BAMBI THE FEMALE BANSKY

She has spent years dodging the police in north London, armed with her spray cans and stencils, but this summer Britain's leading female street artist, known as Bambi, has been propelled into a world of wealth and glamour. When rapper Kanye West presented the artist's semi-nude portrait of his bride, Kim Kardashian, as a wedding gift, it was a bling crowning moment for the artist.

Just who is Bambi? The graffiti star was dubbed "the female Banksy" when she gained more widespread public attention in 2011 with the appearance of her striking image of the late Amy whinehouse on a Camden Town doorway. Like her male counterpart, she keeps her identity secret. And now, just like the renowned Bristol artist, her work costs tens of thousands of pounds: where once she simply paid tribute to the style of celebrities such as Winehouse, David Beckham and Kate Moss, today she is commissioned by international A-list entertainers, including Rihanna, Robbie Williams, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Famous names are queueing up to buy her work. Bambi's restored painting of Winehouse, once painted over by the local council, now lies reverently protected under Perspex. American actress Michelle Rodriguez, star of Lost, commissioned a Bambi portrait of her then girlfriend, supermodel Cara Delevingne, and Pitt is thought to have paid £60,000 for Bambi's wedding portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, featuring the slogan "A bit like Marmite", before commissioning further portraits of his own family.

Robbie Williams bought Bambi's image of a baby before his child was born in 2012, while his former Take That colleague Mark Owen spent £20,000 on one of the artist's works for his 40th birthday. Singer Adele and Harry Styles, of One Direction, are also believed to own pieces by Bambi...theguardian.com