Socialite



You know this woman (or man, since the term is gender-neutral, although the example will invariably be female). She's cultured and rich, and she knows how to handle any situation (or at least upper-class ones). Her rich husband adores her and never tires of supplying her with a constant stream of Gucci and Armani. She lives in a paradise of a mansion, usually in California. You might find her drinking expensive wine at a classy party any given day of the week—often she doesn't have a job, thanks to the aforementioned husband—or working in a high-end job, such as that of a celebrity publicist, which nets her a very high salary.

While the Socialite is similar to—and can overlap with—the Rich Bitch and the Upper-Class Twit, there is a difference: Though the Socialite is Spoiled Sweet, she may very well be a nice woman who just so happens to have a lot of money. On the other hand, she can also be Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense, especially if she's been rich since childhood.

Can also be prone to Conspicuous Consumption, especially jewels, fancy dresses, and furs.

Compare Idle Rich.

Anime & Manga

 * Farnese's mother in Berserk.
 * A younger and very cynical version of the trope is Wang Liu Mei from Gundam 00.

Film

 * Leslie Benedict in Giant is one.
 * Phyllis Nefler in Troop Beverly Hills.
 * The wife and her sister in Unfaithfully Yours.
 * Wallis Simpson in The King's Speech before becoming the Duchess of Windsor, putting her at odds with Elizabeth.
 * Susan in Anchors Aweigh wants to be a singer.

Literature

 * "Madam", the aunt and surrogate mother to the series' eventual ultimate politician Lord Vetinari, in the Discworld stories. She primarily appears in Night Watch.
 * Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker from The Great Gatsby.
 * Mitzy Lish from A Prayer for Owen Meany.
 * Sisterhood series by Fern Michaels: Myra Rutledge is a beautiful socialite in her 60s. She runs a Fortune 500 candy company, and she doesn't know how much money she has, except for the fact that she's a billionaire at least. She is in charge of the Vigilantes, a group that breaks the law to achieve justice, and she will not hesitate to use her money to bankroll the Vigilantes and the connections she has to get the Vigilantes out of trouble. She is one of the good guys, by the way. She also has a pearl necklace that she has a habit of playing with.

Live Action TV

 * Emily Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. Her sole occupation is to be a corporate wife; planning parties and attending events to keep up the social side of her husband's business. If things don't go her way, however...

Video Games

 * Mrs. Arrow of F-Zero.
 * Champion Cynthia of the Pokémon games, particularly evident in her appearance in Pokémon Black and White.

Web Original

 * The Face Book game Sorority Life centers on this whole concept. You play a college girl who's part of a sorority. Your mission is not to get good grades to get a good job, as one might think. Rather, it's to get as much status, expensive things and power as possible.
 * Whateley Universe examples: Solange's mother. And step-mother. And maybe previous step-mothers too. Traduce's mother, who (like Traduce) cannot keep a personal assistant because she treats underlings so badly. Not Phase's mother, who has a Ph.D. and spends her time running Goodkind Research.

Western Animation

 * Evelyn Peters from The Simpsons. (Although she's something of a Deconstruction, having graduated from a public high school with non-rich kids and feeling ashamed of this.)
 * Many of Bruce Wayne's girlfriends, particularly in Batman: The Animated Series. They're all rich and have doting boyfriends, but they're more Spoiled Sweet than Rich Bitch.
 * Bruce also had a platonic relationship with Veronica Vreeland, a red-headed socialite. She was invariably portrayed vaguely negatively, usually as Rich in Dollars Poor In Sense.