DANIELLE HARPER ➝ FIRST SIBLING
FULL NAME: Danielle “Dani” Faith Harper.
OCCUPATION: Freelance musician.
PARENTS: Dylan and Elena are married.
ORIENTATION: Homosexual/Homoromantic.
RESIDENCY: Hidden hills resident for twenty years.
SECRET: Dani is a recovering drug addict.
A LOOK INTO HER LIFE ➝ BIOGRAPHY
{TW MENTIONS OF DRUGS AND ADDICTION}
If there was one thing that Dani Harper was absolutely sure of, it’s that her parents had no business having children. To the public, Dylan and Elena Harper were the perfect couple. They were high school sweethearts who made their way into show business together. They had the kind of relationship that others only dreamed of having. They were inspirations. Only those closest to them knew that couldn’t be further than the truth. They were horrible, selfish people, and no one could convince Dani otherwise. It was like they were completely different people when others weren’t watching. Maybe they were in love before. Dani wouldn’t really know for sure, but she’s seen old interviews of her parents; back when they were new to the business. They looked like they were genuinely in love and supportive of each other. She liked to think they were. If that were true, though, what changed? Well, it was Hollywood.
Dylan and Elena were born and raised in Dallas, Texas. They’ve known each other their entire lives. The second they graduated from high school, they got married and left for Los Angeles. They were two crazy kids in love. They had their dreams, they had the talent, and they had each other. It was no wonder they were able to accomplish everything they ever wanted. It came at a price, though. They thought they were lucky. Elena was making movies, while Dylan was producing music. It was exactly what they wanted. It started to take a toll on them rather quickly, though. Before they knew it, they were working long hours, and barely even spending time together. It was hard enough for them to handle. They may have been Hollywood’s “it couple,” but at home, they were barely even a couple. Their relationship was barely holding on as each of their careers grew. Until Elena got pregnant.
What should have been the happiest time of their lives, actually turned out to be the worst. When Dylan and Elena moved to California, they agreed that having children wasn’t for them. They both wanted more than just being parents. They wanted to be stars. What were they going to do, though? She was pregnant. And seeing how they were both highly religious, they never considered the options. They were going to keep this baby. Even if that meant having to slow down a bit. Neither of them were happy about it, but it’s what they had to do. They had no idea that they could use being parents to their advantage. When the news broke out that they were starting a family, everyone was talking about it. They had to use it to their advantage. They used any opportunity to talk about their bundle of joy. They were the ones to tip off the press whenever something happened. Her first ultrasound, when the baby kicked, when they found out the sex of the baby. It was all used as a way to keep their names out there, so they could still feel relevant. Nothing changed once the baby was born.
In the summer of 1992, Danielle Faith Harper was brought into the world. She was labeled a star before she was born. Her parents couldn’t get enough of her. Or rather, the attention that came with her. They were taking pictures from the second she was born, sharing them with anyone and everyone. She was only a newborn and Dani was already making headlines. She’s seen the picture of them leaving the hospital so many times. Elena in a wheelchair, Dylan pushing said wheelchair, and little baby Dani dressed in a pink dress; laying in her mother’s lap. She had to admit, it looked really good. They looked like the perfect little family. Every time she saw the picture, all she could think about was how they had to have planned that perfectly. It was the perfect photo op, after all. They’ve taken plenty of family photos like that over the years. Even more when her younger sibling was born. They were known as the Hollywood’s perfect little family. Some days, she wished they would live up to that name.
Although they liked to seem supportive, Dani’s parents were huge control freaks. They treated Dani like a doll from the second she was born. They would dress her up, usually in something she hated, and take her out to put her on display. They loved bragging about their talented children, so she was forced to take music and dance lessons before she even started school. They would bring her out at parties and have her perform like their little show monkey. The fact that music later became a passion of hers is besides the point, since she was never allowed to perform the kind of music she liked. While Dani was forced to take piano, what she really wanted was to play the guitar. While she was dancing for her parents’ guests, what she really wanted was to be singing. Did her parents know that, though? No, they didn’t. They never even bothered to ask her what she wanted. Why would they? Maybe normal parents would take their child’s feelings into consideration, but they weren’t normal parents. They were show parents. They did things very differently.
The only time Dani felt any sort of freedom is when they were back in Dallas. They had homes in both Texas and California, but being in LA was exhausting for Dani. They always had those crazy Hollywood parties, where she was forced to entertain a bunch of adults she didn’t care about. When they were in Texas, she was able to be herself. Her mother would travel for work, while her father worked in the studio for hours. Dani and her sibling were often left in the care of various nannies, who usually let them just do their own thing. Dani loved to run around in their huge yard, rolling around in the dirt or climbing trees. She was always much more of a tomboy, after all. It wasn’t surprising that her parents had a problem with that. More specifically, her mother. There were countless times where her mother tried telling her how a little girl should behaved. Little girls didn’t get dirty, they wore pretty dresses, and they were always on their best behavior. Basically, they were seen, not heard. That had never been Dani’s style. If being in Dallas was the only way to be herself, she was okay with that. Which is why she was devastated when her parents decided to sell the house and move them into Hidden Hills.
Dani was only five years old when they moved to Hidden Hills and even she knew that it didn’t make any sense. Her parents lived for attention, so why were they moving to a place that was famous for giving families their privacy? Well, it was simple. Hidden Hills was filled with famous families. They may have been shut out from the rest of the world, but they were surrounded by people who could help them career-wise. Shortly after moving, Dani was enrolled into their private school; where she was forced to make friends with other celebrity kids. She can still remember some of the boring play dates she had to sit through. She hated it. There were so many times where she tried to run away, but she never made it very far. Hidden Hills was known for their security systems, so even if she managed to get out of the house, security would always catch her at the gate; then bring her right back home. It happened so many times that she had to accept that she wasn’t going anywhere. Hidden Hills was her new home now. No matter how much she hated it, there was nothing she could do.
From that moment on, Dani developed a whole new attitude. She was no longer the girl who did whatever her parents asked her to. In fact, she would do the exact opposite just to mess with them. If they gave her a dress to wear, she would rip it. If they asked her to play piano for their guests, she would act like she didn’t know how. If they asked her to make friends with someone’s child, she would pick a fight with them instead. It didn’t matter how much trouble she would get into, because she didn’t care anymore. She was angry with her parents and she had every right to be. Maybe it wasn’t healthy of her to hold onto that anger, but she couldn’t help it. She was tired of being controlled. It only got worse as she got older. As a teenager, she would use any excuse to stay away from home. Having lived in Hidden Hills for so long, she learned how to get in and out without getting caught. She spend so many night sneaking out and going to parties, with people she actually considered her friends. Sometimes she would get caught, sometimes she wouldn’t. She never really cared either way. Whether her parents knew or not, she was going to do whatever she wanted.
When Dani was only sixteen years old, she started to understand why being a ‘’girly’’ girl was so important to her parents. She always assumed they were obsessed with the gender norms and in a way, she was right. They did think some things were for girls and some were for boys, but it wasn’t doing those things that actually scared them. What they were really afraid of was having a gay child. Dani, of course, thought they were nuts. A little girl playing with trucks doesn’t make her gay. It was her liking girls that made her gay. At first, the realization had terrified her. She started seeing girls in a way she knew she wasn’t supposed to, but she couldn’t help it. Girls were mesmerizing. More often than not, she would find herself staring at them a little too long. Other people started to notice, too. Despite her acting like she hated her parents, deep down, she really did care about what they thought. She didn’t want to, she really didn’t, but they were her parents. She would always want their acceptance, even if she didn’t want to want that. So, instead of being honest, she hid that part of herself away from the rest of the world. It was probably the biggest mistake she’s ever made.
Dani liked to think of herself as a strong girl. She started pulling away from her parents at a young age and started thinking for herself. She stopped playing piano and taught herself to play the guitar. She stopped dancing altogether and focused more on her music. She stopped wearing dresses and wore whatever she wanted. She even started to dye her hair, knowing how parents would never approve. She thought she could do anything, but apparently, they still had some power over her. For reasons she didn’t even understand, she just couldn’t tell them about her sexuality. She was fine with being the rebel daughter. The family disappointment, sure, why not? But she knew this would be the one thing that would completely destroy them. And she couldn’t do it. Instead, she forced herself to date boys. She started bringing them around her parents, just so they would assume she was straight. Of course, they still worried about other things; like Dani being sexually active or having a baby out of wedlock. They had an old school way of thinking, after all. Still, she was sure they’d be more accepting of that than homosexuality. It was messed up, but it was true.
It was easy for her at first. All she did was bring boys around to keep her parents off her back. She truly had no idea how hard it would be to keep up this act. She tried convincing herself that maybe it was a phase. Maybe she didn’t like girls. Maybe she just thought she did. She was still young, there was no reason for her to label herself before she was sure. In an attempt to figure things out, she found herself partying more and more. She would drink and smoke, or anything else they might be doing to cope with the mess that was her life. Then she would start having sex with guys. Random guys she had no interest in, she just needed to know if what she was feeling was real. It was. She could sleep with a hundred guys, it wouldn’t change who she was. Unfortunately, she found that out the hard way. If only she had let herself believe that, she wouldn’t have been doing drugs to get through the day. She would take anything; whether she was smoking it, snorting it, or putting a needle in her arm. Whatever it took to get her through her own personal hell. It wasn’t until she was eighteen that she was forced to face the reality of the situation she put herself in.
Naturally, it was a party that put things in perspective for her. One of her parents parties. There was some big Hollywood names there that night, and Dani was expected to show up and act like a lady. The idea of putting a fake smile on her face, just to make her parents look good made her want to puke. She decided to blow it off and sneak out with her real friends. Friends that weren’t from Hidden Hills, so they knew how to have a good time. Just like any other time she went out, Dani had been high when her parents called to ask where she was. Even though they were screaming at her, all she could do was laugh. Then she had the stupid idea to show up after all. Wearing all black, chains, and her new blue hair. Her parents’ friends would love that, right? She told her friends her idea and they drove her back, thinking it would be funny. It wasn’t. Dani showed up there and stumbled her way through her home, making a complete idiot out of herself. She couldn’t even form a full sentence, but that was okay with her. The idea was to embarrass her parents and that’s exactly what she had done. She had announced in front of the entire party what she had been doing that night, and to top it off, she told them all she was gay.
The next morning was a complete blur to Dani. She woke up at the top of the stairs, with both of her parents standing over her. Her head was pounding while memories of the night before came flooding back. She couldn’t even look at her parents. She was hoping that the night before was an awful dream. That she hadn’t come out to some of the best known names in Hollywood. When she finally worked up the nerve to look her parents in the eye, though, she knew it was all too real. She had made them angry a number of times over the years, but she had never seen that look of disgust before. Like they truly did hate her. She got a lecture unlike one she had ever gotten before. They told her how disappointed they were, how angry they were, how embarrassed they were. Then they told her if she was to continue living in their house, she was going to go to rehab. That threw her completely off guard. The entire time, she was sure that they were talking about her sexuality. It turned out, they were talking about her drug problem. For a second, she wondered if she was remembering it right. Maybe she didn’t come out like she thought she did. She decided not to ask and instead agreed to the rehab. They were her parents, after all. She wasn’t ready to lose them.
Dani had no idea that while she was in rehab, her parents were doing everything they could to hide what happened at that party. They begged all of their guests to keep what happened a secret, and told them all about their little girl who was just lost right now. But even they couldn’t stop the press from getting a hold of the gossip. They had a plan for that, too, though. They did numerous interviews to reassure everyone that any claims about their daughter’s sexuality were false, and that she was very sick right now and getting help. They also went on to say that they were active supporters of the LGBTQ community, but their daughter just wasn’t gay. Dani, having been in rehab at the time, didn’t have access to any of that. She couldn’t have her phone, she couldn’t use the internet. And all of that time, she genuinely thought her parents were doing what was best for her. Then she went home and saw how wrong she was.
Her parents made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. They told her everything about how they cleaned up the mess that she had made. They told her that as long as she kept her ‘’sins’’ hidden from them, as well as the rest of the world, they would help her put out her first album. Music meant more to Dani than anything in the world. It wasn’t an easy decision for her, but she did what she thought would make her happier. Having both her parents and music would do that, right? That’s what she had to tell herself in order to go through with it. For the first time ever, her parents were showing an actual interest in something she wanted. She would never forget how it felt when they proudly announced the release date for her album. It was like a dream come true. Her parents were proud of her, her career was taking off. She had everything she ever wanted. Or so she thought. Just like when she was in high school, she had no idea how hard it would be to keep her sexuality a secret. Until she couldn’t anymore.
Dani had never really been the type to fall in love. She mostly hooked up with people at parties. It was easier that way. Hiding her sexuality may not have been ideal, but if she wasn’t in a serious relationship, why would she need to make it public, anyway? She had never planned on having that with anyone. Her music was her one true love. Then she fell in love for real and she didn’t know how to handle it. She met this beautiful, confident girl who made her feel things she had never felt before. She was hesitant to start a relationship with her at first, but before she knew it, they were a couple. It went from casual dating to being so serious that they talked about having a life together. Dani’s girlfriend wouldn’t do it in secret, though. If they were going to be together, they needed to really be together. For the whole world to know that they were in love and there was nothing wrong with it. Dani had another hard decision to make. Keep making music with her parents, or be with the woman she loved. She kept putting it off by telling her girlfriend they would go public, then finding a reason not to at the last minute. It got to the point where she got tired of waiting for Dani and ended their relationship. That’s when things got bad again.
Dani had been sober for five years. She never even had so much as a drink, let alone gotten high. She did that night, though. The night that she had her heart shattered. She had blamed her ex for it all, but the truth was, it was her own fault. She was the one who couldn’t be honest and for what? The second she relapsed, her parents were doing what they always did. They were hiding the truth from the rest of the world, while telling Dani how much of a disappointment she was. That’s when she had enough. After putting herself through rehab this time, she came out publicly. The whole world would know that Dylan and Elena Harper had a lesbian for a daughter. Then she used her own money to purchase a house in Hidden Hills. A part of her thought about moving far away from that place, but she stayed to make a point. She wasn’t going to hide anymore. She was gay, and whether her parents liked it or not, she was going to be around for them to see it all. They haven’t spoken since she came out, especially since they decided to move out of Hidden Hills. Dani would never admit how much that crushed her. She may have lost her parents, and her record deal, but she was going to make it work somehow. She didn’t need them in her life. She never really did.
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