Page 3 Profile: Nancy Shevell Beatle fiancee

Ah! Paul McCartney's wife-to-be. Will this marriage end in as dignified a manner as the last?

Who knows what the Fates have ordained, but friends of McCartney are apparently hopeful that the former Beatle has found his second soulmate. Nancy and Paul have known each other for around 20 years, but it was apparently broadcast veteran Barbara Walters who played the matchmaker. Stella McCartney, Paul's daughter from his first marriage to Linda, has reportedly given her blessing. Any concerns on Stella's part would have been unfortunate, given that Paul has posted wedding banns at Westminster Register Office, and could be married as soon as October.

Isn't that where he married Linda?

Yes, and he's after a small, family-oriented ceremony in the same manner as his first marriage. Like Linda, a passionate animal campaigner, Nancy has suffered from breast cancer, but managed to survive the disease. Since then, she has become a board member on New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Though renowned as an Upper East Side socialite, she doesn't have the high-falutin' manners that would shame her New Jersey trucker-girl roots.

Any chance of a pre-nup?

In his divorce with Heather, Paul's account shrank by £24m. Hardly a fortune for a man with nearly half a billion in reserve, but enough to fuel the unending vilification of the woman who received it. Nancy offered to sign a pre-nup, but Paul refused; in part, one might imagine, because he knows she won't need a penny. Her father's trucking company – where Nancy holds the position of vice president – turns over £250m a year.