CELEBRITIES such as Victoria Beckham and glamour model Jordan have joined a list of aspirational businesswomen Southampton's female entrepreneurs look up to, according to a new survey.

Mrs Beckham and Mrs Peter Andre have joined the list of the 20 most appreciated businesswomen, which also includes the likes of Lastminute.com founder Martha Lane Fox and Karen Brady, the managing director of Birmingham Football Club and the youngest managing director of a UK plc.

However celebrities such as Mrs Beckham and model Elle Macpherson still have a long way to go if they are to achieve the recognition of the top three on the list - Harry Potter author JK Rowling, the late Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, and Britain's first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The research was done by women's business internet resource everywoman and the NatWest bank, and it quizzed dozens of successful women in the Southampton area about their role models in the business world.

A spokeswoman for everywoman said the research explored the motivating factors for female entrepreneurs and that while flexibility, work/life balance and being one's own boss were all cited, 84 per cent of participants in Southampton agreed that celebrity entrepreneurs play a positive role in encouraging women to set up businesses.

The under 25s were also three times more likely to be influenced by celebrity entrepreneurs over traditional role models, demonstrating their influence in shaping the next generation of business owners.

Karen Gill, co-founder of everywoman, said: "Small businesses have been boosted by programmes such as The Apprentice and Dragon's Den alongside household names such as Anita Roddick and Martha Lane Fox, bringing entrepreneurs to the attention of the broader public.

"At another level the likes of Victoria Beckham and Katie Price are also inspiring younger generations of would-be entrepreneurs.