How To Become a Nanny for Rich Families and Celebrities-Tips, Tricks, and Secrets
You may call them “overpaid babysitters”, or even “the help”, but whatever you call them, just know that women and men alike are leaving their MIT careers and graduating from Harvard University to become nannies and mannies for the rich and famous. Why? Why not? It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and the starting salary a few years ago for the high-profile celebrity nanny was $125K. Now, it’s between $130K-$150K depending on experience. Add in bonuses, and some nannies are averaging almost $200K a year. The best part, you don’t have to be a MIT or Harvard graduate to land these positions. Experience and a few classes, (some for free) are just as good. I’ve been a celebrity nanny for over six years, and have been working for one of my favorite actors for over a year now, and this is how I did it:
1. Create A Resume-
Having a professionally laid out resume showcasing your childcare experience is the first step to getting on the radar of celebrities, rich families, and/or their agents. (@thatsixfigurenanny on Instagram has tips on perfecting your nanny resume).
Be mindful that people who nanny for wealthy families, making the high-end salaries often times have a background in education, either as a teacher, career nanny, or specialist. Some, have a background in the medical field as well which is helpful when nannying for newborns or children with special needs. If nannying for the rich is something that you are very much interested in and don’t have these specific background skills, there’s a plethora of courses one can take to help fill out your nanny resume. You also want to add three to five references that can vouch on your behalf regarding your childcare experience. There is a ton of jobs that say they need references and never call, however, any position working with children, the clients/agencies will always get in contact with your references. No references, no job.
2. Sign Up with Agencies That Specialize in Celebrity Clients/Rich Families-
It’s rare to land a position with the rich and famous without help. Unless you know someone, who knows someone, you aren’t just going to land in the home of your favorite movie actor to care for their two-year-old. This is no “Jessie”, even though I think that show was a great representation of a full charge nanny at work, but we’ll talk about that at a later date.
Most people land these amazing high-paying gigs by going through a high-end nanny agency. The process is long and tedious but it’s well worth it. First, you’ll find an agency who specializes in “money”, and you’ll fill out their application. Then, you’ll send them your resume via email. After that, you wait. The ball is then in the agencies court on whether they want to contact you for an initial meeting. We call that the vetting process. If chosen, they will set up a meeting with you.
Agencies only interview with 5% of people that apply and only place 3% of people from there. After you’re vetted, you can apply for a position within their agency. They will then contact you again to interview you for that position. If you made it through that interview, they would then set up a meeting for you to interview with the family you applied to. From there, you’ll do an in-person interview/trial with the family. If the vibes seem right and the family likes you, they will notify the agency, and the agency will send you an offer letter. Tedious, I know. But that’s the name of the game.
Which agencies have the clients with the most high-paying positions? I’m glad you asked! There’s Westside Nannies, (the agency above all other agencies) VIP Nannies, Louer Staffing, (formerly Strollers and Stilettos) and Hire Society to name a few. Are there more, of course, but naming all the “great agencies”, vices “rude, don’t waste your time with agencies”, will take forever.
3. Take Courses or Get High-Profile Nanny Coaching/Mentoring-
This is where we back track a little because if you want to secure these jobs, your resume has got to be top-notch! Your resume has to show that you know just how to work with families of the rich and famous and showcase the skills needed. Meaning, first and foremost, any course that you can possibly take that has anything to do with childcare should be on your resume. The more courses, the better. Can you create a lesson plan and curriculum for a three-year-old that’s not in school but still needs to learn the preschool fundamentals? Do you speak a different language fluently? Can you create a S.T.E.A.M project from start to finish? Do you have a newborn care specialist certificate? How good is your communication skills and can you multitask? All of these skills should be showcased on your resume and will help you get into the high-profile nanny life.
Take it a little further and reach out to nannies who are already working with celebrity families for their insights. Rachel Shea from TikTok is a go-to favorite of mine. She is a former Celebrity Nanny who answers questions about the life and how she got into it. She gives a ton of celebrity insight and documents her amazing nanny journey. Katie Lewis owns the Louer Staffing Agency (www.louerstaffing.com) which has a ton of celebrity/ultra wealthy clients, and has informative blogs. Josie Mae from @thatsixfigurenanny on Instagram (www.thatsixfigurenanny.com) is a current Celebrity Nanny who is very candid and shares her experience. She coaches, and has a cool Mentorship Program that prepares active/future nannies, as well as those seeking to become highly-paid nannies on how they can enter the field with interview prep, resume revamping, agency info, and more. Brooke Marie or @brookemarie_ on Instagram is a former Celebrity Nanny, now a mama and has an amazing TikTok community that documents her journey and experiences as well. Her energy is amazing and very contagious. Lastly, the International Nanny Association/INA (www.nanny.org) also does memberships to prepare you for nannyhood and has newborn care specialist classes so you can earn your certificate. Doing your research and getting overly prepared for the interviews is the best way at getting your foot in the door. They will ask you a great deal of questions related to childcare that are sure to stump you. The agency can make or break you in the nanny world.
4. Market Yourself via Instagram-
Make sure you have a Nannygram! Outside of your personal Instagram page, please make sure you have an Instagram page that is solely dedicated to childcare. Famous/Rich nanny moms will always ask for your Instagram page. They have to vet you themselves and first impressions are lasting impressions. If you have a social media page that shows your professionalism, passion, love for children, and the career field, that is a sure fire way to get hired by families. Another reason for having a nannygram is to market yourself. Post a comment about your nanny service on these mom’s pages and tag them. You don’t want to send a dm because those get lost in the amount of dm’s being sent, believe me. But, they always see the comments they are tagged in.
5. Apply, Apply, Apply…But First Understand the Ends and Outs of Celebrity NannyHood-
Everything you hear about being the nanny of a celebrity is true. Both the good parts and the bad parts. Are you making over six figures? Yes. Do you have a life of your own? Most cases, No. I’ve put my life on hold in the sense of, I have yet to have children because I’m so deep into my career. One can’t have a family of their own, being a nanny for a celebrity. As harsh as that sounds, it’s the truth. I enjoy the vacations, the perks, the luxury lifestyle I’m afforded by working for these kinds of families, but it all comes at a price. It takes major work getting to the point of being a Nanny for a Celebrity. And by major work I mean tons and tons of interviews, sleepless nights, 24-hour days sometimes and much more. But for me, it’s always been something I’ve only read about in books. The good always outweighs the bad for me and because of that, I wanted to write this step-by-step blog on how I got here, how you can get here, and hopefully this blog post can help others seeking to enter the celebrity nanny world.
Happy Celebrity Family Hunting!
