Camilla Cleese is John Cleese Daughter

Meet Camilla Cleese, daughter of Monty Python actor John Cleese. She recently spoke with the Daily Mail about life as a Cleese.Former party girl Camilla Cleese sat down with the Daily Mirror for her first ever interview. She tells them that, with dad John Cleese’s tough love, she was able to get sober after struggling for over a decade with excessive drug and alcohol use.

The just over 6 foot, 24 year old Camilla Cleese was born in 1984 in London. She is the daughter of John Cleese and his second wife, American artist Barbara Trentham, whom he married in 1981. Her parents separated and divorced when she was around four years old, and when she was nine, she moved to Chicago with her mom. She found the move upsetting because the self-described “daddy’s girl” could only see her father on summer vacations. She also found moving from a small all-girls school to a large co-ed school difficult.

Camilla Cleese says she had her first glass of wine as a dare at the age of 11. She says she was “instantly addicted” to the feeling it gave her, and she began to run with the “fast crowd” that smoked and drank. This led to a world of partying that involved cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy and lots of drinking. Despite this, Camilla excelled academically and at the equestrian sport of showjumping.

When she was 15, her father John realized something was going horribly wrong in her life, so he permanently moved to Santa Barbara, California and relocated Camilla from Chicago. Unfortunately, due to tax reasons, her dad was constantly traveling back to his native England, leaving Camilla Cleese unsupervised much of the time.

When she was 18, she abruptly quit her equestrian career and enrolled at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She continued to party and drink and use drugs heavily. At 20 years old, Camilla entered Promises in Malibu. She spent time over the next several years going in and out of various rehab facilities in Florida and Arizona, as well as utilizing outpatient resources.

After being arrested for doing cocaine at a party, Camilla hit rock bottom. She tried to knock herself out in the back of the police car in hopes it would land her in the hospital rather than jail. The struggle with the police that ensued resulted in her shirt being ripped off. She said she woke up the next day covered in her own blood and vomit laying on a cold floor in just her underwear. She was dealing with withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and cocaine and was shaking. Her dad and step mom bailed her out of jail, and took her to a psychiatric facility for detox and then to a rehab clinic. John then cut her off, both emotionally and financially, and they were estranged for about a year.

The tough love tactic from her dad worked, and in April 2007 she was finally ready to get sober. Camilla checked into the world renowned Sierra Tucson rehab clinic in Arizona, who’s previous high profile clients included Ringo Starr and Michael Douglas. She has been sober since completing their 12 step program.In July of 2008, she met Entourage star Jeremy Piven, and they have been dating on the down low since. A source says he is quite smitten with Camilla, and reports that he “treats her like a princess.”