why are they famous?: Normandie Keith

Main Claim: Nothing whatsoever. Normandie Keith is truly a glittering superstar among the swelling ranks of the Famous for Being Famous, those "models" never seen near a catwalk, those "TV personalities" whose careers peak mid-breakfast, those serried ranks of Tamaras, Taras and Tanias with a cause. An It among It girls, Normandie is known as the fiancee of some rich, polo-playing poshington called Lucas White. But following their split of a fortnight ago, she is suddenly dating zookeeper and gambler John Aspinall's son Damian. Inconsolable, darling.

Appearance: Shrink-wrapped Caprice Bourret. Space cadet Barbie. Skull and cheekbones. Runner-up in Intergalactic beauty pageant.

It Girl: Normandie, 25, became vaguely famous in a flimsy manner for glowing radiantly beside the emphatically homely Tara P-T on the cover of Tatler, when she was first dubbed an It Girl. "I love going to parties because I love meeting people," she explains. The jury is out on whether she is an icy adventuress on the make among Blighty's bachelor boys, or a sweet and well-meaning American miss, a Henry James heroine, for the millennium. Yes yes.

Model Past: Normandie is the daughter of a Vermont sawmill heir named Norman. She rode and partied at a fancy-pants East Coast boarding school, had her own Park Avenue apartment at 17, just like most of us, and was voted "deb of the year". She married for three months, made TV ads, was an extra in Scent of a Woman and dated Lord Hanson's son Robert. Lucas White, a sweet, innocent boy younger than our heroine, proposed after three months. They split after 18 months, by which time Normandie was firmly established in both our favourite society magazines and the kind of newspaper left in greasy spoons. A considerable achievement.

Fame Prospects: Like any It Girl vaguely in search of a description, Normandie wishes to become an actress - "more Goldie Hawn Meg Ryan than Sharon Stone". No, Normandie, no. She needs to date Mogens Tholstrup, Prince Andrew or Gazza to guarantee a more secure perch in the public gaze. Otherwise, she could simply fade into the blur of shires, divorce and charity work that is the primrose path of fading social butterflies.