A historical timeline of assistants, aides, secretaries, and domestic staff

​NOTE: The flame🔥represents major events in the industry.

Important Dates for Assistants, Aides & "the Help"

  • 1916: Rasputin, assistant to the Romanov family, is assassinated. 
  • 1940: The Seraphic Society is formed. It is an elite group of secretaries to world leaders. 
  • 1957: Long time confidant to Howard Hughes quits after 32 years over money dispute. 
  • 1962: Dr. No is released and features the sexual tension between James Bond and the secretary Miss Moneypenny. 
  • 1962: Marilyn Monroe was found dead by her personal assistant in Los Angeles-area home. 
  • 1971: Housemaid Barbara Piasecka has an extramarital affair with the heir to the Johnson & Johnson legacy family and is accused of stealing the inheritance of the other heirs. 
  • ​1988: Working Girl depicts the life of a hard-working secretary (Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford)
  • 1993: The Remains of the Day – A movie about serving aristocrats in Europe (Anthony Hopkins). 
  • ​​1994: Swimming with Sharks – A movie about a sadistic movie producer who is cruel to those who work around him. Rumored to be about disgraced mogul Scott Rudin.
  • 1994: Elaine on Seinfeld became an assistant (6th season, episode 87). 
  • 1994: John du Pont of the multi-billion-dollar du Pont family murders staff member. 
  • 1998: Bruce Willis and Demi Moore are sued by a staff member.
  • 1998: Sitting US President Bill Clinton has an affair with White House aide Monica Lewinsky. 
  • 2000: Billionaire banker Edmond Safra is killed by his own assistant in Monaco. 
  • 2001: Politician Gary Condit's affair with aide Chandra Levy exposed. 
  • 2002: Two Weeks' Notice – About a boss (Hugh Grant) who abuses his assistant (Sandra Bullock).
  • 2003: Legendary sports star David Beckham supposedly has an affair with his assistant. 
  • 2004: The Assistant – Andy Dick stars in this reality show and is abusive to assistants.
  • 2006:🔥The Devil Wears Prada – Do I need to say more? (Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway).
  • 2006: Acclaimed actor Laurence Fishburne is sued by his personal assistant. 
  • 2007:🔥Supermodel Naomi Campbell throws a phone at her assistant (this incident was reminiscent of Russell Crowe’s arrest for throwing a phone at someone and perpetuated the unjustified mythology that PAs shouldn't work for public figures in the entertainment sector).
  • 2007: The Nanny Diaries - A movie about assisting the super-rich in New York (Scarlett Johansson). 
  • 2007:🔥Keeping Up with the Kardashians is released and their personal assistants become pseudo-celebrities. 
  • ​​2007:🔥Mad Men is released and depicts the pitfalls of being a secretary in the 1960s.
  • ​​2007: Brian Daniel establishes The Celebrity Personal Assistant Network (findcelebrityjobs.com) as the world's first elite headhunting firm for assistants. 
  • 2008: Award-winning actor Woody Harrelson marries his former personal assistant.
  • 2009: The Proposal – A movie about a boss (Sandra Bullock) who abuses her assistant (Ryan Reynolds).
  • 2009: The Assistants – A movie about how miserable it is to be a Hollywood assistant (Jane Seymour).
  • 2009: Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) is sued by her personal assistant. 
  • 2009: Assistant to Nicolas Cage dies in car accident. 
  • 2010: Heiress Casey Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson legacy family found dead by her housekeeper. 
  • 2011:🔥Downton Abbey explodes in popularity and the public become fascinated with the modern-day life of domestic staff who work for billionaires. 
  • 2011: ​Nick Lachey, former 98 Degrees singer and ex-husband of Jessica Simpson, accused by several media outlets of pretending to be his own personal assistant when people called him on the phone. 
  • 2011: Grammy-winning singer Bryan Adams has a baby with his assistant. 
  • 2011:🔥A Saudi price (grandson to the king) murders his assistant in London hotel. 
  • 2011:🔥Reclusive heiress Huguette Clark gives $30,000 to her assistants ("Empty Mansions"). 
  • 2011:🔥Apple's Siri AI assistant is announced. 
  • 2012:🔥Whitney Houston is found dead in a bathtub by her personal assistant (Beverly Hilton). 
  • 2012: Actress and musician Courtney Love is sued by her assistant.
  • 2012: ​MTV's Made dedicates an episode about becoming a celebrity assistant (Brian Daniel consults). 
  • 2013:🔥Downton Abbey is released. It is about domestic staff who serve an affluent family in Europe. 
  • 2013:🔥Lady Gaga’s assistant files a lawsuit, and it’s settled in the assistant’s favor.
  • 2013: Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez is sued by one of her staff members. 
  • 2013: High-profile UK football player Jermain Defoe wants his executive assistant also to clean his dirty dishes and perform housekeeping chores.
  • 2013: Actress Sharon Stone is sued by her housekeeper. 
  • 2013: Grammy-winning singer Alanis Morisette is sued by one of her staff members. 
  • 2013: Joaquin Phoenix stars in the Oscar-nominated movie "Her," which is about a man who falls in love with his AI assistant (played by Scarlett Johansson). 
  • 2013:🔥The Butler – A historical account of a butler who served in the White House for decades. 
  • 2013: ABC 20/20 dedicates and episode to domestic staff to the super rich (Brian Daniel consults). 
  • 2013: Grammy-winning superstar Usher is sued by a staff member. 
  • 2014:🔥Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams found dead by assistant in Northern California home. 
  • 2014:🔥Amazon's AI assistant Alexa is introduced. 
  • 2014: Dwyane Johnson (aka "The Rock") buys one of his staff members a new truck.
  • 2014: Clouds of Sils Maria – A movie star becomes too dependent on her PA (Kristen Stewart and Juliette Binoche).
  • 2014: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes are sued by a former staff member. 
  • 2014: ​Elon Musk supposedly fires his long-time assistant because she asked for a raise. 
  • 2015:🔥Beyoncé “snaps” at her assistant. The press created a fake storyline saying that Beyoncé snapped at her assistant on the red carpet.
  • 2015: Luke Wilson's assistant embezzles money from the actor.
  • ​2015: Media outlets report that Tom Cruise is going to propose to his assistant. 
  • 2016: Legendary musician David Bowie leaves $2 million to his assistant upon his death. 
  • 2017:🔥The confidant and right hand to J Paul Getty is prominently featured in the Hollywood movie All the Money in the World -- the story of the kidnapping of Getty's grandson. 
  • 2017:🔥Ben Affleck has an affair with his nanny and his wife, Jennifer Garner, leaves him.
  • 2017:🔥Legendary film producer Harvey Weinstein is accused (and eventually convicted) of inappropriate behavior against 80 women, some of them his assistants.
  • 2017:🔥Britney Spears settles a sexual harassment lawsuit by one of her staff members. 
  • 2017:🔥Mark Zuckerberg promotes his AI assistant named Jarvis. 
  • 2019: Justin Bieber says that his assistant makes great sandwiches on Instagram. 
  • 2019: Jeff Bezos honors his assistant on Administrative Professionals' Day. 
  • 2020: The Assistant is a movie with actress Julia Garner about being abused and degraded as an assistant.
  • 2020: Amber Heard's personal assistant testifies against her in the Johnny Depp trial. 
  • 2021:🔥Legendary film producer Scott Rudin leaves the entertainment industry in disgrace. He was notorious for abusing his assistants.
  • 2021:🔥Mariah Carey settles lawsuit with her personal assistant. 
  • 2021:🔥Assistant to Demi Lovato calls 911 after the superstar musician has drug overdose. 
  • 2021: Assistant to Robert Downey Jr dies in car accident, and the legendary actors pays him a tribute. 
  • 2021: Thor actor Chris Hemsworth throws party for long-time assistant and confidant. 
  • 2022: Swimming with Sharks – A TV show about the dark side of Hollywood and all the abuse that assistants take (inspired by the original movie in 1994).
  • 2022: John Lennon's former assistant admits to the rock star using heavy drugs. 
  • 2022: I Wanna Dance with Somebody – A movie about Whitney Houston, which reveals an affair with assistant. 
  • 2022: Rock star Steven Tyler begins dating his one-time personal assistant. 
  • 2022: The longtime assistant to Freddie Mercury of Queen reveals untold stories about the rock star. 
  • 2022: Sports star Cristiano Ronaldo takes his personal assistant to lunch. 
  • 2022: The assistant to Leonardo DiCaprio confesses what it's like to work for the Oscar winner. 
  • 2022: Jeff Bezos is sued by his housekeeper for toxic work conditions, among other things (the case was dismissed).
  • 2022: The personal assistant to Queen Elizabeth moves into the castle. 
  • 2022: Actress Denise Richards scolds her personal assistants on reality TV.
  • ​2022: Elizabeth Holmes' personal assistant gives bombshell testimony in the Theranos trial. 
  • 2022: Duchess Kate Middleton advertises an open role to be her personal assistant. 
  • 2022: Billionaire heiress Keryn Redstone's personal assistant sues for defamation. 
  • 2022: Conan O'Brien's personal assistant writes tell-all book about working for the comedian. 
  • 2022: 🔥Former assistant to Prince Charles, Tiggy Legge-Bourke, wins damages lawsuit against royal family. 
  • 2022: 🔥The personal assistant to Lady Gaga is shot while walking the star's dogs in Los Angeles.
  • 2023: The press alleges that actress Gwyneth Paltrow won't speak to restaurant staff and orders through her PA.
  • 2023: The press reports that Selena Gomez is dating someone's personal assistant. 
  • 2023: Kim Kardashian reveals that she was never Paris Hilton's assistant, which was widely reported for a decade. 
  • 2023:🔥The real-life "Devil Wears Prada," Anna Wintour, places ad to hire a personal assistant.  
  • 2023:🔥Legendary actor Robert DeNiro loses a lawsuit filed by his former assistant for abuse at work.
  • 2023:🔥Oscar-winning actor Will Smith's assistant alleges bombshell claims against the actor. 
  • 2023:🔥Legendary action-star Arnold Schwarzenegger admits to having an affair with his housekeeper. 
  • 2024: The former assistant to Princess Diana spills secrets about the late royal's life. 
  • 2024:🔥Matthew Perry’s assistant confesses to giving the star the drugs that ended his life.
  • 2024:🔥Sean Combs (aka Love, Sean John, Diddy, Puff Daddy, and P. Diddy) was arrested in September in connection with many crimes, which allegedly involved his staff members and personal assistants. 
  • 2024:🔥Superstar Beyonce attends her former assistant's wedding in Nantucket. 
  • 2024:🔥Several news stories break about the late billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed and the way he treated his staff. 
  • 2024:🔥Richard Simmons' assistant of 30 years contests the estate and will after his death.