High-level person goes white when cornered by indication of former name (8)

I haven't cracked this one yet — but the brilliant team at Fifteensquared have:

High-level person goes white when cornered by indication of former name PALES (=goes white) in NÉE (=indication of former, i.e. maiden, name); cryptically, a Nepalese is a “high-level person”, i.e. a national of a country located at high altitude in the Himalayas