[Six degrees] Diana Jenkins: "Snobs drove me to leave Britain"
Posted 12 November 2009 at 1:20 AM by Caged |
ThisIsLondon (and as reported in the Telegraph)
Just for info: Jenkins co-hosted the Darfur fundraiser with Clooney in London in 2008 which raised £10m and produced Room 23 featuring Clooney, Crawford and others in aid of her own human rights clinic.
With a thump, the latest issue of Tatler arrives. This unashamed paean to elitism and luxury carries an interview with Diana Jenkins, a 36-year-old ex-Bosnian refugee married to Roger Jenkins, the former £40 million-a-year Barclays star banker.
Yet, despite having become rich in our city, Diana is curiously bitter about London. The high-cheekboned Diana, or to use her real name, Sanela, came here penniless: "London for me was about hustling, surviving, about where I could find a job to earn money." She did make money - enough to enable her to set up a jewellery business....
Then she met Roger. The brother of David Jenkins, the ex-Olympic athlete and UK 400 metre champion who was jailed in 1988 in the US for trafficking anabolic steroids, Roger was no slouch on the track himself: he went on to forge a hugely successful City career, establishing Barclays' tax avoidance division.
By her own account, Sanela - sorry, Diana - entered wealthy, high London society and hated it. "[The wives] treated me like I was an Eastern European mail-order bride. I realised that, unfortunately, with social girls if you have a big diamond ring they will talk to you, so I wore a diamond ring. My lovely husband bought me a diamond ring. It hurt him to see how snobbily I was treated."
Finally, she realised at a charity dinner she was bored with London. "I looked around the room and thought, 'What am I doing here with all these people?" So she went to Malibu and "took off all her jewellery and put it away for good".
"Money," she says, "is a wonderful thing." But she adds: "You have to have your priorities right first. No kid wants the private plane first - they want their parents... That's where all those social girls get it so wrong. "My kids would rather be with me in a shack than with a stranger in a private plane who calls themselves mother. It's basic really."
Putting on one side what she and her husband thought they would achieve with such an outpouring, what bothers me here is the image she paints of London. Clearly, she found her gilded cage existence to be hell. The snobs drove her out. Bless.
What's bizarre about her attack is that it is so wrong.
It seems to have escaped her attention that there aren't many cities in the world which are as accommodating as London. Despite her mysterious past - she won't say how she came to get here ("Well, it was not good but I am not ready to tell that part yet") - and her lack of official paperwork (she had no passport), she managed to get on. London, for her and her husband, was a town of incredible opportunity.
It was that aspect she was able to exploit so successfully. Hubby came from a family tainted by scandal and specialised in helping people avoid tax - yet was fêted. She didn't go to a smart school or come from an old, moneyed family - but was still able to rise to the top of London society.
Once there, she found it boring. But Diana, nobody forced you to wear a white fur bikini at a caveman-themed party - as you once did - let alone the diamond ring. And there are plenty of wealthy people in London who do just what you do in California, running charities and doing good works. Besides, does the US society in which you now glide judge people any differently to London?
Doesn't Malibu have its own brand of elitism - one that depends on the size of your bank account, the scale of the villa in which you live and the stars you mix with?
By contrast with that world, this week the Evening Standard held a party to celebrate London's Influentials - the 1,000 most influential people in the capital, as chosen by this newspaper. It's possible - and right - to argue with that selection. The point is that in the room and in the list were self-made tycoons, artists, voluntary workers, politicians, teachers and doctors. Yes, there were some who had been born with silver spoons - but they were not the majority.
There were those who had been raised in foreign lands, like Diana Jenkins was, who settled here. There were others who grew up in poverty in London or elsewhere in the UK and worked their way up. Nobody passed judgment on any of them. At the party there were plenty of women present; I wasn't aware of guests eyeing up rings or necklaces or avoiding someone because they were not dressed as expensively. Of course, discrimination and prejudice exist. But London is increasingly inclusive and meritocratic.
Twenty years ago, said Dr Philip Beresford when he started the Sunday Times Rich List, "75 per cent of those on the list were from inherited wealth and 25 per cent were not. Now, it's 25 per cent inherited and 75 per cent not".
Business and the City used to be dominated by those who were given substantial leg-ups by their forebears. Today, those who call the shots did it themselves - people like Sir Richard Branson, Lord Sugar, Sir Philip Green and Michael Spencer.
London is changing fast. This week, the bodies of the five soldiers killed in Afghanistan were repatriated. One of the victims was due to be commissioned in the Grenadier Guards, traditionally the most blue-blooded and sniffy of all army regiments. His name was Darren Chant and he was born in Walthamstow.
Diana, it's hard to know what exactly you're complaining about. London is a great city that did you proud. And most of us value its openness and opportunities - even if the weather is better in Malibu.
Well I suppose when you tell people you were Pam Andersons bridesmaid people will look at you a bit funny.
I don't get the bit about moving to the US helping her husbands career though, he still lives in London last I heard and I can't see him taking to the Malibu life style.
This could also be spin re the real reason he is/might be leaving England. The rumour is that the UK tax department is about to start combing through Banks and Bankers dealings and off shore funds and he saw it coming as early as March when he started his exit strategy.
Where will Roger set up home?
Oh, there was a really good Diana Jenkins suck up piece a few weeks ago about her new life in the US too.
Yes just a simple everyday mum
She seems very open about herself and seems quite genuine and tells a great story, but she isn't above the white wash either, the story doing the rounds for years was that she met Roger at college when she was a student and he was a teacher there, then it was revealed Roger never taught at the college, he only gave one or two lectures, so it changed to 'met at the gym' but someone who knew her in the early days says she met Roger when she was a hostess in a London strip club. Not a crime as she said she did what it took to make ends meet, but it also illustrates she can spin it with the best of them
I can never make up my mind whether I like Diana or not. She is certainly a character and appears to be very likeable, a true Mills and Boon heroine....Hollywood is probably writing the story as we speak with Jerry Wientraub producing.
Well she's right on the snobbery bit, there are huge egos in the elite fundraiser circles she moves in, but that's not specific to London. Regarding her work as a fundraiser, I have a lot of respect for her because I know of things she's been involved with privately and on the down low, but this outpouring makes her seem just as petty and shallow as the world she claims rejected her. It's almost as if she's saying, had she been embraced by this shallowness, she'd still be queening it in London.
Make up your mind, Diana.
I have no doubt she must be smart to get where she is now but please Malibu can be just as snobby as London or NYC. However hanging out with celebs in Malibu has got to be a lot more fun than hob nobbing with upper class Brits
Diana is a strong woman. I'll definitely give her that. It is admirable that she seems to be such an altruistic person. (Okay now here comes the cynic in me -- charities are a great tax write-off. No one does things for just one reason.)
She does like to mix with celebrities though. It sounds like she wants to create her own "elite" circle in her private life. And she intends to be queen.
Well, I'm glad she did survive the Bosnian tragedy. I'm glad for her that she has a much better life now. Really.
I think England got too small for her socially. And there's already a queen. Interesting how she moves to CA and finds bosom buddies like Pam Anderson and Kid Rock. Is this the best she could do? (And, sorry, Sydnee , but Cindy is also a good pal.) Such a circle of friends. You send out mixed messages, Diana.
I DO think there's still a bit of the old class system at work in Britain that doesn't exist in the US. Here, society is much more based on money & celebrity than breeding. Even here in NY the "old guard" society families barely exist anymore. Brooke Astor's death a few years ago may have signaled the end of that forever. You only have to look at the people attending the Costume Institute dinner(which was always considered THE social event of the season) to see it. It used to be entirely populated by society matrons...now it's ALL actors & actresses.
Hey! We hang out with Caged, our very own upper class Brit, and she is tons of fun. You better take that back, hotpinksky. :)
I meant no disrespect to Caged or any other Brits on this site :)
ahahhaaaa Syd & Hotpink! :) When I'm finished trying to manage my many vast households and keeping my pantry maids and ladies-in-waiting and man servants and butlers in line, I'll be back to get offended by this terrible slight on the upper crusties.
Hotpink, insult them all you like, the ones Jenkins refers to here deserve every insult going.
However, this is about snobbery, not wealth or class. It's not the old money that are waving their diamonds around and turning their noses up, it's the pretentious snobs - not, by and large, the same people at all. Sure, they have money but their attitudes debar them from any categorising which includes the word class. Class is the one thing they don't have. Unfortunately, the latter are very influential when it comes to fundraising and these people, I would imagine, are the ones who decided Jenkins wasn't one of 'them' and possibly influenced her decision to move away.
In any case, I'm sure she'll do well wherever she ends up.
“She exploits so successfully” seems to be what Diana is all about. She may very well be a wonderful person, but every interview of her reads the same - her poor, struggling beginnings, and her deceased brother are repeatedly mentioned, used too much like a crutch to win people over so they can feel sorry for her and then admire her tenacity to rise out of the rubble – – “don’t you feel bad about my other life and aren’t I strong and smart to move past it?” She may set up clinics and raise money for charities, but she never seems to do so without all the name dropping of her famous friends, since it will bring her the attention she desperately seeks. She always downplays her husband’s existence, almost in a dismissive, disturbing way, perhaps because it detracts from her rags to riches story (how much of struggle is it to marry someone to get out of poverty?).
She’s like a barnacle, surviving because she feeds off of the wealthy people she attaches herself to. She’s moved directly out of one wealthy society right into another and she wants people to feel sorry for her? Every business she started was with someone rich and famous. Her recent published book is a visual rolodex of her famous friends, rather than a meaningful tribute to anything – she did it to raise money for her charity and yet it sells for a ridiculous amount of $99.00! That is a big ego involved and no way to properly price a book to raise money for charity. Bet she hasn’t sold one copy. Her foundation has her name on it, rather than her brother’s name – ego again. Every interview comes across as too much patting herself on the back. I don’t get a feeling of compassion from her, as much as a strong desire for attention and a need to prove she’s a success to everyone, including herself. Is her heart in the right place, but her ego is in the way? Or does she use these charities to get attention? Agree with others - mixed signals.
One thing that is very clear - she is so George’s type and she knows it. She has a picture of him on a bathroom wall, so guests will see it and know they are friends (Emerald link article). She was the mystery woman with George in the hotel room photo in her book. George was her "co-host" for the book event. She mentions her kids spend every summer with her parents, so she is foot loose and fancy free (or shall we say Como-free). She’s “great” friends with Jerry Weintraub (who says she's old-style Hollywood and a proper old-time hostess). She also mentions she and her husband live independent lives and describes him as more like a trust fund provider than a husband.
She sounds like a woman plotting her next strategy. She recently moved to Los Angeles, but her husband hasn’t…hmmm, is this a woman moving herself into George’s future?
'Poor' Diana. All that money. And still snobbed.
Better than going to bed afraid and hungry after surviving another day of conflict in a refugee camp in ... Darfur, Chad, Congo, Somalia Pakistan, Afghanistan ......
Monika Jakisic. Croatian model on the yacht with George a couple of summers ago. Hands all over him. Monika and Diana good pals.
no way
I will ki** her!
Saviano yesterday was great
Ha! You don't say. Diana & Monika friends.
Another back story to the backstory ... lol
Still I saw a video with Cindy, Monika and Diana in St Tropez leaving the yacht and going ashore for lunch. Diana and Monika were walking on the beach giggling like bff.
Another article on Diana and snobbery
The wrong circles
Thanks, Em. Informative read, about English 'high society'.
Like this ...
“Other people reflect your status back at you,” says Rachel Johnson, editor of The Lady, “so if you move outside your circle you won’t be recognised. That’s why we seek worlds where our status will be recognised. Jenkins obviously didn’t choose her circles very well.”
I hope she has better luck in ... Malibu.
GREAT article Em!! It really does say it ALL about British society. Ya just gotta LOVE the Brits! In discussing how "poor" Diana was SNUBBED in London, they have, with absolutely NO shame, admitted...no REVELED in their snobbery. As if, how DARE the little guttersnipe even TRY!! Don't get me wrong...i'm by no means on "Team Diana" but after reading this article you'd almost have to say that she had a point with what she said in the Tatler.
It can be a very strange experience MM, when I lived in London I, by pure accident (mainly because of the building I lived in and an art society that I joined) found myself rubbing shoulders with the old guard, I never found them a problem, not the old money/old school variety anyway, perhaps because I never tried to become one of them, I was just the nice little well mannered colonial who was occasionally invited to participate in there rarefied world.
Looking from the fringes in was fascinating, they can be quite stuffy but if you have common interests and always ask for help and advice from their superior wisdom they can be extremely generous and good hearted. However I can see why Diana never did fit in with them, easing herself in inch by inch without causing ripples doesn’t seem to be her style. I imagine she was quite a shock to their systems….lol.
These comments from those in the know were fascinating but I can see now why George is the way he is. Seems no matter who he meets, no matter that they SAY they just want to be his friend, they ALL have an agenda that includes using his fame to further theirs.
She's got a goddamn picture of him in her bathroom!! What a piece of horseshit - she's not a friend, she's a user, like too many of his other "friends"!
Look, I know George can be a prick, all men can. But jees-us if this is the only type of woman he's meeting then how the hell is he ever going to get it right?
Good for her, she's altruistic but one has to wonder for what purpose? For the joy and satisfaction one gets from truly knowing they are making a difference in the lives of others? Or just so it can get them into the "better" society circles all for the express purpose of getting a leg up (or putting a leg up) and finding a rich husband?
Frankly, the impression I've gotten from what I'm reading is that it's definitely NOT the former. Well she got her rich hubby and she's fucking complaining that she wasn't treated right by "society" fuck, just be happy you've got a goddamn roof over your head! Fuck, she can afford to move to Malibu to find better friends. Look, she could have moved to fucking Wisconsin if she was just looking for friends!! NO, she's looking for attention, fame and to keep what fortune she's been able to suck out of her hubby.
Christ women like this make me want to puke.
Suck it up honey, there are worse things out there. Fucking whiners. "They didn't treat me good, boo hoo, I'll show them I'm gonna move to Malibu where people will appreciate me!!"
**shakes head, senses a bit of vomit coming up decides to walk it off, muttering all the way, "fucking whiners, bunch of babies, give me break..."**
ROFL...Lorna...i just LOVE you!! Now, tell us what you REALLY feel! There's just NO ONE on the aisle that QUITE has your way with words! BRAVA!!
PS...remind me never to piss you off...LOL!
Oh, awesome! I counted six f-bombs in Lorna’s post. You go, girl!
I always edit mine out but now I will just keep it at five or less. Then I can always point to Lorna and claim that her potty mouth is worse than mine. “No fair, New Kid. Lorna’s posts have way more ‘fucks’ in them than mine and you always let hers through.”
Where is Parimala? I am sure that she will have some comforting words for Lorna in her time of need.
Wait, what is...
ZAP! *dodges lightening bolt*
Lorna has been around since the deadC days, so that makes her an old fuck and she can say whatever she wants...
(I am so dead)
Like i said the other day NK...you just need to stay in the house for a few days. Between reposting Krista's Thanksgiving travesty and now THIS!! A couple of days hiding behind the sofa cushions ought to do it...LOL!
LMAO...I agree with Maven, perfectly said Lorna! And her comments are always dead right.
NK...you like to live dangerously..hehehe!
That's what happens when Lorna overdoes Bugs Bunny, The Roadrunner, the Rooster, the tiny chicken hawk, Yosemite Sam, and Pepe le Pew. I hope she didn't cartoon and drive.
Lorna, seriously, drop by my clinic. We have a new treatment for CIVV (cartoon induced vocabulary venting). It's a cartoon substitution program -- small doses of Mighty Mouse. He always saves the day. :)
Caution: Some posters have also reported incidences of CIVV after only two viewings of Krista singing on YouTube.
I can't stop laughing!!! Dr Kiki is in RARE form today...ROFL!! Actually, I think Dr Kiki & Lorna should work up an act & take it on the road. Sure fire HIT!!
More Diana gossip, now she has left England behind, the gloves are off.
Old scandals rehashed
I didn't know she'd threatened legal action re the Ferdinand story - I remember this.
From 2004 thisislondon
"ALL the ingredients for a sizzling tabloid story were there when Rio Ferdinand was spotted partying with a leggy blonde at an exclusive London club the night before his FA disciplinary hearing over a missed drugs test. The Manchester United and England defender arrived at the Funky Buddha nightclub in Mayfair in a stretch limousine and was soon seen kissing and cuddling Bosnian-born Dijana Jenkins, 32, who was wearing a revealing black mini dress and thigh-high boots.
Onlookers said Ferdinand, who 'had a big cheeky grin on his face', was unable to keep either his eyes or his hands off Dijana, who had brought a group of models to party with his entourage.
The couple gyrated together on the dancefloor before heading off to her penthouse in Battersea, south London. From there, Ferdinand arranged for a change of clothing to be sent from The Ritz.
A few days later, Dijana flew out for a Christmas holiday in Rio de Janeiro with her investment banker husband, five-year-old son and two-year-old daughter.
She subsequently denied knowing Ferdinand, while the footballer admitted knowing her but denied any relationship."