Jennifer Syme (1972 - 2001)

Jennifer Maria Syme was an American actress and personal assistant who briefly dated actor Keanu Reeves. A native of California, Syme spent the first few years of her life in Laguna Beach. She later relocated to Los Angeles with her mother where she started working for director David Lynch. As an actress, she appeared in a few films including the 1997 release ‘Lost Highway’. Syme began dating Reeves sometime in 1998 and a year later it was revealed that she was pregnant. However, the baby, who was named Ava Syme-Reeves, was stillborn. The couple separated soon after but they remained friends until her death in an accident in April 2001. Syme was buried beside her daughter in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Jennifer Syme was born on December 7, 1972, in Pico Rivera, a city located in the southeastern Los Angeles County, United States. Her parents were Maria St. John and Charles Syme, a retired California highway police officer. At some point after Syme’s birth, her parents divorced.

She grew up in the affluent Laguna Beach, developing a love for music and food, and collecting antiques. She was preparing to start high school when she and her mother decided to move to Los Angeles as they felt that they needed a change in their lives.

Once in Los Angeles, Jennifer Syme developed a passion for moviemaking. She was especially interested in the films and TV shows made by David Lynch. When she was16 years old, she walked into Lynch’s office and asked him if she could get a job in the production of ABC’s mystery horror drama series ‘Twin Peaks’.

Lynch hired the exuberant young girl as an intern at his company’s Asymmetrical Productions. During her tenure there, she freely and openly shared her opinions on films and music. Lynch has credited her for introducing him to quite a few musicians whose works he incorporated into his films and TV shows. According to filmmaker Scott Coffey, who was her close friend, she had a huge influence on the music of ‘Lost Highway’.

During this period, she also became interested in acting. She played a drug addict in ‘Lost Highway’ and collaborated with Coffey in his five independent short films, the last of which was ‘Elle Parker’. A comic portrayal of a young woman struggling with contemporary life in Los Angeles, the film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001.

She was always more passionate about music than films. She also served as the personal assistant to musician Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction. Navarro later joined the band Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Jennifer Syme and Reeves started a casual relationship in 1998. While the publicity-shy Reeves tried to keep it a secret, the couple’s relationship soon became fodder for the tabloids.

At the time, Reeves was at the height of his popularity. In 1999, he had become one of the biggest film stars of the world following the release of ‘The Matrix’. When the news of Syme’s pregnancy was revealed, the paparazzi hounded the couple. They never lived together but after learning of the pregnancy, Reeves bought a house for her.

Toward the end of 1999, Syme realised that she had not felt the baby moving for several days. Concerned, she went to the hospital where an ultrasound revealed that the unborn girl had passed away in the womb. They named her Ava and buried her in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in January 2000.

For Syme and Reeves, the loss of Ava was the hardest thing they had to go through. The couple broke up soon after. A friend was quoted saying, “Their love wasn't strong enough to survive the loss of their baby.’

Sometime after the loss of the baby, Syme started using drugs. Despite her sadness, she also attempted to get her life back on track. She started attending a film-supervision course at the UCLA .

Following her grandfather Alfonso Diaz’s death on 17 March 2001, she plunged back into grief. She had not been in a hospital since the death of her child and visiting a hospital again affected her mental health. According to her mother, it broke her and she became very depressed.

On April 1, 2001, Syme was invited to a party at the home of musician Marilyn Manson. She was later driven back home from the party by another guest. She left her home again, shortly before dawn, presumably to get back to the party.

On Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles, the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee she was driving slammed into a row of parked cars. She was partially ejected from the car and succumbed to her injuries immediately.

An investigation into the accident found that 28-year-old Syme had not been wearing a seatbelt and was completely intoxicated at the time. Police searched her car and discovered two rolled up dollar bills with a white, powdery substance and two bottles of prescription drugs, an anticonvulsant and a muscle relaxant. Syme’s mother claimed that she was undergoing treatment for back pain and depression.

St. John filed a wrongful death suit against Manson in April 2002, accusing him of supplying Syme with “various quantities of an illegal controlled substance” and for "instructing (Syme) to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition". She was also seeking unspecified damages and attorney’s fees. In a statement Manson put out shortly after, he vehemently denied the charges, calling the lawsuit completely meritless.

Lynch dedicated his neo-noir mystery film ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001) to Syme.

Source - www.thefamouspeople.com