EXCLUSIVE
Zeta Jones tells of death threat
Posted 01.08.2004


Zeta Jones said she had an anxiety attack following violent phone calls
Catherine Zeta Jones received letters saying she would be chopped into pieces from a woman charged with stalking her, the actress told a court.
The Oscar-winner spoke at a Los Angeles Superior Court preliminary hearing in a case against Dawnette Knight, 32.

"I've never in my life had anything or had anyone say anything to me so satanic," said Zeta Jones, 34.

"I can't even imagine how a sane human being could have these images locked in their brain."

'Constant fear'

Defence lawyer Richard Herman said outside court that Ms Knight had been upset by a false tabloid report alleging an affair between the actress and actor George Clooney, a co-star in the upcoming film Ocean's 12.

"That upset my client and she wrote her telling her to stop," Mr Herman said.

The Welsh actress said she had a severe anxiety attack after two violent phone calls were made in May to her hotel in Amsterdam, where the film was being shot.

She was in constant fear while filming scenes in the city and wondered if the letter-writer was among crowds of fans, Zeta Jones said.

Dawnette Knight has said she is sorry for any "distress"
She read extracts from 19 of the threatening letters to the court.

Some referred to the violent deaths of President Kennedy, Nicole Brown Simpson and Sharon Tate - the actress who was a victim of the 1969 Manson Family killings - and contained graphic details of how Zeta Jones would be killed.

"We are going to slice her up like meat on a bone and feed her to the dogs," said one letter quoted by Zeta Jones.

Ms Knight has pleaded not guilty to 25 counts of making criminal threats and stalking.

Judges must decide if there is enough evidence for her to stand trial.

'Nervous breakdown'

Outside court defence lawyer Mr Herman said the actress did not read the bulk of the letters until after Ms Knight was arrested at her Beverly Hills home on 3 June.

He said having Zeta Jones read them in preparation for the hearing was a "setup for the prosecution".

Earlier on Wednesday her husband Michael Douglas said Zeta Jones was driven close to a nervous breakdown by the threats.

"She was hysterical... she was fainting. She could not get any air. She showed all the signs of having a nervous breakdown," Douglas said.

Michael Douglas said he hid an initial threatening call from Zeta Jones
He told the court the first threat to his wife he was aware of was in a telephone call made in March to a hotel his family owns in Bermuda.

He said he did not mention the call to his wife at first, fearing it would "upset her tremendously".

But once he discussed the matter with authorities, he found that his father - film legend Kirk Douglas - had already received "very graphic" threatening letters.

Douglas said the knowledge displayed by the letter-writer - coupled with such details as a description of the hallway of a home in which the couple had once lived - was particularly chilling.

"The proximity made us terrified," he said. "There was a knowledge in these letters that was deeply unsettling."

'No explanation'

Ms Knight's lawyer, Richard Herman, revealed last month that Ms Knight had written to Zeta Jones and Kirk Douglas apologising for any "distress" she may have caused.

The letter said Ms Knight was infatuated with Zeta Jones' husband.

"I was a confused young woman infatuated with Michael Douglas and have no rational explanations for my actions," she wrote.

Her letter to the actress said she would "have never done anyone any harm and would never harm anyone" but admitted her obsession with Michael Douglas.

"It would be a wonderful good deed if you would all forgive me so that I can go back to college to finish my studies in child psychology," she pleaded to Zeta Jones.

High drama of cinema's golden couple

Michael Douglas got his first break in a 1970s cop show
Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas both testified in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday over death threats Zeta Jones received from a woman charged with stalking the Welsh star.
The stalking case is the latest drama to beset Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, who became Hollywood hot property when they announced they were an item.

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Superior Court's preliminary hearing was packed with press as Zeta Jones, 34, said she had received letters from Dawnette Knight, 32, in which she said she would chop her into pieces.

Knight is pleading not guilty to the 25 charges of making criminal threats and stalking, which allegedly included phone calls to an Amsterdam hotel Zeta Jones was staying in while filming the crime caper sequel Ocean's 12.

The couple's latest court appearance comes months after they won £3m costs from Hello magazine over a high-profile privacy case launched over their fairy-tale wedding.

Douglas, 25 years older than his wife, met Zeta Jones in 1999 at a French film festival - and by late summer they were hitting headlines as a couple.

Banned photos

He reportedly wooed her with the line: "I want to be the father of your children", and she agreed to a dinner invitation in Los Angeles.

By the time they married in November 2000, interest in them had reached fever pitch.

But they were determined to keep the world's press out of their star-studded ceremony at New York's Plaza hotel, and even banned wedding guests from taking their own photos.

Dawnette Knight has said she is sorry for any "distress"

The couple signed a £1m deal with celebrity magazine OK! to publish exclusive photographs of the event.

Despite this, journalists and photographers from around the globe gathered outside the hotel, desperate for a glimpse of the couple and their guests. It was an A-list occasion, with producer Quincy Jones, director Oliver Stone, and movie stars Goldie Hawn, Danny De Vito, Ellen Barkin and James Woods attending.

Kirk Douglas, the father of the groom, gave his blessing to the nuptials, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also turned up for the ceremony with his wife Nane.

Hollywood elite

Zeta Jones and Douglas racked up a huge amount of column inches, and cynics began to talk of Zeta Jones' speedy rise to the ranks of the Hollywood A-list.

But behind her sudden elevation lay a fierce ambition to thrive among the Hollywood elite.

From ordinary beginnings in Swansea, the daughter of a former factory worker, she showed early talent as a dancer and singer.

Aged just 15, she starred in the musical 42nd Street and went on to nationwide recognition through her TV role as Mariette Larkin in ITV's 1990s drama The Darling Buds Of May.

Zeta Jones' performance in Chicago has been lauded
On the big screen she appeared in the Mask of Zorro alongside fellow Welsh star Sir Anthony Hopkins, and with Sir Sean Connery in Entrapment.

She went on to hone her craft in films such as High Fidelity and Traffic, before striking gold with the film musical Chicago.

Her portrayal of the vampish Velma Kelly earned her a wealth of critical plaudits and a best actress accolade at the Evening Standard Film Awards.

Long before marrying into Hollywood royalty, Zeta Jones had a string of admirers including John Leslie, singer Mick Hucknall and Braveheart star Angus McFadyen.

'Gladiator'

Like his bride-to-be, Douglas received his big break not in films but through television.

It came with his performance as detective Steve Keller opposite Karl Malden in police drama The Streets Of San Francisco.

That was in 1972 - when his future wife was still just a toddler in south Wales.

As the son of accomplished Hollywood actor Kirk, Douglas saw his father as a "gladiator" and feared he could never emulate his success.

After a period living in a commune and dabbling in drugs, he dropped out of university and took a job as a petrol station attendant.

Zeta Jones starred with her husband in Traffic

He later went back to college to study acting, although his father never believed he would make it.

He enjoyed his first major film success as a producer of the Oscar-winning 1975 film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

As an actor Douglas would become every bit as successful as his father, with memorable roles in Romancing The Stone, Fatal Attraction, and his Oscar-winning performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.

Playmate

More recently he has enjoyed critical acclaim for his acting in Wonder Boys, and Traffic in which he starred opposite Zeta Jones.

The cynics who begrudged Zeta Jones' success also said the marriage would not last - but it appears to be going from strength to strength.

In April last year Zeta Jones gave birth to a daughter, Carys, a playmate for two-year-old Dylan.

Michael is the son of Kirk Douglas

Their image in the UK has taken a battering over the Hello case, with London-based tabloids dubbing Zeta Jones a "whinger".

But in the US the case went largely unreported as the pair continue to reign as Hollywood's golden couple.

Late last year the couple bought a new £1m house in Wales, near Zeta Jones' native Swansea.