In the 1980s she led a charmed life, occupying a villa above a Clifton beach, driving a Ferrari and being voted the most admired person in South Africa.
But the glamorous existence of Jani Allan, the former model and media darling, came crashing down amid assassination attempts and claims she was having an affair with far-right Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging leader Eugene Terre'Blanche.
Allan left South Africa and her torrid past - which included a failed libel action notorious for testimony about holey green underpants - in 2001 to start a new life in small-town Lambertville, in New Jersey, US. But now she has hit a new low. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Allan pay her bills.
In her "Jobless in New Jersey" blog post on Janiallan.com two weeks ago, Allan wrote: "Someone once said that they could name an amusement park ride after my life. Perhaps that was true in the past. In the past there were the 'wheeee' moments when I would fling my hands in the air and shriek with joy. These days there is a lot more horror and less hoorah. What Old Testament aspect of God's nature did I annoy to find myself job-hunting in America?"Allan sued Britain's Channel 4 for a TV documentary that honed in on the sex scandal. The court battle led to a tit-for-tat media catfight between Allan and her former housemate, astrologer Linda Shaw. Shaw's claim to have seen, through a keyhole, Allan and Terre'Blanche having sex sank the columnist's case.
On Facebook, Allan wrote this week: "To those who have been so generous - deep, deep thanks. A wordsmith would be out of words to describe my gratitude."
Eris Silke, a friend, wrote on Facebook: "I am sure she will find her way through the crisis ... Jani is a brilliant intellect and a very strong woman - a true survivor!"
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