Maids to the rich and famous

Rich families around the world employ butlers and maids to look after their expensive properties. These houseworkers have access to every aspect of their employers’ lives: they get to know their habits and their deepest secrets. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two former maids who worked for wealthy families in the USA and the UK. Stephanie Land is the bestselling author of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, a poignant memoir highlighting the plight of overworked and underpaid domestic workers in the USA. Her story has recently been turned into the successful Netflix series, Maid. When she was 19, Sara Vestin Rahmani moved from Sweden to London to work as an au pair for a rich family. She thought she would only stay for a year, but she quickly became embedded in the family’s life, and was exposed to a lifestyle she never imagined was possible. She is now the director of Bespoke Bureau and the British Butler Academy, a high-end recruitment and training agency of domestic and elite service staff. Produced by Alice Gioia IMAGE L: Stephanie Land, credit Ashley Farr R: Sara Vestin Rahmani, credit Bespoke Bureau