Who

Debbie Bancroft is a socialite, society columnist, and philanthropic busy bee.

Backstory

Although Bancroft runs with the socialite set and raises big bucks for various causes around town, she and her banker husband Billy aren't the billionaire heirs to any fortune. Nevertheless, Bancroft has been building her rep as a woman-about-town for years now, reporting from the front lines of black-tie benefits for society mags like Hamptons Style and Avenue and serving as a muse to fashion designer Douglas Hannant. (Unfortunately, the two had a falling out 2005, after he picked the more youthful Tinsley Mortimer to be the face of his new line of furs.) A staple on the benefit circuit, Bancroft can be found raising money for such causes as the ABT, Drama League, New Yorkers for Children, and Parrish Museum in Southampton.

Personal

Bancroft and her husband Billy have two children, Will and Serena. The family lives in a 72nd Street co-op and spends weekends in Southampton.

True story

William E. Woodward Jr., Billy Bancroft's uncle, was murdered by his wife in a case that inspired both Truman Capote's short story "Cote Basque" and Dominick Dunne's bestselling novel The Two Mrs. Grenvilles.