Phone Hacking: Wendi Deng - from Communist obscurity to top of capitalist heap pgfu+K7?w
Rebekah Brooks, who began life as a secretary, may have thought she had done well working her way into the affections of Rupert Murdoch. /op/g]O}
But her achievements are as nothing compared to his third wife Wendi Deng. C_89YFn+
She has catapulted herself from the anonymity and austerity of communist China to the family - and now the family trust - of one of the world's most powerful and wealthy men. 'v`~(9'Rcj
Along the way she appears to have exhibited the kind of drive and ruthlessness that even her husband must be proud of. Bzm.X=U:
Born Deng Wen Di, she grew up in the obscure eastern Chinese city of Xuzhou, the daughter of an engineer who eventually rose to be the director of a machinery factory. .i\wE@v
At school, she was a "good student" and "champion volley ball player" who enrolled at Guangzhou medical college at the age of 16. K \m4*dOv
But she always dreamt of a life in the USA. cl#OvQ
In 1987 she gained her "ticket out of China" when she met an American couple from Los Angeles, Jake and Joyce Cherry. a:xgjUt&5
Mrs Cherry, whose husband was building a factory in China, agreed to teach Ms Deng English. 8|_K
When Mrs Cherry went back to the United States her husband stayed in China and soon after, he told her that Miss Deng wanted to go to America to study there. q
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The couple sponsored her application for a student visa and agreed to put her up until she had established herself. JbVi1?c
Ms Deng, then 19, went to live at the Cherry's home in 1988 and shared a bunk bed with their five-year-old daughter. gNi}EP5>
But Mrs Cherry grew increasingly suspicious about her husband's relationship with Miss Deng. (HaU,vP
A New York Times artilce said: "Mrs Cherry recalls discovering a cache of photographs her husband had taken of Miss Deng in coquettish poses in his hotel room in Guanzhou." 0wYiu
Mr Cherry admitted that he had become infatuated with her and that once they were in Los Angeles, Ms Deng started "making recommendations" about his diet and wardrobe. Suj}MEiv
When her husband and Ms Deng did not come home some evenings, Mrs Cherry concluded that they were having an affair. 1o)=GV1
She told Ms Deng to leave and her husband left soon afterwards, moving into a nearby apartment with Ms Deng, who was by then a student at California State University. YmA) @1@U
The Cherrys divorced and Mr Cherry married Ms Deng in 1990. z+2u-jG
However, the romance came to an abrupt end after Mr Cherry discovered that Ms Deng "had started spending time" with a man named David Wolf. vD
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Mr Cherry said: "She told me I was a father concept to her but it would never be anything else. I loved that girl." kOzt"t&