Celebrity Defined

A celebrity is a person who is widely recognized (famous) in a society and commands a high degree of public and media attention. The word stems from the Latin celebritas, itself from the adjective celeber meaning 'famous, celebrated'. While fame is generally considered to be the major prerequisite for celebrity status, it is not always sufficient. There has to be a level of public interest in the person which may or may not be connected to the reason they are famous. For example, a public figure such as a politician, industry leader etc. may be famous but not a celebrity unless something else triggers public and mass media interest. Other types of fame, particularly those connected with mass entertainment are almost guaranteed to lead to celebrity even if the person deliberately avoids media attention.

Each nation or cultural community (linguistic, ethnic, religious) has its own largely independent celebrity system, e.g. individuals who are extremely well known in India, might be unknown abroad, except with the Indian diaspora.

Celebrity is relative, depending on geographic scale. A celebrity will be known only by those audiences that are reached by the media in which the celebrity features. In a smaller country, linguistic or cultural community, a figure will be less likely to gain worldwide celebrity. Some celebrities can be considered 'global' - that is, they are known across the world. These will almost all be high-powered religious or political figures, Hollywood actors, globally successful musicians and successful sports stars.


Some professional activities, by the nature of being high-paid, highly exposed, and difficult to get into, automatically confer celebrity. For example, movie stars and television actors are almost invariably celebrities, as are rock stars. High-ranking politicians, television reporters, television show hosts, supermodels, astronauts, major-league athletes and musicians are also celebrities. While rare, a handful of people such as Mother Teresa have even achieved fame because of their humanitarian work.



Some film and theatre directors, producers, artists, authors, trial lawyers and journalists are celebrities, but the vast majority are not, or much less than their real importance in the business. Some people in these professions strive to avoid celebrity, while others seek it.


Any person who is able to get his own television show (or section) will usually become a celebrity: this includes doctors, chefs, gardeners, and interior decorators. However fame based on one program may often prove short-lived after it is discontinued.

Individuals can achieve celebrity, but there are also many celebrity families, such as various royal families (often interest in these will be highest when scandal is involved) and artistic 'dynasties' e.g. The Russell Family and some sports families.

Because celebrities have fame comparable to that of royalty or gods in the past, some people exhibit curiosity about their private affairs as well as resent celebrities for their accolades. There is often a love/hate relationship that the general public has with celebrities. Many express that celebrities don't work as hard as non-celebrities and that celebrities don't deserve to be catered to as they are. Due to the high visibility of celebrities' personal lives, their failures are often made public. Therefore, "celebrities" are usually viewed as exhibiting worse personal behavior and having worse moral values than most people.

Whether this is true or not is questionable, because the exact meaning of the word "celebrity" is difficult to define, not all celebrities exhibit bad behaviour, and, sometimes, the acts that a celebrity does reflect social trends that non-celebrities might also do. A case in point may be the behavior of non-celebrities on Reality television. There seems to a be high increase of celebrity obsession with the vast expansion of celebrity tabloid magazines.

Sometimes the public tries to be like celebrities even if people know they will never be exactly quite like them. This is done through by buying celebrity items, like published books, magazines, clothing lines, perfume, household items, and watching their tv shows and movies. Celebrities in the 21st century know that they must expand and become brands if they want to stay in the public eye. ( MagsDirect.com offers subscriptions for over 1,300 magazines ranging from pets to politics. There is a100% satisfaction guaranteed and the prices are the lowest allowed by publishers for general sale on the internet. )

Some have argued that the notion of celebrity is self-reinforcing and ultimately vacuous: some celebrities are not famous for their accomplishments, but merely famous for their fame and presumed fortune. For example, Paris Hilton would not be a public figure without her wealth, but her family's prominence has created and reinforces her fame. Hilton is in some senses a special case; she is famous at least in part for being an example of the perceived negative or shallow aspects of celebrity life, and some believe she is going out of her way to fill that role and gather further attention. But in many ways, figures like Hilton and other 21st century celebrities are just occupying celebrity niches previously occupied by stars of earlier generations. Others argue that celebrity status is hoisted upon the wrong groups of people and that the status is more deserved by individuals who make a major contribution to society such as scientists, intellectuals, social activists, etc.