Lisanne Meadowcroft Biography

Born in Cambridge in 1971, Lisanne has spent most of her life in the north-west of England. Educated at a Catholic school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she first worked abroad as a live-in nanny for an Italian family in Milan for ten months in 1988.

Although she enrolled on a performing arts course at college, she left to return to Italy in spring 1990 after landing a job selling art prints. Just two weeks into her new adventure, Lisanne met Dario, the Mafia boss who groomed and controlled her. She spent the next four years in Italy before finally managing to escape in 1994.

On her return to the UK, she worked as cabin crew for Monarch Airlines – one of only four fluent Italian staff. In April 1997 she became a mum and, although her relationship with her daughter’s father ended, she raised her as a single parent and continued working, doing modelling, waitressing and TV work on long-running series like Coronation Street, Brookside and Hollyoaks.

In 2005 she began training as a phlebotomist, taking blood samples from patients for examination to diagnose diseases and conditions. Since then, she has progressed to become a phlebotomy trainer and assessor, conducting research projects for DNA analysis and has been trained to teach infection control, health and safety, safeguarding and first aid.

One Foot In The Mafia is her first book.