The siblings of celebrities either sink or swim when it comes to dealing with the fame thrust upon their families.

Beyonce's reign as queen bee of the entertainment world continued last week as the superstar was named the World's Most Beautiful Woman by People magazine. But amidst all the plaudits for Ms Knowles do spare a thought for Solange, my friends.

Actually, spare a thought for all the siblings of the rich and famous. It must be weird. You grow up together on even footing and suddenly - kablammo! They're rich beyond your wildest dreams. They holiday in the world's most exclusive spots (more Galapagos than Glendene) and can whip the opposite sex into a lustful frenzy with minimal effort. And what the hell would you ever buy them for a birthday present?

Solange Knowles has released two solo albums, collaborated with Destiny's Child and worked with big names like Cee-Lo Green, Lil' Bow Wow, the Neptunes and Timbaland. She's done animated voice work, dabbled in acting and is one of the current faces of Rimmel London. I've even seen her perform on my favourite kids' TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba.

No matter what Solange does workwise she'll never be seen as level pegging it with Beyonce. I immediately think of her as a cut-price version of her sister, don't you? Which is kinder than the Dlisted's Michael K who has long referred to Solange as 'Basement Baby.' He infers the younger Knowles lives off food scraps and fashions clothing from Beyonce's cast-off weaves.

But the 25-year-old seems content with her role in the family and showbiz dynamic, telling the Daily Mail a couple of years ago: "People think there should be this great rivalry between us, but there's never been any competition. There's a big age gap and we are two very different characters."

So what does become of the siblings of celebrities? Some lead happy, successful, well-adjusted lives far away from showbiz. Some attempt to enter into the entertainment world, with varying degrees of success. And some struggle to live in the shadow of fame once it's cast over their family.

Brad Pitt's younger brother Doug owned a computer shop in their hometown of Springfield, Missouri, where he worked with his sister Julie's husband Rob Neal. These days Doug dedicates his life to humanitarian causes as a director of the clean water initiative Africa 6000, the founder of American children's charity Care to Learn and his work with the Jolie-Pitt foundation.

In 2010 Doug was named an official Goodwill Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania for his work on behalf of the African nation.

Three years younger than his actor brother, Doug Pitt is happily married with three kids. The brothers are close and Doug performed best man duties at Brad's wedding to Jennifer Aniston and is set to do the same at his upcoming nuptials with Angelina Jolie.

"I can't cry too much about it because there's so much fun and good that comes with it," Doug told local paper the Springfield News-Leader of his brother's huge fame. "Sure, are there days that boy, I wish he was an architect? Absolutely. But overall, it's positive and I wouldn't change it for the world."

The youngest Pitt sibling Julie Pitt Neal and her husband Rob have a son and twin daughters and recently adopted two young boys from Ethiopia, a la Brad and Angelina.

Angelina Jolie has always been notoriously close to her older brother James Haven - so close that people still talk about that kiss the siblings shared at the 2000 Academy Awards when Angelina took home the Best Supporting Actress statuette.

Haven, who uses his middle name as a stage name, attended film school in California and has had several minor roles in Angelina's movies, as well as the odd TV episode.

"Because I'm so close to Angie it's like I've already got the perfect woman in my life and it's hard for anyone else to live up to that," he has said of his romantic life.

Cameron's older sister Chimene has at times been the subject of not-so-kind tabloid coverage, alleging she struggled with her sister's fame and through not sharing Cameron's model-esque physique.

The actress has admitted Chimene briefly worked as her personal assistant but she had to fire her as the arrangement didn't work out. Cameron has publicly credited her sister as being her 'biggest support' careerwise.

Chimene Diaz is married with three kids and now pursues a career away from showbiz circles.

Madonna and her younger brother Christopher Ciccone were notoriously close as the singer rose to fame, and for many of the years she's spent as the undisputed queen of pop music. Christopher worked variously as Madonna's assistant, stylist, and interior designer, as well as her tour director for some time, while she paid for him to attend rehab for substance abuse issues.

Their relationship was a fiery one and it seemed to have burned out in spectacular fashion after Christopher released a tell-all book about his mega-famous sister in 2008, 'Life With My Sister Madonna.'

In it Christopher labelled his sister Madonna as sweaty, controlling, a bad actress and miserly with her vast fortune. 

Madonna is close to her two sisters Paula and Melanie and fond of her brother Marty, while her elder brother Anthony went to the press last year to declare he was homeless and living under a bridge in their home state of Michigan - with no assistance from his wealthy sister.

Savannah Miller has long been seen at the side of her younger actress sister Sienna as the co-creative director of fashion label Twenty8Twelve. The sisters grew up extremely close after their parents divorced when they were nine and six.

But Savannah is now marching to the beat of her own drum. The formally trained designer, who has worked for Alexander McQueen and Matthew Williamson, left Twenty8Twelve at the end of 2011 and is working on a solo fashion label.

Savannah Miller lives in Gloucestershire with husband Nick Skinner and children Java, Moses, Lyra and Bali.

By contrast Modern Family star Sofia Vergara may move in fancy circles but it doesn't mean she's not affected by the everyday problems which affect thousands of families. News broke earlier this year that the curvy star was struggling to help her younger brother Julio, a long-time drug addict.

With the help of her family Vergara managed to send her brother back to Colombia for treatment and to avoid a US deportment order prompted by his lengthy criminal record.

"For Sofia, our family is her number one priority," a family member told AOL at the time. "She's always been here for us and will continue to be, to support us and help us move forward. This is no exception. She has said that she will do whatever it takes within her means to save her brother, and I have faith that is exactly what she is doing."

Barron and Conrad Hilton may not have the look-at-me mentality of their big sister Paris, but unfortunately they have followed in some of her large-shoed footsteps.

Both Barron, 21, and Conrad, 17, have been arrested on DUI charges over the past few years.

Conrad Hilton hit two parked cars in Beverly Hills in 2011 and father Rick insisted on telling press his son swerved in an attempt to miss a dog - even though the presence of weed and wine in his car and the fact that Conrad Hilton told a witness he 'had done a very stupid thing' seemed to suggest otherwise.

Paris, of course, was charged with driving under the influence in 2006, and the violation of her subsequent probation saw the heiress jailed in 2007.

And there are plenty of other celebrity siblings attempting to forge their own paths. Don Swayze, Frank Stallone and Joey Travolta famously had roles in the shortlived America sitcom Movie Stars, in which the running gag was they were the less-famous versions of their celebrity brothers. Louise Adams, once dubbed 'Posh Two' by the UK press for her attempted emulation of elder sister Victoria Beckham, now runs a fancy clothing boutique. Like her sister Louise has a big brood, being mother to kids Liberty, Tallulah-May, Finley and Quincy by various husbands and ex-partners. Charlie Murphy is a comedian like his brother Eddie and was performing in Auckland just a couple of weeks ago, while Bryan Spears has very wisely stayed away from showbiz, unlike sisters Britney and Jamie-Lynn, and lives a quiet life with his wife, Jamie-Lynn's former agent.