How Nicole Ari Parker's Daughter Sophie Connected with Apple Martin at Paris Deb Ball: 'We All Cross Paths' (Exclusive)

Sophie Kodjoe is delighted to be associated with such an impressive cohort of women.

Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe’s daughter was one of the high-profile attendees who attended Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris on Nov. 30, an annual event that introduces about 20 women between the ages of 16 and 22 to high society.

This year’s debutantes were Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s daughter Apple Martin, Sophia Loren’s granddaughter Lucia Sofia Ponti and other impressive young women with royal titles and positions.

Debutantes participating in Le Bal des Débutantes 2024.

Morgan Amsellem

Nicole Ari Parker’s daughter Sophie takes PEOPLE to star-studded debutante ball: ‘I heard princess and I was sold’ (Exclusive)

In her exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Kodjoe, 19, shared how much she enjoyed meeting the other debutantes and how she unexpectedly discovered that they were all connected in some way.

“I was nervous at first because sometimes I get nervous around new people,” she said of meeting her peers. “Especially with all these amazing young women my age, and they’re all doing amazing things in other parts of the world. I said, ‘Oh my God, I don’t have a title. I’m just Sophie from LA.'”

After overcoming her initial fears, Kodjoe said that “everyone was really nice and I made a lot of really good friends right away. It was like the whole group just clicked.”

Cornelia Manou, Countess Alienor Loppin de Montmort, Apple Martin and Sophie Kudjoe.

©François Goizé

Nicole Ari Parker’s daughter, Sophie, made her mark at the Deb Ball in Paris, and her dress is just that Sex and the city Coded

“I wasn’t aware of it, but Apple was running in the same circles as me. She went to Crossroads and Harvard-Westlake [high school]” she recalled. “Basically, all my friends also went to Crossroads and Harvard-Westlake, so we just talked about the people we knew and our time in high school.”

“It was really cool to see all of us meet. I think it was really cool because, I guess Apple is from LA and Lucia lives sometimes in LA, sometimes in France,” Kodjoe explained. “I just thought it was so crazy that we all knew someone or knew each other in some way.”

Now that she’s out in high society, the Howard University student admitted she didn’t expect to receive so much attention through the tumultuous experience.

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Sophie Kodjoe poses with her fellow debutantes.

Francois Goize

“I never thought I’d be out there this much, because there are so many amazing women I’ve done it with — not even just their titles. They’re just so beautiful, and so talented, and so well-traveled, and etiquette and everything those things,” she continued, noting how down-to-earth they were.

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“They were very down-to-earth and just seemed like well-rounded, well-traveled, ignorant human beings that I had the great fortune and pleasure of interacting with,” Kodjoe explained. “We had real-life conversations like, ‘What are you studying in school?'”

She adds, “They were also very humble and very kind. They were just grateful.”

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Source: HIS Education