Being an assistant can often be a pretty thankless job — think Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada.
And pretty much every celebrity in Hollywood has one. But it's not all bad! In fact, there are some celeb assistants who end up becoming incredibly close to their famous employers or even work their way up to big jobs in the entertainment industry. Here are 11 examples:
1. Meryl Streep's assistant Sierra recently penned a lengthy appreciation post for her famous employer after finishing her tenure, and it's safe to say that Meryl is nothing like Miranda Priestly. "They say never meet your heroes — but they’ve clearly never worked for Meryl Streep," Sierra started. "These last three months as Meryl’s personal assistant have been an absolute dream. She is thoughtful, witty, and pathologically kind."
"Whether I was running late or looked like I needed an extra layer for the New York winter, she always went above and beyond to put me at ease," Sierra continued, proving what we've all thought — that Meryl is truly amazing. "There were times when I jokingly reminded her that I was the one working for her, and she would shush me while she continued making me a cup of tea."
2. When Mindy Kaling's assistant Elena left the job last year, Mindy wrote a super-long tribute to her on Instagram — showing her appreciation for all the ways that Elena went above and beyond in her role, including supporting her during the birth of her son. "She cares so deeply about me, my job, and my family, it’s one of the most important relationships in my life," Mindy wrote. "When I left to go to the hospital to give birth to my son, she sent me little texts of encouragement every day I was there. 'You can do this!' Can I Elena? Can I have a baby alone during a pandemic?! According to her, I could!"
Elena had previously shared some details of what it was really like to be Mindy's assistant. "She trusts the people around her," Elena told Bustle. "If she’s read a script and thinks, Hmm, I just don’t know, she'll give it to me. She always asks our opinions. Last week, we were kind of quarantined [but] hadn't done the whole lockdown yet. She made a full brisket from scratch for us."
3. Meanwhile, Mindy's previous assistant Akshara shared the unconventional route she took to get the job — and it surprisingly involved B.J. Novak. “It was mostly luck and a little catfishing! I created an Instagram for a character that Mindy and B.J. had on Twitter*," she told ShondaLand. "After a year or so of posting, Mindy reached out via DM asking who I was. After I graduated college, I became her assistant on multiple projects, and it was like getting a master’s degree in writing and producing." After her time spent as Mindy's assistant, Akshara went on to become a story editor on Never Have I Ever, as well a writer on Velma.
4. Zendaya met her current assistant and dear friend, Darnell Appling, when he was a stand-in on her Disney Channel show K.C. Undercover, and they've been extremely close ever since. Zendaya even once shared a vlog of a day in Darnell's life, which included him planning a party for her and even feeling her underarm hair growing in. (Yes, they're that close.)
For her birthday last year, Darnell called Zendaya his "lifeline" and said that he wouldn't be able to function without her.
5. Jennifer Lawrence's former assistant Justine Ciarrocchi was actually her best friend first, and Jennifer enlisted her to become her assistant. In fact, Jennifer has previously credited Justine with keeping her grounded once she became famous. “Justine is with me," she told Vogue in 2013. "So it’s kind of like this consistent thing in my life. I’m still doing what a 23-year-old should be doing, which is hanging out with my friend and being normal. I still have to put the dishes away. And I still have to listen.”
Now Justine is still very much in Jennifer's inner circle as her producing partner at her production company Excellent Cadaver. Justine has produced Jennifer's recent films, including No Hard Feelings and Causeway.
6. Selena Gomez's former assistant Theresa Mingus ultimately became one of her best friends. “After working with you, it’s helped me to not take life too seriously,” Selena once said in an interview with Theresa. “I’ve grown up in a very difficult situation, so I felt like we bonded on that. Because we come from real places. I just didn’t think I could get through some of the hardest points in my life if it wasn't for you.”
Before working with Selena, Theresa was Kim Kardashian's assistant for two years. And in 2018, Selena and Theresa decided to officially change their relationship from employer-employee to just close friends. "I consider her like my family," Theresa told Hollywood Life.
7. Rihanna's former assistant Jennifer Rosales worked as her right-hand woman from 2008 to 2017. “I came on the week she released 'Umbrella,' so you can imagine the whirlwind that was her life after that," Jennifer said in an interview with Tinseltown Mom. "That track was No. 1 for 10 weeks in the UK. That was record-breaking at the time … We went everywhere … I didn’t come home for six months." The two became so close that Rihanna was a bridesmaid in Jennifer's wedding in 2015.
Now Jennifer is the senior vice president of Rihanna's Fenty Corp. “She’s family now," Jennifer said. "She’s the godmother to my two kids, and she’s always looked out for me. It was more of just the timing needed to be right. The projects needed to be ready to go so she could put me on it. That’s why it took that long. She was always looking out for me.”
8. One of Shay Mitchell's best friends is her longtime assistant Sammy Rosenman. For years, Sammy has been prominently featured everywhere from Shay's YouTube channel to her Instagram and has also worked in the capacity of project director and brand manager for Shay.
The two have a super-funny online relationship, like this time Sammy gave Shay a bunch of fake rules to follow for a meeting:
9. And it seems like Shay tends to have great working relationships with her assistants in general. Alexa Davis, another recent assistant of hers, periodically shared days in her life on TikTok.
In one video, she helped Shay get ready for a trip, which involves packing everything, doing coffee and Target runs (like tracking down a bottle warmer for Shay's baby), and keeping track of all the outfits that Shay's stylist put together for her for the trip.
Now Alexa works as an assistant, photographer, and social media manager for Charli and Dixie D'Amelio. She has talked openly about how she first got into being a celebrity assistant. She started out assisting a music manager for a few months until he was connected with the D'Amelio family, and the rest was history. "Then they were moving to LA, and they asked me to move with them and be their assistant," Alexa said. And her biggest piece of advice for being in the industry? Networking. "It's who you know, how people perceive you ... it's a cutthroat business out there."
10. Viola Davis's former assistant Kaylon Hunt worked closely with her and her husband, Julius Tennon, at their company, JuVee Productions. "He keeps our lives organized and makes sure things run smoothly even in the middle of a storm," she once said of Kaylon. Within a couple of years, Kaylon was promoted to vice president of the company, and Viola shared a sweet Facebook tribute to him on his birthday. "Started as my assistant and now VP of JuVee Productions, you're an incredibly talented artist in your own right. So proud of you and happy God brought you into our lives Kaylon," she wrote.
11. And finally, in 2016, Blake Lively attended her best friend and former assistant Jessica Snyder's wedding just days after giving birth to her daughter Inez. At the time, she wrote a tribute to Jessica on Instagram: “Most beautiful bride on the planet. And the best friend I could ask for. Thank you for being everything. I love you.”
Blake periodically posts about Jessica on Instagram, including tributes to her on her birthday.
