The secret life of celebrity PAs

It’s no secret that many celebrities have a team of people supporting them in everything they do. The backbone of that group is often the PA, who may be responsible for organising this group and every aspect of his or her boss’s life. Business Insider recently interviewed seven members of an organisation called New York Celebrity Assistants to find out what their typical day entails. Here’s a selection of the top answers.

Meghan Herd
“No two days are ever the same” when it comes to working for The Real Housewives of New York star and Skinnygirl Cocktails founder Bethany Frankel, according to Meghan. She started working for the business mogul in 2013 and says she now wears “many hats”, from booking flights an hour before take-off to getting a table at the hottest new restaurant and making sure the office runs smoothly.

“I’m proud of getting things done when somebody says it can’t be done,” Meghan explains. She occasionally appears with her boss on TV and recently described working for her as being “like a scene in Home Alone – we’re just running to the gate every time.”

Vanessa King
Vanessa has worked for Oscar award-winning actress Julianne Moore for nearly 10 years. 2014 proved to be a busy year for Moore and as the assistant to her and husband Bart Freundlich, Vanessa acted as a “sort of mission control” for travel plans and schedules.

Today, Vanessa works out of the actress’s apartment and acts as a contact for business matters and the many charities Moore is involved with.

Kelly Engstrom
Kelly began working for interior designer Nate Berkus nearly five years ago when he was starting a spin-off show from his spot on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Today, she has taken on more responsibility and describes her job as “terrifically unpredictable and volleys constantly between professional and personal.”

Kelly has overseen three of Berkus’s major home renovations while managing his company’s online storefront. Berkus returned the favour by performing a home makeover on her Brooklyn apartment this summer.

Nancy Alfaro
As the PA to shoe mogul Steve Madden for nine years, Nancy has helped facilitate various business ventures. She describes the office as “a busy, colourful place, filled with textiles, sparkling stones, buckles, laces and everything else that goes into making shoes.”

She says she enjoys the atmosphere of Madden’s Manhatten showroom, where she directs people to meetings and answers phones. She has also been a vital part of Madden’s move into the music industry with the Steve Madden Music Programme.

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