Gavin Newsom’s wife opens up about accident that killed her sister
Eden Villalovas
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Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), spoke openly about the loss of her sister over four decades ago, reflecting on the mental health implications the accident had.
Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and staunch gender equality advocate, expressed to the Los Angeles Times how the childhood tragedy has shaped her work in California.
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Siebel Newsom was on a family vacation in Hawaii in 1981 just before her seventh birthday when she was involved in a golf cart accident while playing with several other children. Siebel Newsom’s older sister, Stacey, was hiding behind the cart when it moved backward, killing the 8-year-old.
“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,” Siebel Newsom told the LA Times in a Thursday interview. “I don’t use the word ‘crazy.’ But you know, it’s aspirational.”
California’s first partner said the accident caused her to take on academically rigorous challenges, including in sports and the arts.
She graduated with honors from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies in 1996 and a master’s degree in business administration in 2001.
As a feminist, Siebel Newsom went on to make multiple films to raise awareness about gender inequality. Miss Representation, an award-winning documentary from 2011, discussed gender bias in the media, including interviews with journalists, politicians, activists, academics, and more. Siebel Newsom later created The Mask You Live in 2015. It was about toxic masculinity, and she most recently made Fair Play in 2022, exploring the gender pay gap in the United States.
Siebel Newsom testified in November 2022 at Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial, alleging the former film producer and convicted sex offender raped her in a hotel room in 2005.
“I thought if I went and spoke my truth that — I didn’t realize how much sexism and misogyny still exists in our culture,” Siebel Newsom said. “I was shocked by that. I was shocked. I really was. I mean, shame on me.”
A Los Angeles jury deadlocked on her accusations in the case in December. Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in another case in February 2023, receiving a 16-year sentence for the 2013 crime.
“It was a horrific experience. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Siebel Newsom said, telling the LA Times she felt assaulted “all over again.”
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Pulling from the experiences of her traumas, Siebel Newsom hopes to push for more funding in women and children’s mental health before Newsom steps down as governor in 2026. In 2011, she founded the Representation Project, a movement that uses film and media content as a watchdog for inequality in gender. Siebel Newsom told the outlet she hopes to make California a safe place for gender equality.
“A place where we’ve achieved equity and women have seats at the tables of power, where there’s no more wage gap, less violence against women, where we’ve institutionalized in government and in the private sector family-friendly workplace policies, recognizing that people have lives outside of work, and where your children are known to have the best start in life,” Siebel Newsom said.