Apple Martin, Alienor Loppin de Montmort, and Rysa Panday – meet the glamorous debs of 2024’s Le Bal de Debutantes

If you were near the Shangri-La in Paris on Saturday night, you would be forgiven for thinking you had mistakenly stepped into an episode of Bridgerton.

Aristocrats, Hollywood ‘nepo babies‘, and socialites from around the world descended on the five-star hotel for the annual Les Bal des Débutantes – dressed in custom ball gowns from the ateliers of luxury labels, like Chanel, Valentino and Oscar de la Renta. 

The prestigious event was first held at the Palace of Versailles in 1958

Today, it is billed as the high-society debut for 20 young ladies handpicked from some of the most important families in the world. 

This year’s event was held at the Hotel Shangri-La, where rooms cost $1,000-a-night, and proceeds were divided between the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in the US and the cardiology research unit at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital.

This season’s cohort consisted of 19 debutantes, including Christ Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow’s 18-year-old daughter Apple Martin, aspiring Bollywood star Rysa Panday, the heiress to the Chateau Giscours wine fortune, Olivia Meijer, and France‘s Princess Eugenie de Borbon Varga. 

So who was the diamond of the season? 

Here, Femail has compiled a who’s who of debs – with everything you need to know about the Le Bal de Debutantes Class of 2024 – and the dashing cavaliers that ushered them into high-society. 

1. Ella Yam 

The daughter of Hong Kong actor Simon Yam and model Qiqi Fei, Ella Yam wore a glamorous red, ruffled Giambattista Valli gown for the event on Sunday. 

Ella, who described wearing the dress as a ‘dream come true’, is currently juggling her studies at the prestigious London School of Economics with a career as a model. 

Ahead of her debut, Ella graced the cover of Vogue Hong Kong’s anniversary issue, calling it a ‘full circle moment’. 

Sharing a photo of the December cover on Instragram, Ella captioned the post: ‘Honoured to be on Vogue Hong Kong’s December issue. 

‘A full circle moment, from my first shoot with vogue when i was 14 to 5 years later with so many more experiences, stories & passions along the way. thank you to the team & vogue, what an incredible experience,’ she wrote. 

Ella’s date for the evening was Harris Hussain – the brother of socialite Hannah Hussain, who made her debut last December. 

Harris and Hannah made Le Bal history when they became the first-ever Pakistani debutantes to attend the event. 

2. Rysa Panday

Like her elder sister, Bollywood actress Ananya Panday, Rysa Panday was accompanied by her parents Chunky and Bhavna Panday for her debut. 

The 18-year-old was a vision in an off-shoulder Elie Saab gown, as she walked into the Shangri-La ballroom with Maarish Hinduja. 

While Rysa’s father and sister are both well-established Bollywood personalities, Hello! reported she is eyeing a career that combines both fashion and film. 

Ananya made her Le Bal debut in 2017, with the Panday sisters joining previous Indian debutantes such as Princess Gauravi Kumari of Jaipur, billionaire Isha Ambani, and Bollywood starlet Shanaya Kapoor. 

3. Cornelia Manou

Socialite Cornelia Manou paid tribute to her heritage at Le Bal, as she wore a stunning, crystal embellished gown by Greek designer Celia Kritarioti. 

According to Hello!, Celia also designed her mother Ioana Martino’s wedding dress. 

Cornelia’s date for the evening was Leon Manas.

Little is known publicly about Cornelia but the outlet reported she aspires to become a scientist.

4. Olivia Meijer 

Holland-born Olivia Meijer is the daughter of an influential Athens-based family prominent in real estate and wine. They own the French vineyard Chateau Giscours.

A student at IE University in Madrid, Olivia wore a stunning lilac gown by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria.

She was escorted by her brother Antonius Meijer. 

According to her LinkedIn profile, Olivia took a gap year before enrolling at the prestigious Spanish university – but has largely kept her private life under wraps. 

5. Princess Eugenie de Bourbon 

Princess Eugenie de Borbon Vargas, the daughter of Prince Luis Alfonso, Duc d’Anjou, looked radiant in a shimmering gown by Carolina Herrera. 

Had the French monarchy not been abolished in 1792, Prince Luis Alfonso would be in line for the throne. 

Nonetheless, the princess held the distinction of being the only royal on this year’s line-up at Le Bal.

Accompanied by her cavalier, the Archduke of Austria Karl-Konstantin Habsburg-Lothringen of Hungary, Princess Eugenie struck a series of playful poses at Le Bal, before joining her fellow debs on the dance floor. 

6. Alienor Loppin de Montmort 

French deb Alienor Loppin de Montmort captivated Le Bal with her infectious smile, as she hopped into her date, Belgian aristocrat Count Rodolphe de Hemricourt Grunne’s arms while posing for photos.

Alienor comes from the Loppin de Montmort family, who are survivors of French nobility and originally came from Beaune, in Burgundy. They can trace their roots back to 1480.

Guillaume Loppin was married to Isabeau de Cologne, who was the daughter of the mayor of Beaune and from an high-powered family in the region, with several members of the family holding high administrative positions.

However, in 1585, the family lost its noble status after they were ennobled by charge at the Chamber of Accounts of Burgundy, in Dijon, becoming lords of Montmort in eastern France.

According to one heritage site, Alienor was born in Brussels in 2007.

Organisers reported that she ‘describes herself as an animal lover with a passion for fashion, a legacy from her beautiful grandmother, Myriam Laffon’. 

Showing off this inherited love of style, Alienor picked a black dress by French fashion house Emanuel Ungaro for Le Bal – with organisers of the event revealing the gown once belonged to her grandmother. 

According to her Instagram account, the French countess lives a life of luxury – including enjoying lavish European holidays, expensive meals, and themed dinner parties. 

Alienor’s debut was somewhat overshadowed when Apple crashed her photoshoot at Le Bal, with the moment going viral on TikTok.

In her Instagram description is a link to another of her accounts, alienorandart, which includes dozens of photographs of gallery artwork.

The caption of the account is written in Spanish and reads ‘just a girl who loves art’ – which could also suggest she is trilingual, also a master of French and English.

7. Peyton Spaht 

American socialite Peyton Spaht picked a showstopping Dolce & Gabbanna Alta Moda strapless dress with a huge, billowing skirt for her fairytale-esque debut last evening. 

The San Francisco native’s cavalier was French royal Prince Constantin d’Orléans.

Peyton’s father is said to be a managing partner at the American private equity firm Thomas Bravo, with Hello! reporting her parents are both mental health advocates. 

The young deb routinely posts snippets from her glamorous life on Instagram, including tropical getaways and yacht excursions.

8. Sophie Kodjoe

Sophie Kodjoe descended the stairs in a stunning plum ball gown from Oscar de la Renta, complete with a fitted bodice and a balloon skirt.

The 19-year-old was joined by her cavalier, Brazilian-American Toussaint Pierre-Vargas.

Proudly watching of her daughter was Nicole Ari Parker, the star of Sex and the City spin-off And Just Like That.

Sophie’s father is Austrian-born German actor, Boris Kodjoe.

The couple are also doting parents to Sophie’s brother, 17-year-old Nicholas. 

9. Apollonie Halard

Apollonie Halard looked radiant in a pink and black satin gown by Italian label Schiaparelli – paired with a pair of long black sleeves and pearl choker.  

Apollonie seems to have inherited her fashion sense from her mother Miranda Brooks – who is a Vogue contributer – as well as her father, the architect and designer Bastien Halardis.

The young lady’s cavalier of choice was Gabriel de Kergorlay of France.

The 18-year-old told The Telegraph she thought ‘my mum was playing a joke on me’ when she was first asked to be a part of this year’s line-up. 

Apollonie, who is currently studying fashion design at London’s Central Saint Martins continued: ‘I’ve dreamed of going to a ball since I was a little girl; my 10th birthday was ball-themed!’

Her mother Miranda described Apollonie’s experience of wearing a Schiaparelli creation – and being dressed by David Roseberry – as ‘beyond her wildest dreams’. 

She also said she was pleased Apollonie had agreed to making her debut ‘despite how anachronistic it might seem’.  

10. Lucia Ponti  

Sophia Loren’s granddaughter Lucia Sofia Ponti, who lives in Los Angeles, also made her grand entrance into society on Saturday. 

During the glamorous event, Lucia – who is studying at Brown University – was accompanied by her date, Count Alberico di Carpegna Brivio, who is descended from Italian nobility.

Her cavalier was also Italian, with Count Alberico di Carpegna Brivio escorting Lucia as she made a striking first impression at the annual deb ball. 

Like her grandmother, Lucia opted for a strapless, tiered Giorgio Armani ballgown.

The Italian designer famously had a close working relationship with Sophia Loren during the height of her fame – and the Hollywood icon even wore a bespoke Armani suit for her 90th birthday celebrations in September.

Speaking to Hello! ahead of the ball, Lucia explained: ‘My grandmother always believed in timeless elegance and the importance of wearing something that reflects your true personality.

‘Growing up, she taught me the value of simplicity, tailoring and always adding a touch of originality to your outfit.’

11. Angel Zhang

Angel Zhang turned heads in a midnight blue gown by Alexis Mabille with gorgeous lace balloon sleeves embellished with flowers.

In one of the sweetest moments of the night, Angel’s cavalier was her brother Daniel.

Angel is the daughter of Chinese movie director Zhang Yimou and former ballerina Ting Chen.

Taking after her father, Angel plans to go to university in the states to study all things cinema. 

12. Oona Finch  

Oona Finch is the granddaughter of legendary English-Australian actor Peter Finch, who was the first person to win an Oscar in an acting category posthumously.  

An aspiring actress, Oona is the daughter of British businessman and film producer Charles Finch and his wife Sydney Ingle-Finch. 

For her Le Bal debut, the 18-year-old picked a form-fitting Chanel gown embellished with ruching. 

In an interview with The Telegraph, Oona expressed her delight at wearing the sleeveless pink, form-fitting creation that took hundreds of hours to make. 

‘I went to the Salon where Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel used to show her couture shows and got to look through the collections, before trying five on. I loved all of them. The one I wore has gemstones on the bottom and a big bow,’ she told the newspaper. 

She also said she hopes the friends she has made at Le Bal will, one day, benefit her career as an actress, describing the glitzy networking event as a ‘good lesson for me for later…[learning how] to listen and connect and learn from others’. 

13. Mina Muniz Tschape

The daughter of Brazilian artists Vicente Muniz and Janaina Tschape, Mina Muniz Tschape picked a bridal-white design from Jean Paul Gaultier’s atelier. 

She looked ethereal in the romantic, corseted dress wit a tulle skirt, with Mina’s cavalier Zhining Zhao left their audience swooning as he planted a kiss on her hand as they entered the ballroom. 

The young socialite hopes to become a scientist one day.  

14. Apple Martin, 20 

For her debut, Apple picked a bespoke baby blue strapless gown designed by Alessandro Michele – the creative director of luxury fashion label Valentino. 

According to Vogue, it took Valentino’s atelier 750 hours to create the dreamy, custom, six-tiered custom Valentino crafted from silk plissé chiffon that Apple wore. 

The daughter of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, Apple’s distinguished date for the ball was Austro-Hungarian aristocrate Leo Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Apple, who is an honourary debutante this year, follows in the footsteps of Ava Phillipe and Lily Collins – both among Hollywood’s most famous ‘nepo’ babies. 

While Ava is the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe, the Emily in Paris star’s father is renowned English musician Phil Collins. 

Both Chris and Gwyneth were in attendance, watching Apple make her high-society debut, along with the ex-couple’s 18-year-old son Moses Martin. 

Gwyneth’s mother and Hollywood superstar Blythe Danner also made her way to the Shangri-La to cheer for Apple from the sidelines. 

15. Madelyn Netto, 18

Madelyn Netto is the daughter of interior designer David Netto and grew up splitting her time between the east and west coast of the United States. 

She is currently studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and, on Saturday, took her place among her fellow debutantes – including princesses and Hollywood royalty. 

The 18-year-old picked a bright red satin dress by Lebanese fashion designer George Hobeika and was accompanied by her American cavalier William Dejoux. 

Madelyn’s gushing father shared snippets from her glittering debut on his official Instagram page, as David’s followers praised their bond in the comments section. 

He captioned one of his posts: ‘Well if it isn’t my little bug, with Paris at her feet.’ 

16. Sofia Yadigaroglu 

Fellow debutant Sofia Yadigaroglu opted for a shimmering gown by Dutch designer Iris van Herpen for the ball.

Her cavalier of choice was Konstantinos Manos. 

Sofia is the daughter of well known Spanish artist Inma Barrero. Her father is Greek of Byzantine and Swiss descent.

Sofia is currently a junior at the prestigious Amherst College in Massachusett, USA, where is pursuing a double major in Art History and English. 

Writing on LinkedIn, Sofia also describes herself as a ‘dedicated painter’ and routinely shares her creations on her official Instagram page.

Sofia speaks four languages and has already written several pieces for Town & Country magazine, as well as interned with art galleries and worked with non-profits such as Free Arts NYC – a youth empowerment programme. 

17. Sienna Gallienne  

Belgian heiress Sienna Gallienne was a vision in a beige Dior gown, as the granddaughter of business mogul Albert Frere sashayed through the Shangri-La’s ballroom on Sunday. 

Sienna’s mother Segolene Galliene, whose net worth is estimated at around $3 billion, also wore Dior when she made her Le Bal debut 30 years ago. 

Her father is the French businessman Ian Gallienne, who has served as the Managing Director of Belgian holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL). 

Her date for the evening was Beltran Remiro Imaz, from Spain.   

18. Marilia Vamvakidis

Powder blue gowns were definitely one of the night’s biggest trends, with Marilia Vamvakidi also opting for a Cinderella dress for the evening. 

Marilia’s father is Greek and her maternal grandmother is Princess Xenia Cheremeteff of Russia – the granddaughter of Prince Felix Yusupov. 

Yusupov was part of the group of nobles that assasinated Grigori Rasputin in 1916. 

After the assassination, Yusupov used his fortune to start couture house Irfe with his wife Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia.

For her debut, Marilia was accompanied by Prince Alexis Obolensky of Greece. 

19. Isabel de Poligny 

Isabel Quirot de Poligny, who has Argentinian and French heritage, arguably chose the most daring of all the deb looks.

She wore a black silk bustier top and a very-low waisted satin skirt by French fashion designer Stephane Rolland.

She completed her statement outfit with a topaz necklace and a silver buckle. 

Isabel is following in her family’s footsteps by pursuing a passion for art, studying at the prestigious Courtauld Institute in London in the hopes of becoming a curator.