lev radin / Shutterstock.com

“Queen of Versailles” star Jackie Siegel is opening up about a heartbreaking season of loss — and how God met her in the middle of it.

The actress and socialite, whose life inspired the Broadway musical “The Queen of Versailles,” lost her husband, David Siegel, and her sister, Jessica, within just days of each other this past April. David, the founder of Westgate Resorts, died on April 5 at age 89 after battling cancer. Three days later, Jessica died at age 43 from an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Jackie told Fox News Digital that the pain shook her deeply — but also woke her up spiritually. “I feel like with these losses that I’ve had, in some strange ways, got me closer to God,” she said. She added that she now feels a clear calling: “I just know that my purpose is to bring people together to save lives.”

This isn’t the first tragedy Jackie has faced. In 2015, her 18-year-old daughter, Victoria, died after an accidental overdose of methadone and sertraline. Jackie said she now sees how all of these struggles shifted her priorities. “Had I not gone through this hardship, I could have taken life for granted and not really given back to the full potential that I was put here for,” she shared.

Her daughter’s death became the foundation for Victoria’s Voice, a nonprofit dedicated to overdose prevention and drug awareness. The organization was partly born because “on the day she died, Victoria had a pulse when first responders arrived… but they were not equipped with naloxone.” Since then, Jackie and David both worked to expand naloxone access across the country. “I just know in one county, we’ve saved lives in that 700 administrations of Narcan,” she said. “And that gives me strength.”

Jackie says meeting people helped by the foundation continues to encourage her. “To have people come up and give me a hug… people that say, ‘Thank you, you saved my child’s life,’” she shared, “that gives me comfort.”

She also spoke about the sudden loss of her sister Jessica, who died after taking what she thought was cocaine. “I thought it was cocaine, but it was fentanyl. And she died so fast,” Jackie recalled. Her family chose to donate Jessica’s organs — “her heart, her lungs, her skin, everything” — giving life to others even in tragedy.

Through all of this grief, Jackie says she feels God redirecting her life and deepening her faith. “I think through this, the grief that I’ve had, it’s almost like a wake-up call for me,” she said. She also believes that even closed doors can be God’s protection. “If one door shuts, it may be that God shut the door… because there’s a better one waiting for you.”

Today, Jackie continues her advocacy work while celebrating the Broadway musical inspired by her life. After seeing Kristin Chenoweth portray her onstage, she told the actress, “She plays me better than I play me.”

Even as her famous mega-mansion, Versailles, nears completion, Jackie says the show makes it seem like “all I care about is this house,” but insists she’s focused on much more — faith, family, and saving lives.

“And when the good things do happen,” she reflected, “you appreciate it so much more.”

More from Beliefnet and our partners