Whenever Joanne Beckham arrived at a West End nightclub, she was greeted like an A-lister.
Back in the early Noughties, she’d be whisked to the front of the queue and taken straight to the VIP section where she was plied with free drinks and had the chance to mingle with soap and reality show stars and Premier League footballers.
Dressed in the understated London uniform of the day – jeans and a ‘nice top’ – Joanne was hardly starry: she was a hairdresser who lived in Essex, but her older brother happened to be one of the most famous and accomplished footballers in the world.
It meant she had a pass to go wherever she wanted and would be greeted with open arms.
It also meant that she’d often have paparazzi photographers following in her wake as she walked – sober and well behaved – back to her car. Some of the pictures they touted round were less than flattering.
It seemed life with the Beckham name wasn’t always easy for Joanne, who’s now a 43-year-old single mother of one (who still works as a mobile hairdresser).
Last week Joanne stunned waiting photographers when she showed off her incredible ‘glow up’ while celebrating her big brother’s knighthood at Gordon Ramsay’s flagship restaurant in Chelsea.
Slim and lithe in an elegant burgundy silk dress made by her beloved sister-in-law, the newly named Lady Beckham, she beamed as she left the party, which was thrown by Ramsay as a gift to his best friend Becks. Indeed, she was the belle of the ball at the party – which I’m told was ‘warm and full of laughter’.
Joanne Beckham, 43, leaves Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in Chelsea, west London, wearing a burgundy silk dress designed by her sister-in-law Victoria after her brother David was knighted
David and wife Victoria pose with his medal after he received his honour at Windsor Castle
Those who know Joanne say that she has had more time to spend on herself since her seven-year-old daughter, Peggy, started school.
She also stopped eating junk food, limited her alcohol intake and concentrated on a high-protein diet.
‘Jo has more time to concentrate on herself and the results are amazing,’ said one friend.
‘She has always been a pretty girl but she looks extraordinary now.’
Also at the party, following the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, were Sir David’s parents; mum Sandra and her ex-husband Ted, and Victoria’s parents Tony and Jackie – and Sir David’s very seldom seen older sister Lynne.
Lynne, 53, is a twice-married mother of five, who has also enjoyed the ups and downs of being a Beckham over the years and chosen largely to stay out of the limelight.
She once had to suffer the ignominy of being on benefits while her brother lived the life of a millionaire superstar (although it’s said that David did buy her a £250,000 house in Romford, east London, and let her and her children use his box at Wembley Stadium).
She too stepped out looking polished and glamorous to join the united, blended family for a photograph this week.
Joanne and Victoria, holding her son Romeo, watch David play for Real Madrid in Valladolid in 2003
‘Neither of the sisters enjoy the limelight though they are just so, so proud of David,’ said a family friend.
‘It is unimaginable to think what it is like being one of David’s sisters. They didn’t ask for the fame but all in all, they have handled it very well.’
As well as photographers loitering outside nightclubs (and unkind comments about her figure) it’s fair to say Joanne has struggled with her love life over the years, something which those who know her say could be due to being David Beckham’s little sister.
One former associate of hers tells me: ‘Imagine being David’s sister. Men love him which would make for a very tricky situation. Poor Joanne hasn’t had much luck when it comes to boyfriends.
‘The Beckhams would love to see her marry and be happy.’
Back in the early Noughties, Joanne dated former England and Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermain Defoe.
At the time I recall hearing rumours that David was not in favour of the relationship – which, given Defoe’s reputation as an inveterate womaniser, would have been entirely understandable.
Defoe, now 43, kept tabloids busy back in the day. After dumping Joanne, he had a relationship with model Charlotte Mears, to whom he was briefly engaged, before dumping her for her friend, the model and former Miss England Danielle Lloyd.
In the early Noughties, Joanne would be greeted like an A-lister in nightclubs where she would mingle with TV stars and Premier League footballers
One source tells me: ‘David didn’t approve of his little sister going out with Jermain – he was a horror when it came to women.
‘David has shared dressing rooms with lots of footballers over the years, some very badly behaved, so he knows what they are like. Jermain is up there with the worst of them and he never, ever will tolerate anyone hurting Joanne.’
Indeed, I had my own experience of getting in between Joanne and Jermain back in February 2005 at London’s Embassy nightclub when the pair were on a break.
He and his friend chatted to my sister and I – infuriating Joanne which led to a rather unedifying slanging match between us.
Still, she wasn’t too broken-hearted because after that she went on to date Ashley Cole’s brother Matty in 2006 and their romance was so serious there were reports they had got engaged.
Joanne was also part of the infamous Baden Baden WAGs crew during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
‘Joanne loved a party back then and the other wives loved her. She’s so much fun.’
In 2017 Joanne stepped into the world of business with the launch of a luxury concierge service called WeAreYourCity. Working alongside former Notts County player Jay Smith, it was intended to provide restaurant and shopping recommendations for the rich and famous (like her brother and sister-in-law) but never really took off and closed in 2020.
As the years went on, Joanne grew tired of the London party circuit and in 2016 she began dating Big Brother contestant Kris Donnelly. A year later she gave birth to her daughter Peggy, named after her maternal grandmother who died in 2013.
But the strain of becoming parents prompted an end to their romance and Kris moved out of Joanne’s home.
David has dutifully stepped in to support Joanne and his niece, whom he’s said to adore.
Joanne lives in Epping, Essex, in a flat which David bought for her, although she’s said to be looking for a house nearer her mother Sandra, as the pair are very close.
Kris, I’m told, has been a ‘thorn in the Beckhams’ side’ for many years now despite things starting out nicely – Becks even gave him clothes from one of his collaborations.
Relations chilled after he and Joanne split and Kris sold his story to a tabloid newspaper, complaining that he didn’t see his daughter as much as he wanted to and has since become involved with pressure group Fathers4Justice.
He said: ‘The reality now is he [David] is getting to see Peggy on Christmas Day and I am not.’
One friend of the Beckhams says: ‘David has no time for Kris. He is so protective of Joanne and she is his priority. Kris has sold his story on the split from Joanne and that is a “no no” for the Beckham clan.
‘They were always very welcoming to Kris, like they are all of the partners, and for a time he would be at the events, all the family parties but then things went really sour between him and Joanne. Joanne is adored by the Beckham family.’
One person in particular who is close to Joanne is her sister-in-law, Victoria. The two are extremely close and Lady Beckham has long been grateful for the relationships that she has formed with all four of her children, Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20 and 14-year-old Harper.
‘Auntie Jo is the perfect auntie,’ says one source. ‘She is absolutely lovely. She is just like her mum Sandra, so sweet and kind. She is so supportive of all of her nieces and nephews, and full of love for them all.
‘She loves the boys but she is also very close to Harper.’
It is not thought that she and Brooklyn have much communication – if any – since he and his wife Nicola Peltz cut themselves off from their family in May.
The other Beckham cousins are Lynne’s three children – Freddie, Georgina and Josh – with her ex-husband Colin Every, whom she married in 1999.
Although David attended the wedding ceremony in Essex and was pictured outside the church, smiling at her side, there were rumours that Posh didn’t want to go.
Lynne and Colin’s marriage lasted a little over a decade and, after the divorce in 2010, she was at one point claiming £164 a week in benefits.
Despite the financial support from her younger brother, Lynne was often absent from Beckham family gatherings.
She has since married Kevin Briggs and had two more children Francesca, 13, and Jenson, 11.
‘There were some years when Lynne was a little bit in the wilderness,’ says one source. ‘She and Ted were not around as much. Ted had split up with Sandra and David had fallen out with him so things were fractured for a while.’
Lynne was never as friendly with Victoria as Joanne, but in recent years they have grown closer.
Victoria has posted pictures of her and Lynne together on Instagram several times in recent years.
Growing up in their modest semi-detached in Chingford, north-east London, it’s fair to say that David’s career dominated family life.
David has spoken in the past of his guilt at taking up his parents’ time, as they ferried him to his football training and matches.
While Joanne has spoken fondly about Sir David, saying in an interview back in 2014: ‘Obviously he was destined to be a footballer.
‘We shared a bedroom when we were young, and we always used to play football with a Care Bear. We should’ve been going to bed, but we were actually playing football with this Care Bear, across the beds. I’m seven years younger than him, so I was only about four at the time.’
Joanne insisted no damage was done to the cuddly toy.
Today, I’m told the trio of siblings remain close.
‘Family is everything for David,’ says a friend of his. ‘He absolutely adores his sisters and would do anything for them.
‘He is just so thrilled that he is now able to have his family in the same room, his mum, dad, and sisters. It’s so important to him.’
