Needy son upset leading ladies (8)
I believe the answer is:
doyennes
'leading ladies' is the definition.
'needy son upset' is the wordplay.
'upset' indicates anagramming the letters.
'needy'+'son'='needyson'
'needyson' with letters rearranged gives 'DOYENNES'.
(Other definitions for doyennes that I've seen before include "Prominent women" , "Senior women members" , "Yenned so for senior women of, say, profession" , "top women" .)