Chelsea Clinton, the only child of America’s most famous political couple, is to abandon her once-cherished privacy and make a debut with a high-profile role on national television.
At 31, Ms Clinton has largely avoided the glare of public scrutiny that her parents, former President Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, not only endure, but court.
That will change when she pops up on NBC as a special correspondent on the show Rock Center with Brian Williams and on the channel’s nightly news.
But for her first foray into the polarised world of the US media, viewers should not expect to see Chelsea Clinton delving deep into sensitive political issues.
On Rock Center, she will “highlight stories within the ‘Making a Difference’ franchise”, NBC said in a statement.
The first contribution in this series, which focuses on inspirational people, will cover Annette Dove, who runs a charity in Arkansas – Bill Clinton’s home state – for neglected and often severely poor children.
“In my work at NBC specifically, I hope to highlight stories of people who are both making a positive difference in their communities and our world,” Ms Clinton told The New York Times.
For many viewers, though, the chief interest could be seeing and hearing someone who until now had taken great pains to stay out of the limelight, even as her parents became one of the most famous couples in the world.
A high-flying student at Stanford, Oxford and Columbia universities, the young Clinton has avoided the gossip pages, barring a media frenzy over her marriage in July 2010 to a little known hedge fund employee Mark Mezvinsky.
But now she appears ready to embrace stardom. Tomorrow she will also host PBS’s live broadcast of The Nutcracker ballet being staged at the Lincoln Center in New York.
Last month Chelsea accompanied her father at the New York Historical Society for a public conversation about his latest book. She also helped organise a 65th birthday event for the ex-President, raising money for his foundation.
Chelsea’s Facebook page went up in September listing her causes as women, children, health, education, the Clinton Foundation, as well as her late grandmother Dorothy Rodham, who had urged her to take part in public life.
Friends have spoken of Chelsea Clinton as a smart and warm person, much like her father. However, not everyone is happy with her new persona.
Journalists who got to know her when she accompanied her mother during her failed 2008 bid to become Democratic nominee for the presidency have written on Twitter about her aloofness and apparent dislike for the media machine she is now joining.
Other reporters have griped that she was able to secure the NBC job thanks to the Clinton name, much as former President George W. Bush’s daughter Jenna Bush Hager landed work at the NBC’s Today show, and Meghan McCain, daughter of 2008 presidential candidate John McCain, works with MSNBC.
Steve Capus, president of NBC News, however, said Ms Clinton “is a remarkable woman.... Given her vast experiences, it’s as though Chelsea has been preparing for this opportunity her entire life”.
The question likely to grow now is whether Ms Clinton really wants a media career or whether this will be a stepping stone into politics once her parents leave the stage.