Angela Bassett praises daughter’s ‘spirit of graciousness’ before Le Bal des Debutantes — exclusive

The 2025 Le Bal des Débutantes is a milestone event that will bring together young ladies from the aristocracy and the most influential families in the world of business and the arts as they make their formal entrance into society. One of those women is Bronwyn Golden Vance, the 19-year-old daughter of film producers and actors Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance. The teen is a Harvard sophomore, an accomplished musician and philanthropist, who began her own nonprofit as a teenager.

Raised in Los Angeles and now studying on the East Coast at Ivy League Harvard, Bronwyn was introduced to the world of debutantes through a family friend, before Madame Ophélie Renouard, who masterminded a modern-day makeover for the ball in 1997, reached out to the family. “I love fashion and feeling like a princess, and this seemed like something I would love,” Bronwyn tells HELLO! “I also recognized some of the girls who did it years prior and knew if they were doing it, it was a great event.”

Actresses Margaret Qualley, Lori Harvey, and Lily Collins, Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter Apple Martin, Bruce Willis’ daughters Scout and Tallulah Willis, Reese Witherspoon’s daughter Ava Phillippe, and model Dree Hemingway have all attended Le Bal, renowned for its glamorous fashion and high-society guest list but with a strong focus on community-building that offers women the chance to meet peers from around the world. 

This year, other debutantes include Eulalia de Orleans-Borbón, daughter of businessman Álvaro de Orleans-Borbón, Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill, a relative of Prince William and Prince Harry, and Carolina B. Lansing, granddaughter of fashion designer Carolina Herrera.

© Getty Images

Bronwyn met the other girls for the first time in the days before the ball. “We talked about how some of the girls don’t know their cavaliers yet and how we were so hungry while doing the photoshoots and interviews all day today,” shares Bronwyn, before joking, in classic teen fashion: “I’m excited to meet all the cavaliers, but from what I’ve heard they’re all very handsome and funny!”

Angela, an honorary Oscar winner and two-time nominee for Best Actress, was unfamiliar with the ball, admitting that it “felt a little out of the blue initially”.

© Almanac Palais Vienna

“I wouldn’t think it a normal occurrence to be vetted and invited onto a world stage at such an age,” she adds, but the 9-1-1 actress and executive producer had “no trepidations whatsoever,” and “was swept away” by Bronwyn’s enthusiasm for the opportunity.

“Bronwyn has a spirit of graciousness,” says Angela. “She is at ease and seeks to put others at ease in whatever situation she finds herself.”

© Bronwyn Vance

© Bronwyn Vance

Moving 5000 miles across the country from home for college has taught Bronwyn that she is stronger than she thought she was: “I don’t always need my family there to guide me through situations. But it also taught me how much I love my family and helped me find a family away from LA at Harvard. I love my friends. and they make being away from my family that much easier.”

Bronwyn also now lives 130 miles from her twin brother Slater, who is studying at Yale University in Connecticut, but the “distance doesn’t make us any less close,” says Bronwyn. The pair are a part of each other’s friend groups, and always visit each other at school, although Bronwyn believes the time apart is “good for us and our careers going forward”.

The teen asked her twin brother to be her cavalier at the ball. “I thought it would be less pressure to have my brother and built-in best friend,” she says, quipping that it’s helpful to know that pictures will genuinely “last for a lifetime”.

For Angela, seeing the twins’ relationship grow as they become young adults has been a “blessing,” acknowledging that at 19, both of them are now “in a phase of self-discovery” but always have one another’s best interests at heart.

In 2022, Bronwyn launched a campaign to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (now known as the Blood Cancer United), raising over $60,000 in less than two months. It was her parents who taught her the importance of giving back, and Bronwyn is keen to “continue community service in any way possible,” and to combine it with work in the acting field.

“I am curious to see how it will play out in the life ahead. But her compassion is a big part of her personality,” says Angela, whose advice for Bronwyn on the big evening? “Take a nap and enjoy the grandeur of the moment”.

© Bronwyn Vance

© Bronwyn Vance

For the milestone event on November 29, Bronwyn has partnered with renowned French designer Stéphane Rolland to bring her exquisite ballgown to life.  “I have never seen such a beautiful dress on myself, and I know Stéphane and his team worked so hard on this dress, so I am so honored to be wearing it in Paris!” says Bronwyn.

“The dress makes me feel like a Disney princess in the best way possible!”

Bronwyn allowed Stéphane to draw and design the entire dress: “I just wanted to feel beautiful, and I knew his professional eye knew how to make that come true.”

© FilmMagic

Bronwyn’s closet is filled with sweaters, jeans, and clothes pilfered from her mother’s closet – and she says she is most nervous about walking and dancing in her heels for hours. But she is most looking forward to “seeing all the photos” – and enjoying a good Wing Stop meal post-ball.

“I’ve been watching what I eat and working out every day just for this, and I must get some oily unhealthy meal right after the ball!”