Related: Hollywood Stars’ Kids Who’ve Debuted at the Le Bal Through the Years
Lifestyle
Angela Bassett’s Daughter Makes Her Debut at Le Bal des Debutantes
Angela Bassett’s daughter, Bronwyn Golden Vance, was the belle of the Paris Le Bal des Débutantes ball.
Bronwyn, 19, who Bassett, 67, shares with husband Courtney B. Vance, made her debut at the world’s most exclusive debutante ball on Saturday, November 29, at the Shangri-La Paris hotel.
For the event, the Harvard student wore a custom Stéphane Rolland off-the-shoulder dress featuring a white tulle skirt and gold embroidered accents along the bodice. She glammed up the look with drop earrings and a pendant necklace.
For glam, Bronwyn donned a full beat, including a smoky eye and rose-colored blush and lipstick. She wore her tresses down and middle-parted.
Bronwyn opened up the ball by sharing a special dance with Vance, 65, per footage shared by Hello! magazine. They were also joined by Bassett, who stunned in a strapless silver column gown, and the deb’s twin brother, Slater. Slater even served as his sister’s cavalier.
“I thought it would be less pressure to have my brother and built-in best friend,” Bronwyn told the magazine, gushing their photos will “last for a lifetime.”
Before Saturday’s gala, Bronwyn opened up to Elle about what it’s like to attend the lavish event.
“It just feels like you are a princess for one night,” she told the outlet earlier this month. “It’s a beautiful ceremony to allow girls to feel extremely special for one night. I wanted to be a part of something so beautiful, so spectacular, that I probably won’t be able to experience again.”
The founder of the Le Bal des Débutantes, Ophélie Renouard, also opened up to Elle about her role of overseeing the list of debs and their looks.
“It’s like doing the casting of a play,” she explained. “We like the Italian princesses. But if I have a second one, she cannot be invited because I only have 20 seats. I need a mix of girls. I’m never bored, because every year is different.”
Renouard continued, “You have to like fashion. You have to have a style. The girls tend to be really good students. They’re bright, they’re international.” She also shared that the “beauty” of the event is that the debutantes “make friends from all over the world and they meet girls that they would never have met before.”
As the girls visit Paris to get their fittings, Renouard accompanies them and gives suggestions. Elle reported that the only rule to follow is to typically “avoid black or white.”
While some women are born into Le Bal, others are selected from January through September, when invitations are sent out.
Last year, Apple Martin, the daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, made headlines for her ball debut. According to Vogue, she stunned in a blue Valentino gown featuring six dégradé tiers of silk plissé chiffon and a cinched waist adorned with a black bow.
More celebrity children who have debuted at Le Bal include Ave Phillippe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, Lori Harvey, Steve Harvey’s daughter, and Scout and Tallulah Willis, the daughters of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis.