Meet Chanel Maya Banks, the Gossip Girl actress who was reported missing by her family: found safe, she has accused them of ‘ritual abuse, manipulation, and outright endless torment’

Nov 14 , 2024

Actress Chanel Maya Banks, who was reported missing, has been found safe and uninjured but her family won’t accept it’s her. Photo: @ohheychanel/Instagram

However, her mum and cousin claim the woman found isn’t Banks, and that they would keep looking for her … even though her husband confirms she has returned

Gossip Girl actress Chanel Maya Banks, who was reported missing by her family after they couldn’t get in touch with her for weeks, has been found safe and unharmed in Texas.

Per TMZ, the police are not suspecting foul play – but in a bizarre turn of events, her mother and cousin, Judy Singh and Danielle-Tori Singh, are still convinced that the 36-year-old is missing and the woman found is not Banks. “My daughter’s alive and I’m not gonna stop looking for her,” Judy claimed to Inside Edition, which also reported that Banks’ husband has confirmed her return.

So, just who is Chanel Maya Banks?

Chanel Maya Banks is an actress and writer

Chanel Maya Banks (far left) had a recurring role in Gossip Girl. Photo: @ohheychanel/Instagram

Banks, who also goes by the name of Chanel Farrell, was born on June 10, 1988. She currently lives in Playa Vista, Los Angeles. She’s best known as an actress, but her latest credit was in 2010 in the movie Twelve. More recently, she has been working as a writer and also participated in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “Give us our money, I’d like to get back to work,” she said in a TikTok.

She accused her family of abuse

Chanel Maya Banks claims her family abused her from a young age. Photo: IMDB

Since Banks was located, she has spoken out against her family members on her Instagram, accusing them of “ritual sexual abuse, manipulation and outright endless torment”, which she sought to escape by flying out of town in the name of getting baptised, per JustJared.

The Blue Bloods star also spoke against her cousins’ claims of being regularly in touch, revealing that they haven’t spoken in over 15 years. She alleged that her family “took shifts to isolate me by gaslighting me” and had been “vehemently pursuing a conservatorship” alongside her husband’s family. She concluded her statement by telling fans, “Please do not donate to any GoFundMe that says I’m missing, I am not missing.”

Who is Chanel Maya Banks’ husband?

Chanel Maya Banks is married to an aerospace engineer. Photo: @ohheychanel/Instagram

Banks’ husband is identified only by his initials, CJ, and is an aerospace engineer, per his Instagram. The couple tied the knot last year and they appear to have a good relationship. According to Tori-Singh’s GoFundMe campaign for her cousin, which she started to hire a private investigator and that since seems to have been taken down, Banks’ husband insisted, “She does not want to be found, she will reach out when she’s ready.” Per Banks’ own statement, it was CJ who drove her to the airport before she was reported missing.