VICTORIA’S VOICE
Amplified With A Mission From Jackie Siegel J
ackie Siegel is on a mission to end teen drug addiction. “2020 was the start of one of the most fantastic years of our lives…”
Jackie Siegel began the year by renewing her wedding vows with David, her billionaire husband of 20 years, during a lavish ceremony at the Westgate Resort & Casino, the property they own in Las Vegas. “Everything changed when the pandemic hit,” she says. Siegel, 54, recently emerged from her COVID “hibernation” with a visit to Las Vegas, and that’s just where I caught up with her, inside the Westgate’s Elvis Presley Suite. “I really believe that American cities—and Las Vegas especially—are resilient, and I think it’s just going to take a little bit of a time, but it will get back, and I can’t wait,” Siegel said. “We’re all struggling in different ways with this emotionally and financially.” This isn’t the first time Siegel has struggled emotionally and financially. The one-time model-turned-mother of 8 shocked the world when she and David, 85, allowed cameras to capture her family’s extravagant lifestyle inside Versailles, their $75 million, 90,000-square-foot Florida mansion under construction during the financial collapse. Over a decade later, their unrestrained castle remains unfinished. And five years ago, the Siegel family was devastated when their oldest daughter Victoria died at 18 from a drug overdose. “We all had a rough time,” Siegel says of her grieving family. “We all became distanced for a while; it was like a dark cloud over our house. The laughter was gone.”
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She says that what ultimately saved her family is the Victoria Siegel Foundation, a charity formed in honor of their daughter to help young people dealing with addiction. While their first annual Victoria’s Voice gala was a big success last year, the pandemic has postponed this year’s event. So, in the meantime, Siegel is out promoting a new outreach program with influencers called “Social Media for Good.” The bus tour across the country hopes to connect young people with resources to help them overcome opioid addiction.
“What I realized is that these influencers can safely get out the message of what Victoria’s Voice is all about: warning people about the drug epidemic,” Siegel said. “My goal is to promote being high on life.” Siegel also recently met with Washington, D.C. dignitaries, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, and DEA officials to unify everyone around ending teen drug addiction. “It’s been a learning process, but it’s all coming together.” What she also hopes comes together is Versailles. Siegel says they are planning a reality show around finally completing construction—in at least another year. For now, her focus is on sharing Victoria’s Voice with the world. “I think my daughter would be proud of me. I think I’ve grown and matured a lot, and maybe even become more responsible.”
— By Stacey Gualandi
