An annual debutante ball—also dubbed a “nepo baby convention”—returned this Saturday with a fresh lineup of high-profile attendees.
Reagan Sacks, daughter of Trump’s crypto czar; Bronwyn Golden Vance, daughter of actress Angela Bassett; and Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill, a distant cousin of the late Princess Diana, were among the high-profile debutantes with famous last names at Le Bal des Débutantes at the Shangri-La in Paris on Saturday evening.
The ball, also known just as “Le Bal,” is Paris’ glitzy mash-up of old money and new influence, returning each year to showcase the daughters of royalty, aristocrats, artists, and some of the world’s most powerful wealthy families.
Sacks, who is the daughter of President Donald Trump’s crypto czar, David Sacks, 53, wore a baby-pink Schiaparelli gown to the glamorous event. Her appearance came the same weekend that the New York Times reported on how her father, who is estimated to have a net worth of between $2 and $3.1 billion, continues to profit in the White House role, including via his own podcast.
Previous politically connected attendees to Le Bal include Kyra Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s daughter, who took part in 2013, and Lauren Bush, granddaughter of President George H.W. Bush, who attended in 2000.
Each debutante traditionally takes part in a father-daughter waltz, with guests learning the steps the night before. This year, after the formal waltz concluded, actor parents Angela Bassett, 67, and Courtney B. Vance, 65, joined their 19-year-old daughter, Bronwyn, on the dance floor as the room shifted to Crazy in Love by Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
“I think Le Bal is about being in a space with successful women who are around my age from all over the world,” Vance told Vogue ahead of the event. “It’s very rare that you can share such a beautiful night with accomplished young girls who are slowly reaching adulthood,” she added.
The daughter of Hollywood icons was joined by her twin brother, Slater Vance, who acted as her cavalier at the event,while she wore an outfit from the collection of French fashion designer Stéphane Rolland.
Bassett told Hello! magazine that her daughter is a “spirit of graciousness” who “seeks to put others at ease in whatever situation she finds herself.”
Last year, Apple Martin—the daughter of Coldplay singer Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow—took on a similar role as Vance, acting as a debutante daughter of celebrity parents. After the event, she faced some criticism following a TikTok video showing her jumping into the frame to pose in front of a fellow debutante.
Alongside the celebrity daughters were royal debutantes far down the line of succession to any throne, including Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill, a distant cousin of the late Princess Diana and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who wore an archival Armani Privé gown.
“There’s something incredibly special about wearing a piece with history,” the distant cousin of some of Britain’s most historic figures told Tatler magazine.
The ball originally ran from 1957 to 1973 and was revived in 1994 by French public relations executive Ophélie Renouard, who continues to select the carefully chosen debutantes each year for the modern version of the event.
