A celebrity is a person who has gained fame or infamy, or both, as a result of their public actions. They are known to a wide audience, and often become famous as a result of their entertainment or sports industry work. Celebrities are often surrounded by media attention, which can lead to paparazzi and hordes of fans. In addition, they are often pressured to maintain an image that reflects the values of society as a whole.
The idea of celebrity has a long history, dating back to Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Alexander the Great. In the medieval world, saints, kings and heroes also enjoyed a certain degree of celebrity status. In the 18th century, Lord Byron and other poets enjoyed widespread adulation. The 19th century saw a boom in celebrity culture, with the rise of mass-produced newspapers and posters. Celebrity also became a more common occurrence in the entertainment industry, with stage actors and opera singers enjoying a kind of fame that was new at the time.
In the 20th century, the film industry made celebrities of movie stars like Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. In addition, the advent of social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok gave rise to a new class of celebrity—the “influencer.” Influencers earn money by sharing content that they produce or curate on their accounts. This form of celebrity is largely dependent on the engagement and followers that they garner, and it can be highly lucrative.
While some people have achieved celebrity status due to their political or military achievements, most become famous through the entertainment industry. This can include actors who have starred in movies, musicians who have recorded songs or rapped, and sports stars who have competed in major sporting events. People in the music industry have been especially prone to becoming celebrities, with famous bands or individual musicians achieving a level of notoriety that is unmatched in other industries.
A number of scholars have studied celebrity, and many have argued that it is a phenomenon that is tied to the development of modern culture. Richard Dyer, for example, argues that celebrities function as cultural texts, embodying and reflecting larger trends in popular culture. Joshua Gamson, on the other hand, examines the relationship between celebrity and consumerism in his book Claims to Fame. He discusses how the cult of celebrity reflects contemporary concerns with commodification, image-making and media manipulation. Ultimately, the study of celebrity is a complex endeavor, one that can be both fascinating and unsettling.
