French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's daughter

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin wasn't too happy when his 20-year-old daughter Marie packed in her college studies to become a model. Luckily for Mlle Steiss (the pseudonym Villepin uses to conceal her political pedigree), the gamble soon paid off. She is the new face of Givenchy perfume and her billboard campaign hits the U.S. in April. And she's not the only prime ministerial offspring to choose a more glamorous route to success than politics.

Cecelia Ahern, eldest daughter of Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern, is one of Europe's most successful chick-lit authors. Her debut novel P.S. I Love You became an international best seller when Ahern was only 23 years old. A movie version of the book, starring Oscar winners Hilary Swank and Kathy Bates, has been filmed and is due for release in 2008.

"Charismatic, charming and appealing to all ages" is how Ben Mulroney's employer CTV describes him. The kind of attributes ideal for a career in politics, one might think. But Mulroney, son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, has resisted the pull of Parliament and has made his mark in showbiz. He has presented all five series of Canadian Idol since 2003.

Kotaro Koizumi definitely bucked the family trend when he decided not to follow his father, grandfather and great-grandfather into politics. The son of Junichiro Koizumi, who resigned as Japan's PM in September 2006, Koizumi Jr. is a successful TV actor. His endorsement fee for a low-calorie beer advertisement was rumored to have eclipsed his father's wage.

（China Daily） 

Vocabulary:    

political pedigree：政治背景

charismatic: 有（人格）魅力的

packed in her college studies：（停止/中斷大學學業）

P.S. I Love You : 《補充一句，我愛你》，講述的是一對深情夫妻被死亡隔絕的故事。丈夫格里因腦瘤突然去世，留給妻子霍利深深的思念。霍利后來意外發現，丈夫留給她10封信件，為她規定每月必須完成的任務或挑戰，目的是幫助她盡快克服喪夫之痛，恢復對生活的信心。

“補充一句，我愛你”是英文信件末尾常用語句。 小說濃厚的感情色彩深深打動了讀者。一向嚴肅的《愛爾蘭時報》也對小說予以關注，認為這個“來自墳墓的愛情故事讓人難以忘懷”。

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）