Staff for the rich and famous are influencerizing their day-to-day lives, giving followers access to luxury while creating financial safety nets for themselves

Victoria Hiegel, personal assistant to a celebrity client she cannot name because of a nondisclosure agreement, spent 13 February ferrying Valentine’s Day cookies across Manhattan. Her boss “doesn’t love chocolate,” so Hiegel had to hunt for a bakery that could swap the batch’s chocolate chunks for sour hearts. She posted part of her search to TikTok, where she received thousands of views from people keen to watch her cater to the whims of the rich and famous.

Hiegel, 26, is a microcelebrity in her own right. Wearing her blond hair in carefully styled waves and speaking with a practised ease, she has obvious star appeal. But it is her career that fascinates her 1m followers.