the accident in 1981, then six-year-old Newsom was playing with eight-year-old sister Stacey with several other kids
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, an actress, documentary filmmaker, and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, opens up about accidentally killing her sister 40 years ago in a freak golf cart accident.
She argued that the incident had left her feeling "pressure to be perfect" and make up for the loss that she caused to her parents. At the time, Newsom was only six years old and playing with her eight-year-old sister Stacey alongside other children on the golf carts while their family was on vacation in Hawaii in 1981.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom's Life Against Tragedy
Then, the golf cart that Newsom was riding in suddenly went into reverse, running over her sister and killing her. She did not see her older sibling hiding behind the vehicle she was driving, as per the New York Post.
In an interview on Thursday, Newsom said that she wanted to help her parents forget about the tragedy by "being two daughters instead of one." She added that survivor's guilt is in her subconscious, pressuring her to make up for the loss she accidentally caused.
Newsom said that she felt compelled to do something to improve other people's lives or have a greater impact on society. She later added that she knew she was being hard on herself, arguing that a six- or seven-year-old cannot be asked to understand such complicated things.
The 48-year-old actress is the oldest of four surviving daughters of her conservative family whose patriarch, Jen Siebel, was a Republican donor. She married the California governor in 2008 while he was in the middle of his tenure as San Francisco's mayor.
Prior to becoming an actress and working in the industry, she played soccer at Stanford University, where she got her MBA, and she was also known to represent the U.S. under-23 national team.
Testifying Against Harvey Weinstein
On top of the tragedy of her sister's death, Newsom opened up about her "horrific experience" of testifying against disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein. The actress told a court that the former producer sexually assaulted her during a meeting in 2005 at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, according to the Independent.
Newsom has spent her political career trying to tell women's stories and upending the gender imbalance that permeates life in the United States. Following her testimony against Weinstein, she said that after she spoke her truth, she was surprised to realize how much sexism and misogyny still exist in today's culture.
The defense attorney for Weinstein, Mark Werksman, labeled Newsom as just another "bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead in Hollywood." Another defense attorney belittled the actress' testimony where she sobbed while describing being sexually assaulted, calling it an "act," said the Los Angeles Times.