( CNN ) -- Funny , personable , attractive and charismatic are just some of the words used to describe Gu Kailai . The wife of Bo Xilai -- a one-time rising star of the Chinese Communist Party -- once had it all : a powerful husband , a dynamic career and vast wealth . But it all unraveled in November 2011 when Gu and her household aide Zhang Xiaojun poisoned British businessman Neil Heywood in a Chongqing hotel room . During her one-day trial the following August , Gu issued a statement saying she did n't deny the accusations levied against her , but `` accepted all the facts written in the indictment '' -- including poisoning Heywood at a time when she thought her son 's life was in danger , according to the state-run Xinhua news agency . `` During those days last November , I suffered a mental breakdown after learning my son was in jeopardy , '' Gu , 53 , said shortly before the trial concluded . `` The tragedy , which was created by me , was not only extended to Neil , but also to several families . '' She eventually received a suspended death sentence , with Zhang given nine years in jail . Timeline : Bo Xilai 's fall from grace . Gu 's world started crumbling when she and Zhang were arrested in April 2012 . The same day , Xinhua announced that Bo had been stripped of his seats on the Communist Party 's Central Committee and Politburo , the nation 's ruling organs , for an unspecified `` serious breach of regulations . '' Ambitious and outgoing , Gu typified the international outlook of the second generation of China 's political elite . She has even been described by some as the `` Jackie Kennedy of China . '' Gu and her husband were both descendents of China 's revolutionary heros -- Gu from Major-General Gu Jingsheng , a prominent revolutionary military figure , and Bo from Bo Yibo , considered one of the `` eight immortals '' of the revolution that created modern China . These associations may have fostered the connections essential to getting ahead in the new China of the past three decades . But in the 1960s , Gu and her husband were targets during the political upheaval of the Cultural Revolution . Bo spent almost five years in re-education camps as a youth , and published reports say Gu was forced to work in a textile factory and a butcher 's shop as a 10 year old . These hardships only served to galvanize the phenomenal ambition of the couple , analysts say . Fluent in English , Gu is a lawyer who took a leading role in a legal battle in the United States involving several Chinese firms , eventually winning the lawsuit for the Chinese companies . She later wrote a book about the legal fight called `` Winning a Lawsuit in the United States . '' Gu 's involvement in Heywood 's murder may have remained undetected , if not for former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun . In February 2012 , Wang fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu where he alleged that Bo had covered up Heywood 's murder . Bo was later stripped of his post as Chongqing 's party chief and his memberships in the Politburo , Central Committee , and Communist Party . In late July , he was charged with bribery , corruption and abuse of power . Gu is currently serving a suspended death which likely be commuted to life imprisonment if she does n't commit any crimes during the first two years . CNN 's Jaime FlorCruz contributed to this report .
Gu Kailai found guilty of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood . She 's married to Bo Xilai , once seen as a rising star of Chinese politics . Heywood was found dead in a Chongqing hotel room in November 2011 . Scandal created turmoil at top of Chinese politics during leadership transition .