Who was Jennifer Syme and what happened to her? All about Keanu Reeves' late partner who died in a car crash

Canadian actor and musician Keanu Reeves has been in a long-term relationship with American visual artist Alexandra Grant. The couple maintains a low profile and first met in 2009. Almost a decade after their friendship and professional collaboration, they announced their romantic relationship in 2019.

Before Grant, The Matrix star officially dated a Hollywood assistant and part-time actress, Jennifer Syme. Unfortunately, Keanu Reeves’ former partner passed away in the early hours of April 2, 2001.

According to The Sun, she was driving a Jeep Cherokee that crashed into a series of parked vehicles on Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles. Syme, 28, was partially thrown out of her car and died on the spot.

Reeves and Syme were in an on-and-off romantic relationship between 1998 and 2001.

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Everything you need to know about Keanu Reeves’ late partner, Jennifer Syme

Jennifer Syme was an American actress, personal/ production assistant, and record company executive. She was born in California on December 7, 1972. Her middle name was Maria.

Syme was a personal assistant to guitarist Dave Navarro of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Before that, she also worked as filmmaker David Lynch’s assistant and at his production company, Asymmetrical Productions.

American rock musician Marilyn Manson credited meeting David Lynch through Jennifer Syme in his 1999 memoir, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell.

Manson wrote,

“Our relationship with Lynch had begun two years earlier through a girl we had met named Jennifer, who claimed to be Lynch's assistant. At the time, everybody else had dismissed her as a name-dropping groupie,”

He also added,

“But when it came down to it, her claim was not only true, it resulted in an offer for us to collaborate with him on the soundtrack to his new movie, Lost Highway, as well as appear in the film.”

Jennifer Syme played a role in the same film, directed by David Lynch in 1997. According to actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Scott Coffey, she was also influential to the music of the movie. Coffey, himself, directed Jennifer in several independent movies, including Ellie Parker, which premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.

Jennifer Syme reportedly crossed paths with Keanu Reeves at a 1998 party organized for his rock band, Dogstar. They began dating soon after and lived together. However, they never got married.

On Christmas Eve 1999, Syme gave birth to Reeves’ child, a daughter named Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, during the eighth month of pregnancy. Unfortunately, the baby was stillborn, which reportedly fractured their relationship, and she underwent postnatal depression.

However, they continued to remain close friends until they rekindled their romance in 2001. On April 1 of that year, Jennifer Syme attended a party at Marilyn Manson’s home and was dropped off at her home by a designated driver before the dawn of April 2.

According to reports, she left her home shortly after to return to the same party. But she ended up in a fatal car crash. Her then-boyfriend, Keanu Reeves, alongside David Lynch, Scott Coffey, Dave Navarro, and others, acted as pallbearers at her funeral.

She was buried next to her stillborn daughter at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. According to The Sun, an investigation into Syme’s death revealed that she was under the influence of alcohol and was not wearing a seatbelt during the accident.

At the time of her demise, Syme was enrolled at UCLA and was working as a recording company executive.

Keanu Reeves reportedly found it “very, very difficult to cope with her death” and talked about the "grief" as a foundation for the titular role in his 2014 blockbuster, John Wick.

During a 2006 interview with Parade, Keanu Reeves said:

"Grief changes shape, but it never ends. People have a misconception that you can deal with it and say, 'It's gone, and I'm better.' They're wrong. When the people you love are gone, you're alone."

Notably, Jennifer’s mother sued Marilyn Manson for her daughter’s wrongful death, claiming the musician supplied drugs to Syme. However, it was later settled out of court, and Manson denied the accusation, as per Papermag reports.

David Lynch’s 2001 movie, Mulholland Drive, was dedicated to Jennifer Syme.

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Over the years, Keanu Reeves has been romantically linked to other women, including model-actress China Chow and filmmaker Brenda Davis. He is the godfather of Davis’ child.

Earlier this month, on Keanu Reeves’s 61st birthday, his current partner, Alexandra Grant, shared an Instagram post with a picture of a birthday cake.

She thanked his fans for their wishes and mentioned being “grateful” for Reeves’ “love and partnership.” The couple usually maintains a low profile.