The Women of Troy

Baker Winokur Ryder publicist Troy Nankin is leaving thepowerhouse firm after five years to start his own management company—andthe B, W, and R are worried that he’s taking his roster of starlets withhim. According to one West Coast insider, Nankin’s biggest client, AcademyAward-winner Hilary Swank, is already on board.

“Hilary gives him total credit for reviving her career when otherpeople in the industry had written her off,” says the source. “Sheencouraged Troy—both emotionally and financially—to start his owncompany, and said she’d be his first client.”

Asked about the move, Nankin said, “I announced internally that Iintended to make a change, and I’m in the process of talking to my clientsabout that.”

The source says Nankin has already talked to Angie Harmon,Kate Beckinsale, and Selma Blair, and thatthey’re eager to follow him. His other clients—MandyMoore, Jeri Ryan, and Peter Krauss(the only rooster in his henhouse)—are expected to stay with BWR.

How does Nankin hold such sway with the ladies? “Troy is extremelyclose to the girls he represents. He’s everyone’s gay bestfriend,” says the source. But perhaps more importantly, Nankin, whoappeared in the 1997 TV movie The Twilight of the Golds, originallyhoped to be an actor—an experience that helps him empathize with famouslydifficult clients like Beckinsale. “No one handles a diva better than adiva,” says our source.

Nankin, who says he intends to stay “at least until the end of themonth,” declined to comment on the particulars of his new company.Ironically, a BWR spokesperson was unavailable for comment.