Every year Debrett’s (those guys behind the Debrett’s Guide to Etiquette and Modern Manners) release a list of the top 500 most influential people in Britain today.

But this line-up isn’t just the blustering politicians and pinstriped moguls you might expect. A lot of the new names on the list are more likely to appear on the front of Heat magazine than Business Insider.

Here’s a run down of some of the bright young things that have made it somewhere in the prestigious list this year (in no particular order) but how many will hang around?

1. The Duchess Catherine of Cambridge

Duchess of Cambridge
(Ben Stansall/PA)

It’s amazing Kate hasn’t made the list before. Debrett’s have chosen to stick her in the fashion section, calling her a “world-recognised royal style icon”.

“Whether playing volleyball in wedges or hockey in heels, fashion’s favourite royal combines understated, conservative charm with youthful elegance as an ambassador of British style.”

2. James Blake

James Blake
(Ian West/PA)

Blake is one influential musician according to Debrett’s. He’s won a Mercury Prize and has gained acclaim across the board as his sound has developed from dubstep to intimate electronica.

Debrett’s says: “Artists across the board, from hip hop to indie, are obsessed with his pervasive sound.”

3. Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris
(Anthony Devlin/PA)

Another type of DJ altogether, Calvin Harris is about as mainstream as a bloke with a mixing desk can get.

But he’s also the first artist to contribute three songs to Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart simultaneously, and he has outdone Michael Jackson to take the record for the most top ten hits from one studio album.

4. Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran
(Yui Mok/PA)

Having left school at the age of 16 and moved to London shortly after, Sheeran gigged relentlessly. He seldom had any money and occasionally had to sleep rough, selling CDs from his bag to afford food.

But now look at him! Debrett’s points out that he’s sung with just about everyone, “from Sir Elton John to Wayne Rooney”. He’s already seized four Brit Award nominations this year.

5. Sam Smith

Sam Smith
(Yui Mok/PA)

Sam Smith has a similar against-all-odds story to Ed. In 2012, Sam was cleaning loos in a London bar, walking home because he couldn’t afford the tube.

His album In The Lonely Hour became the second best selling of 2014, just behind Ed. He has, however, nabbed more Brit nominations than the ginger-haired musician.

6. Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch
(Yui Mok/PA)

The UK’s most unlikely sex symbol is hardly a surprising presence on the “Stage and Screen” category of Debrett’s top 500. Apparently his TV actor parents tried to steer him away from the industry, but then who would have starred in Sherlock, The Imitation Game, Parade’s End, 12 Years a Slave, The Hobbit (as a dragon), War Horse…?

He’s already won an Olivier and an Emmy, and Time magazine have named him among the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World. Will he even notice this Debrett’s accolade?

7. Rosamund Pike

Rosamund Pike
(Ian West/PA)

Our Rosamund’s come a long way since she played Bond Girl Miranda Frost in 2002’s Die Another Day. This year she’s really come into her own playing possibly the scariest spouse ever in Gone Girl, which has seen her put up for an Oscar.

She’s ricocheted between theatre, TV and film in her short career – and even had time for a baby last year.

8. Eddie Redmayne

Eddie Redmayne
(Ian West/PA)

Debrett’s describe Eddie as “cheerful, charming and remarkably modest”. He recently embarked on what was arguably the biggest challenge of his career in the overwhelming Stephen Hawking biopic, The Theory of Everything.

The performance of a lifetime has earned him a Golden Globe, and an Oscar nomination.

9. Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy
(David Davies/PA)

Sports stars tend to be young for biological reasons. But golf is a little more forgiving on the grey-haired players. Which is what makes 25-year-old McIlroy’s career so spectacular.

He’s already got four majors under his belt – two of them won in 2014 – and is currently world number one. But he still didn’t win BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, coming second to…

10. Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton
(David Davies/PA)

He’s won the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship twice. Only three other Brits have ever lifted the trophy multiple times. And he’s still only 30.

Good enough to make the sports category? We’d say so.

11. Laura Trott

Laura Trott
(Andrew Matthews/PA)

Laura first achieved fame beyond the world of cycling when she won a pair of Olympic gold medals at London 2012 in both the Omnium and Team Pursuit.

Last year saw her triumph in the UCI track cycling world championships, the British national track and road championships, the track cycling world cup and the European track championships – in which she has now won more titles than any other rider in history.

Debrett’s say: “Her bubbly and charismatic personality have helped make her a role model on a national scale.”

12. Lizzy Yarnold

Lizzy Yarnold
(Andrew Milligan/PA)

Already a world champion when she arrived at Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Lizzy added Olympic gold to her list of awards. She set new track records with two of her four runs, and was fastest in the field for four.

In January 2015, Lizzy won her second World Cup event of the skeleton season. In the 2014 Birthday Honours, she was appointed an MBE for services to skeleton racing.

13. Amir Khan

Amir Khan
(John Stillwell/PA)

Amir is arguably Britain’s highest-profile boxer. When he won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he became the youngest British Olympic boxing gold medallist.

Debrett’s call him “a role model for a neglected swathe of sporting society”, which is presumably a reference to his campaign work getting young people channelling their energy into sports.

14. Charlotte Dujardin

Charlotte Dujardin
(Steve Parsons/PA)

Having started riding at the age of two, dressage rider Charlotte is the first Briton ever to hold Olympic, European and World gold titles simultaneously, and as a result has achieved a level of supremacy rarely seen in any sport.

Dujardin won BT Sport’s Action Woman of the Year, and at the end of December 2014 broke two world records in 24 hours at the London International Horse Show.

15. Zoe Sugg

YouTube vlogger Zoella, real name Zoe Sugg
(Matt Alexander/PA)

Known as the quintessential big sister to teens everywhere, Sugg, better known to her YouTube fan-base as Zoella, has harnessed the power of YouTube for good with video make-up tips and tutorials plus a glimpse into her personal life.

Sugg has the stats to prove her worth: 6.7 million YouTube subscribers, 2.6 million Twitter followers and a further 3.6 million followers on Instagram. It’s no surprise that her debut novel Girl Online, launched in November, became the biggest-selling debut ever. Influential? You bet.