O.J. Simpson’s Daughter, Sydney, Changed Her Name and Switched Jobs Constantly Before Settling Down in Florida
Being the child of somebody as infamous as O.J. Simpson can’t be easy. Before the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, Sydney Brooke Simpson was occasionally in the limelight as the daughter of a famous football player. Due to her young age, she wasn’t as prominent as her celebrity parents. However, the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson changed everything.
The O.J. Simpson trial was one of the biggest media events of the 20th century, and the influences of this trial are still felt today. But how did this trial affect the Simpson children? How did they cope with the media attention surrounding their father and family?
The murder
On June 13, 1994, O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, were found dead with multiple knife wounds outside Brown’s condo. Almost immediately, police suspected O.J. Simpson. His relationship with Brown had been incredibly abusive, and after the divorce, Simpson continued to harass Brown.
What followed was a series of dramatic events, all watched by the media. Almost everyone who was alive at the time of the murder trial can remember the Bronco chase and Simpson’s threats of suicide, and the drama of the courtroom and Simpson’s “dream team” of defense lawyers.
At the same time, Simpson and Brown’s young children were likely facing an incredible amount of trauma. Sydney Simpson was only eight years old when her mother was killed. Worse, she and her five-year-old brother were asleep in Brown’s condo the night of the murders. Having their mother killed and their father being plausibly accused of the murder wouldn’t have been easy for them at any age, but at eight and five it must have been incredibly difficult to deal with.
The impact on Sydney Simpson
Following the loss of her mother and her father’s public legal issues, things were not easy for O.J. Simpson’s daughter. For a while, Sydney Brooke Simpson used a fake name, Portia, to protect herself from the media and local attention. In her work, she was shy and reserved and kept quiet so that her colleagues wouldn’t see her in a different light. She and her brother kept a low profile while working at a restaurant in Georgia until one journalist tracked them down to expose the new lives the Brown-Simpson children were trying to lead, according to Georgia News Day.
With all this media attention, it’s no wonder that Justin and Sydney Brooke Simpson don’t want to be in the limelight. The murder of their mother was tragic enough, and it’s clear that the children don’t want to relive that trauma through media interviews and tabloid appearances. Whatever you may think about O.J. Simpson, his children had nothing to do with the death of their mother and are as much victims as Nicole Brown. Hopefully, the Brown-Simpson children will be able to continue to lead quiet lives and recover from their trauma in peace.
Where is Sydney Simpson now?
Since the trial, Sydney Brooke Simpson has understandably tried to preserve her privacy from invasive tabloid journalists. While there have been rumors about Sydney’s beliefs on the case, she has never made a public statement, and family members have said that the murder is not something they talk about. What Sydney believes happened that night is her own business, and she has the right to stay quiet about her mother’s murder.
Despite the horrific murder and the predatory advances from the media, the Simpson children were still able to move forward in life. Sydney Simpson earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Boston University and started her own business in Florida. She currently makes money in real estate. Her brother is slightly more public with his life and similarly is in the real estate business. He’s active on Twitter, where he likes to share articles and talk about real estate.
