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Trophy wife

 
Trophy Wife

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Trophy wife



 
 
A trophy wife is commonly used to describe any wife who is considered a status symbol.

The term trophy wife was coined by Julie Connelly, a senior editor of Fortune magazine, in a cover story in the issue of Aug. 28, 1989 and immediately entered common usage. Although it often has a pejorative spin, the term originally meant a corporate titan's second (or third) wife, who was younger and beautiful.






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A trophy wife is commonly used to describe any wife who is considered a status symbol.

The term trophy wife was coined by Julie Connelly, a senior editor of Fortune magazine, in a cover story in the issue of Aug. 28, 1989 and immediately entered common usage. Although it often has a pejorative spin, the term originally meant a corporate titan's second (or third) wife, who was younger and beautiful. As used by Fortune Magazine, a trophy wife was almost always highly accomplished in her own right and was quite intelligent. This important point is usually ignored by the popular media, and in popular usage, a trophy wife is usually considered to be unintelligent, sometimes even a bimbo.

The marriage of former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith

Vickie Lynn Marshall , better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith, was an United States model , sex symbol, actress and television personality....
 to oil magnate, J. Howard Marshall
J. Howard Marshall

James Howard Marshall II was a wealthy business magnate, United States crude oil business corporate officer, university professor, attorney and US Government official....
, was widely followed by the U.S. media, as an extreme example, as at the time of their marriage: he was 89 years old and she was 26.

Some sources claim the term was coined earlier (for example the Online Etymology Dictionary cites 1984 ) but that seems incorrect. The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press , is a comprehensive dictionary of the English language. Two fully-bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989; as of December 2008 the dictionary's current editors have completed a quarter of the third edition....
 confirms Aug 28, 1989 as its first use.

See also

  • Boy toy
    Boy toy

    Boy toy may refer to:* Boy Toy * Boy Toy/Inspection Detection, an episode of the TV show Fairly OddParents* A significantly younger male in a Age disparity in sexual relationships: see toy boy...
  • Gold digger
    Gold digger

    Gold digger can refer to:*A person who engages in gold prospecting*"Gold Digger", a 2005 single by Kanye West*Gold Digger , a comic book series by Fred Perry...


External links

  • , article in the Sunday Times (UK), stating that "Academics say they have found the first evidence that successful British males increasingly prefer a spouse with a high-powered job to one who stays at home with the children."