Benita Alexander age – how old is she?
Benita Alexander was born on April 21, 1966 in Perth, Australia, which means that she will be 58 years old in the spring of 2024. She grew up in the American state of Michigan.
Did Benita Alexander work at NBC?
Yes, according to Benita Alexander’s own website she was active at American NBC for 17 years. There she produced documentaries, carried out reviews and worked with breaking news journalism.
Benita Alexander in May 2022. Photo: Lars Schröder/TT
And it was precisely as a producer at NBC that Benita Alexander first met Paolo Macchiarini in February 2013, at a bar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston. Shortly afterwards, the Italian surgeon was to be interviewed by the journalist and the television profile Meredith Vieira in a special program entitled “A leap of faith”.
A few months later, Alexander, whose ex-husband was then hospitalized with an aggressive brain tumor, and Macchiarini began a relationship.
– Having worked with so many terminally ill patients, Paolo was incredibly helpful when it came to navigating my complex emotions. He was a great friend during this time, and a steady, reliable pillar of strength, Alexander previously said Vanity Fair.
Tougher sentence for surgeon Paolo Macchiarini – sentenced to prison
Was Benita Alexander engaged to Paolo Macchiarini?
On Christmas Day 2013, Paolo Macchiarini proposed to Benita Alexander, who said yes. In the months that followed, the couple went on several exclusive trips, including to the Bahamas, Mexico and Italy where they visited Michelin-starred restaurants and went shopping.
In fact, according to Vanity Fair, Macchiarini even took Alexander to meet his mother in Italy during the summer of 2014. That same summer, Macchiarini shared that his divorce had finally gone through.
But Alexander noted early on that her new fiance was very secretive and just days after proposing he claimed he couldn’t stay with her over New Year’s Eve because he had what he described as an “urgent VIP operation”.
This is how Paolo Macchiarini has lived since the scandalous operations
Did Paolo Macchiarini plan his and Benita Alexander’s wedding?
And when it came to wedding planning, the secrecy continued. Paolo Macchiarini then allegedly took over large parts of the planning to surprise Benita Alexander, but kept sharing details that indicated that the wedding, which was supposed to take place on July 11, 2015, would be grand to say the least.
Macchiarini claimed, among other things, that he was the personal physician of the Pope himself and that he would therefore marry them in Rome, in front of guests such as Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama and the couple Clinton.
How did it end between Benita Alexander and Paolo Macchiarini?
Just over six months before the wedding, and after several doctors at the Karolinska hospital reported Paolo Macchiarini to the Karolinska Institute for scientific misconduct, the surgeon is accused of research fraud in the New York Times, among others.
– I was shocked and angry because he had not told me anything about this. But when I tried to help him answer press requests and in turn asked him questions, he got angry, which was unpleasant, Benita Alexander has told DN before.
Paolo Macchiarini in 2023. Photo: Magnus Andersson/TT
Alexander has told the newspaper that these allegations were one of three warning bells that caused her to sense trouble. The second warning bell was about how Macchiarini never wanted to take her to his home in Barcelona.
– He had taken me on trips all over the world, everywhere except to his house in Barcelona. And every time we were on our way there, something came up at the last minute and the trip was cancelled. This led to a lot of discussion and frustration, as I was about to give up my entire life in New York. But it was still not enough for me to think that he was a complete fraud, she has told DN.
Paolo Macchiarini in 2010. Photo: Lorenzo Galassi/AP/TT
The cup finally overflowed when, just two months before the wedding, she received an email from a former colleague with the subject line “The Pope”. In the email was a link to an article in which it was stated that the Pope would be in South America on the same day that, according to Macchiarini, he would ordain them in Rome.
– At that moment… All the little red flags that I pushed away exploded in one. I didn’t need to know anything more – I understood that he had lied about everything. I felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, Alexander said DN.
Alexander then hired a private detective and it soon became clear that Macchiarini was married, living a family life in Barcelona and had lied about the planned wedding as well as his professional life.
Paolo Macchiarini is convicted of research fraud
What happened to Benita Alexander’s first husband John Noel?
Benita Alexander was, between 2003 and 2009, married to the award-winning journalist John Noel. In June 2013, Noel passed away in the suites of cancer, which among others New York Post then reported on.
Benita Alexander partner – was she married to Edson Jeune?
After the marriage with John Noel, and before the relationship with Paolo Macchiarini, Benita Alexander was married to the dancer Edson Jeune. The couple got married, according to The New York Timesin October 2012. It is unclear when the couple went their separate ways, according to, among others Women’s Health.
Does Benita Alexander have children?
Yes, Benita Alexander had a child – a daughter by name Jessina – with her first husband John Noel. The daughter was born in 2003.
Benita Alexander was in Sweden during the trial against Paolo Macchiarini. Photo: Lars Schröder/TTV What is Benita Alexander doing today?
Many are curious about what Benita Alexander is doing today. According to NBC is she still active as a producer and is CEO of the production company Berraca Productions.
In 2023, she appeared in the Netflix documentary “The Scandal Surgeon: The Story of Paolo Macchiarini”.
Paolo Macchiarini today: All about his wife, children and punishment
Is Mandy Moore playing Benita Alexander in ‘Dr Death’?
In the second season of “Dr Death”, broadcast on TV4 starting on January 18, 2024, the deadly experiments of the scandalous surgeon Paolo Macchiarini are depicted, but also his private life.
In the role of Benita Alexander we find the American actress Mandy Moore.
Gustaf Hammarsten in “Dr Death” about Paolo Macchiarini’s scandalous operations
Does Benita Alexander have Instagram?
On Instagram, you can find Benita Alexander under the name @benitaalexander_official.