YOU KNOW ALL THE FAMILY SECRETS, BUT WE SHOULD MENTION: FINDING THE IDEAL NANNY IS REALLY NOT AN EASY TASK FOR CELEBRITIES
www.gala.de | 13. August 2008
Romp and play, banging on pots and pans, playing blind cow, and eating cake with ice cream. Children’s birthday parties are a great thing. But in the home of an aristocratic Upper East Side family, such a frolic would be unthinkable. Remember Grayer, sitting in front of a giant cream pie on his fifth birthday in his dapper suit – with only his Nanny Annie (Scarlett Johansson) present? The parents have better things to do than orchestrate a grand birthday party. The movie “The Nanny Diaries,” based on the bestselling novel of Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin, takes an ironic view of the responsibilities of a nanny: clean, do laundry, play with the children, organize trips, shopping, and even educating the little ones.
Nannies are not always employed solely to tend to the children either. In many celebrity households, nannies also assist the parents in their day-to-day affairs. This can be quite expensive: “A capable nanny can earn upward of $130,000 per year” said Glenda Ross of “Celebrities Staffing services”.
In order to find the best candidates, celebrities typically use the services of a Nanny agency. There, the candidates are given drug tests and criminal background screening, as well as being required to provide stellar references. According to Glenda Ross, this scrutiny is necessary, as “the Nanny must be representative of their bosses”. Therefore, stars like Tom Cruise and Madonna prefer the women possess a college degree and have many years of experience on the job…