A resilient storyteller: the life and family of Benita Alexander-jeune

Basic Information

Early life and education

Raised in Michigan, Benita’s path into storytelling began early, sharpened by a Midwestern work ethic and a curiosity about people. She graduated magna cum laude from Wayne State University in 1987, a springboard into broadcast journalism at a time when longform television reporting was expanding and investigative series were redefining prime-time. Those years honed her instincts: ask harder questions, trace the paper trail, follow the human story.

Building a career in television

Alexander’s television career maps neatly onto the evolution of American true crime and documentary programming. She spent significant time in network news, including producing at Dateline, where narrative rigor and fact patterns mattered as much as pacing. By the 2010s, she had moved into senior creative leadership, serving as Senior Vice President of True Crime at Efran Films, and later as an executive producer and showrunner at Lion Television.

She has guided teams on series such as Crimes Gone Viral and a road-rage–themed series, shaping episodes that put victims’ voices at the center. As a narrator on Still A Mystery, her delivery balances restraint with empathy, keeping focus on the families searching for answers. She founded Berraca Productions to develop projects with the same spine: high-stakes human stories told cleanly, compassionately, and with receipts.

Selected credits and roles

Family and personal relationships

Every public life is also a private constellation. Alexander’s is anchored by her daughter and defined by relationships that shaped her personal and professional choices.

• John Noel. A respected journalist and producer, Noel married Alexander in the 2000s. Their daughter, Jessina, was born in 2003. The couple divorced in 2009; Noel died in 2013. Those years made Alexander a working mother in high-pressure television—juggling edits and school runs, scripts and bedtime stories.
• Jessina “Jess.” Born in 2003, Jess appears throughout profiles of Alexander as a steady north star. Motherhood threads through Alexander’s projects and public voice, especially in work that emphasizes victims’ families.
• Edson (Ricardo) Jeune. Alexander married ballroom instructor and performance coach Edson Jeune in October 2012. Public reporting indicates the marriage ended within a few years, with timelines generally placing the separation and divorce in the mid-2010s.
• Paolo Macchiarini. The ill-fated romance with the once-celebrated surgeon began while Alexander was producing a story. A whirlwind courtship led to an engagement and a set wedding date—until an avalanche of inconsistencies exposed the relationship’s foundation as fiction. She called off the wedding and, in time, helped document the deception that shadowed his medical claims.

The Macchiarini chapter: love, deception, resolve

If careers are built by chapters, this one almost swallowed the book. Alexander’s engagement to Paolo Macchiarini became a crucible: promises of powerful officiants and celebrity guests, carefully choreographed gestures, and a biosphere of myth that couldn’t survive verification. When personal doubts met journalistic muscle memory, she investigated—first for her own safety, then for the public good.

What followed became the subject of documentaries and renewed scrutiny of Macchiarini’s work, including accounts of research misconduct and unsafe experimental surgeries. Alexander’s role shifted from producer to participant to advocate. He Lied About Everything, a feature-length documentary, charted her path through betrayal into accountability. Subsequent series revisited the saga, embedding her perspective in the historical record. The result is a modern parable about charisma, due diligence, and the cost of ignoring red flags.

Craft, voice, and advocacy

Alexander’s projects reflect a consistent editorial compass. She centers survivors and families, breaks complex stories into clear arcs, and lets documents and witnesses carry the weight. As a speaker and “love-con” advocate, she demystifies how sophisticated deceivers operate—how they mirror values, exploit vulnerabilities, and manipulate urgency. The advice is pragmatic, not preachy: slow down, verify, triangulate. It’s storytelling turned into harm reduction.

Her podcast, Benita & The Berracas, extends the mission. Episodes spotlight resilience—women who’ve clawed their way back from loss, fraud, or violence. The tone is caffeinated but careful, with enough journalistic scaffolding to make each conversation both cathartic and useful.

Public presence and ongoing work

Alexander maintains an active public footprint: Instagram posts from set and studio; dispatches on X through @BenitaANYC; podcast video drops; and updates on production slates. She continues to develop and executive-produce true-crime series, with an emphasis on cases where digital trails—texts, videos, phone records—become the breadcrumbs that unlock the truth. It’s a space she knows intimately: the collision of narrative and evidence.

Timeline at a glance

FAQ

Who is Benita Alexander-jeune?

A two-time Emmy-winning television producer and showrunner, she’s known for true-crime storytelling and for publicly exposing a high-profile romantic con.

What is her professional background?

She built her career in network news and documentary television, later leading true-crime series as an executive producer and showrunner.

How many children does she have?

One daughter, Jessina (“Jess”), born in 2003.

Was she married to John Noel?

Yes; they divorced in 2009, and he died in 2013.

Was she married to Edson (Ricardo) Jeune?

Yes; they married in October 2012, and the marriage ended within a few years.

What happened with Paolo Macchiarini?

She ended their engagement after discovering significant deceptions and later helped document the truth in multiple films and series.

Does she still work in television?

Yes; she continues to executive-produce and showrun true-crime programming and hosts a podcast.

What does “Berraca” refer to in her work?

It’s the name of her production brand and podcast theme, celebrating tenacious, resilient people.

Does she still use the surname “Jeune” professionally?

She is widely credited as Benita Alexander, with past credits also appearing as Benita Alexander-Noel and Benita Alexander-jeune.

What is her net worth?

No reliable public estimate is available.