Ohh...I didn't know...I thought she [Koo Stark] came from a well off family since her dad was a movie producer...then I thought she married a stamp heir, Tim Jeffries?
Please can I provide some background information on Koo Stark? Yes,
rmay is quite right, Koo Stark is currently a bankrupt, having run up enormous bills including luxuries [including thousands of pounds owed to a Knightsbridge luxury 5* hotel that she couldn't pay] whereupon her creditors applied for a bankruptcy order.
The story of Koo is actually quite interesting. She is indeed the daughter of a wealthy film producer. The tabloids actually say that the reason that the Royals deemed Koo an unsuitable bride for Andrew was because of her appearance in the soft-porn movie Emily. I do know though from what I was told at work many years agao was that whilst the soft porn fim did not help, the real problem for Koo [and you have to place this in its context - more than 25 years ago] was Koo's previous lovers. She was engaged both to Robert Winsor [ a famous businessman] and when they parted, she received a settlement comprising money and a car. Koo's other 'significant other' to whom she had also been engaged was a Turkish Buinsessman.
I was told that BP's concern with Koo's previous lovers was that they 'might talk'. I would ask all forum members to place this in the context of the times - the thought of indiscreet talk by ex live-in lovers was all too much for the Palace. [Don't forget that the' impeccably-pedigreed' Davina Sheffield, a girlfriend of the Prince of Wales lost her 'chance' when a previous lover spoke about their time together...] Whilst Sarah of course had had two signifincant lovers, the well-bred Kim Smith-Bingham and the multi-millionaire Paddy McNally, BP concluded [correctly as it has turned out] that neither gentleman was likely to talk to the papers [too well-bred and too wealthy to need the tabloid pound respectively]
After Koo split from Andrew she did indeed marry Tim Jefferies. Whilst it is correct to say that he was a relative of the Green Shield Trading Stamp founder, the broadsheet papers made the point that very little of the wealth had actually passed to Tim. Some had, but it was not the mega-million figures mentioned by the tabloids. Whether Koo Stark married 'on the rebound' or whether there were other reasons [after all, who really
knows what goes on in another's marriage....] the couple soon parted. Koo received a settlement, but as there were no Jefferies mega-millions, presumably we are not talking about a HUGE payout.
What happened next was very interesting. Koo claimed that her relationship with Andrew had made her 'unemployable' as an actress. I don't know why - this is, to my mind, one of those statements that people make that are hard to verify one way or the other. Her failure to get jobs as an actress could have been related to the (say) quality of the acting.... and I presume that the soft-porn film Emily required Koo to display her ''charms'' rather than her actual acting ability.
Meanwhile, Sarah had married Andrew, and the British Public, at first so supportive of Sarah [ because they were initially jaded with the apparent vanity of the Princess of Wales and admired Sarah, the jolly, 'girl next door' and the 'breath of fresh air'] then started to fall rapidly out of love with her. The reports of over-spending were beginning to surface ['greed'] and her 'payments for interviews and the Hello photo-shoot' all went down badly in a recession hit Britain. They did not take to Sarah's complaints about Andrew's naval absences [the 'typical lot' of a naval spouse, and obvious to anyone who marries a sailor] nor did they like her complaints over having to perform Royal Engagements. Public sympathy switched to Koo, who was felt to be behaving very well and discreetly, although Ross Benson [ a war journalist who turned into a gossip writer, but was felt to be a reliable source because he was a school chum of the Prince of Wales] later indicated that Koo's discretion reflected a confidentially agreement she had signed following receipt of a 'settlemen't from Buckingham Palace.
Meanwhile, several of the tabloids, commenting on the disintegrating York Marriage, began to hint that Koo had hooked up again with Andrew. Koo was furious and started to sue for defamation etc. Juries - perhaps because of their sympathy for Koo over 'losing Prince Andrew' to the by-then 'Duchess of Pork' as the tabloids had taken to calling poor Sarah by then - began to find in Koo's favour, and Koo was awarded several huge damages payments.
At that point, Koo really started to 'hit the high life'. She holidayed several times a year in exotic places, she bought a race horse [called 'Slow Exposure'] ...it was all 'spend, spend, spend]. Rather strangely, [given her legal actions] Koo also began to sell stories and photoshoots to the tabloids and Hello. Even more strangely, the articles all related to Prince Andrew and her life with him, although they always stopped short of actually saying anything salacious, although they used to hint very strongly about 'our full relationship' etc. [whatever 'full relationship' might mean!!!
]
All this led people to believe that perhaps Andrew had had a lucky 'escape'. And then something very extraordinary happened- for the times. A Royal Servant at BP sold his story to the Sun. This for the times seemed very very odd - it was before the era of 'tabloid revelations by Royal Staff -[ Burrell and Diana's former private secretary being the two most well known books by staff who 'told all']. According to the servant, Koo, when Prince Andrew's girlfriend, had shown a very keen 'eye to business', including making raids on the Queen's cupboards. A fascinated public read tales of Koo grabbing Bendicks Chocolates [ a royal favourite] from the Royal chocolate stash etc etc. Koo started to emerge as greedy and grasping... Oddly enough the Queen then took legal action to stop the 'revelations' proceeding beyond Day 3, but equally oddly, her action was based on breach of the confidentiality agreement signed by the servant, not because of any untruths...
Koo continued to jetset and then became pregant. Teasingly, she circulated headless pictures of her lover to the tabloids, offering to identify him if the £ was right.... [all this from someone who at one stage said the tabloids had invaded her privacy].
Disaster then struck, with Koo breaking up with her lover, who proved to be an American when his 'hed' was restored - see above reference to the photo! Koo's daughter by him was then born, but Koo tried to sue him for child support and according to her, lost all her money. She then found herself with breast cancer, for which I feel very sorry for her. However, finding herself in severe financial difficulties, it transpired that she had also lost her house [which led some people to believe that perhaps her money problems were not just due to her custody battle but more longstanding due to her years of holidaying and overspending with no source of income but rapidly diminishing financial settlements and kiss and tell stories] and then moved into the 5* Hotel, claiming somewhat peculiarly that 'because she had no money, the hotel was her only option, because a bed and breakfast place 'would have demanded money up front'
Koo was made bankrupt quite recently and is now supported by the British Taxpayer out of welfare payments. None of the fortune she made from her legal suits remains...
Sorry to go on at length, but there are certain interesting parellels with Sarah' story...
Alex
This is true.
