EastEnders icon Patsy Palmer adores her anonymous life in the USA
EastEnders legend Patsy Palmer relocated from the UK to Malibu in 2014.
Patsy Palmer loves the anonymity of living in Malibu.
The actress has lived in the Californian beach city with her husband Richard Merkell and their children, sons Fenton, 25, and Bertie, 15, daughter Emilia, 24, as well as Patsy's son Charley, 34, from a previous relationship, since 2014, when she first left EastEnders.
And relocating to the USA has allowed the star to have a "fresh start" with a life free of people judging her every move.
Patsy - who uses her real name, Julie Anne Merkell, in the States - told EVOKE of her move: "It's really amazing. It's taken me a while; I haven't done much acting here at all. I've started my haircare brand, Good and Proper hair, and I'm just opening the first hair spa in Malibu.
"I just thought, I really enjoy the anonymity over here, and that maybe I could do something else with my hair that I've always dreamed of doing.
"People don't have preconceived ideas here about me, about the character, so it was just about a real fresh start.
"And I think being in America and what America does give people, and it's true, is a chance to be themselves."
However, the Celebrity Big Brother 2025 housemate still cannot escape the pressures of looking a certain way - especially with Los Angeles heavily promoting beauty and skincare regimes.
Patsy - who lives in a stunning property that boasts sweeping views over the Pacific Ocean - admitted: "The down times can be very hard, the pressure of what you look like can be hard for women, we're all under pressure, and I think the best-looking women I see are the women who've not had loads of things done."
Asked if that meant cutting Botox and fillers, Patsy, 53, clarified: "Well, not all of it, maybe, but just be aware of like, don't go too mad with it, because you're not gonna look like yourself.
"I posted something, I put on AI, 'What would I look like with a facelift?' because, obviously, it comes into mind, of course it does, I think anyone would be lying now if they said they never.
"And it just didn't look like me."
During an appearance on ITV's Lorraine in 2017, Patsy revealed why she chose California as her new home.
Patsy explained: "I just felt where else would I go? I always wanted to go somewhere, and I lost my dad, I lost my stepdad, and I did have a lightbulb moment then that, 'This is it, this is really it, so make your mind up, do what you want' moment.
"The only place I can go where the kids can sort of have a nice beachy life is here because I’m an actress, what else do I do?"
And Patsy - best known for playing Bianca Jackson on EastEnders - has no plans to return to the UK.
She said on an episode of the Shuffle Skip Repeat podcast: "It’s beautiful. We live in our own little bubble. Malibu is its own little place; we very much keep ourselves to ourselves, and we have a lot of English friends.
"I pinch myself every morning when I wake up and see the ocean; it’s like a dream. But I’ve created that.
"I don’t think I would live in England again. I would like to experience something else in life, but I’m not too sure if I will."
