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I'm looking for a word describing someone of whom everyone in their family is proud of. I found golden boy, or golden girl. What else could I use?

For example:

Susan was a straight A student, she was very nice and never got into fights. Whenever I would get bad grades or my teachers complained about my behavior, my parents would ask me why couldn't I be more like Susan. Susan was the family's golden girl.

Up to now, I found:

  • outlier: someone very successful and unlike others in the group

  • boy/girl wonder

  • success story

  • wunderkind

  • prodigy

  • whiz kid.

Pride and joy

was suggested by one of the answers, and is closest to what I'm looking for.

Little Miss Perfect

is another phrase I found, though I think it carries a negative connotation.

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    'favorite son'?
    – Mitch
    Aug 24, 2017 at 20:59
  • @MetaEd The question is (was) not off-topic. I edited it a bit for clarity.
    – user3653831
    Aug 25, 2017 at 7:15
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    The question could include basic research. Googling "golden boy synonyms" leads rapidly to suggestions at macmillandictionary.com.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Aug 25, 2017 at 10:32
  • @EdwinAshworth I know what you are talking about. But, when I asked this question, I was googling for "someone who is the family pride". I'm not a native speaker, and even for something as simple as this, I need to go down the rabbit hole for one hour. After this operation, I'm even more confused, because I still don't know what people would actually use.
    – user3653831
    Aug 25, 2017 at 11:43
  • Questions that do not show research are off topic. Considering that you've done an hour of research, I assume you found some alternatives besides "golden boy" and "golden girl". Please edit the question to summarize what you found and why you are not satisfied by what you found. Also include other relevant details that are asked for in the info on posting a good single word request.
    – MetaEd
    Aug 25, 2017 at 15:17

2 Answers 2

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There is the idiomatic expressions pride and joy:

  • The object of one's great pleasure, as in "Our new grandson is our pride and joy."

(This term was probably invented by Sir Walter Scott in his poem Rokeby (1813), where he described children as "a mother's pride, a father's joy.")

(American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms)

Susan was the family's pride and joy.

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1

apple of her parent's eye

(since this is an idiom dating to KJB, I think one eye can suffice for two parents' two eyes)

see discussion at What does "apple of my eye" even mean?

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  • The 'apple' of the eye is the pupil. It is not, as is sometimes assumed, the orb of the eye - the eyeball.The origin may be its use in translating the Hebrew of the bible and the Hebrew makes it quite clear that 'apple' is something very black. And welcome to EL&U, by the way.
    – Nigel J
    Jan 17, 2018 at 20:50

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