"The book achieves a fresh spin thanks to incisive updates and story-behind-the-story anecdotes, all peppered with the author's pull-no-punches observations."-People Vanity Fair's Maureen Orth covers lives led in public, on camera, at the very top-from Margaret Thatcher to Tina Turner, from the political theater of the Clinton White House to the strange kingdom of Princess Diana's almost father-in-law. Now this National Magazine Award-winning reporter pulls back the curtain to reveal those who flourish (or sometimes flame out) at these heady altitudes, unraveling their complex lives and exploring the chemistry, the very DNA, of celebrity today. The Importance of Being Famous is a portrait of an era where the media grew larger, the distinction between fame and infamy grew smaller, and celebrity ruled all. Orth delivers a revealing, sophisticated look at the big room of modern celebrity and the star-making machinery of the "celebrity-industrial complex."

Vanity Fair's veteran special correspondent pulls back the curtain on the world of celebrity and those who live and die there Vanity Fair's Maureen Orth always makes news. From Hollywood to murder trials to the corridors of politics, this National Magazine Award winner covers lives led in public, on camera, in the headlines. Here she takes us close-up into the world of fame--bridging entertainment, politics, and news--and the lives of those who understand the chemistry, the very DNA, of fame and how to create it, manipulate it, sustain it. Moving from former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to Michael Jackson, the ultimate child/monster of show business, Orth describes our evolution from a society where talent attracted attention to a place where the star-making machinery of the "celebrity-industrial complex" shapes, reshapes, and sells its gods (and monsters) to the public. From divas letting their hair down (Tina Turner) to Little Gods (Woody Allen and Princess Diana's almost father-in-law Mohammed Fayed), political theater (Arnold's Hollywood hubris, Arianna Huffington's guru-guided gubernatorial quest), news-gone-soap-opera (I Love Laci), and even the Queen Mother of reinvention (Madonna as dominatrix/children's-book author), Orth delivers a portrait of an era. The Importance of Being Famous shows us the real world of the big room where the rules that govern mere mortals don't matter--and anonymity is a crime.

Why do so many people care so much about celebrities? Who decides who gets to be a star? What are the privileges and pleasures of fandom? Do celebrities ever deserve the outsized attention they receive? In this fascinating and deeply researched book, Sharon Marcus challenges everything you thought you knew about our obsession with fame. Icons are not merely famous for being famous; the media alone cannot make or break stars; fans are not simply passive dupes. Instead, journalists, the public, and celebrities themselves all compete, passionately and expertly, to shape the stories we tell about celebrities and fans. The result: a high-stakes drama as endless as it is unpredictable. Drawing on scrapbooks, personal diaries, and vintage fan mail, Marcus traces celebrity culture back to its nineteenth-century roots, when people the world over found themselves captivated by celebrity chefs, bad-boy poets, and actors such as the "divine" Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), as famous in her day as the Beatles in theirs. Known in her youth for sleeping in a coffin, hailed in maturity as a woman of genius, Bernhardt became a global superstar thanks to savvy engagement with her era's most innovative media and technologies: the popular press, commercial photography, and speedy new forms of travel. Whether you love celebrity culture or hate it, The Drama of Celebrity will change how you think about one of the most important phenomena of modern times.

This book examines contemporary celebrity culture with an emphasis on how young celebrities are manufactured, how fan communities are cultivated, and how young audiences consume and aspire to fame.

Within the pages of How to Become Famous in Your Own Neighborhood, you will learn the strategies necessary to becoming famous in your own little corner of the world. These include: how to increase your degree of social confidence; the skills required to meet and interact with a variety of people; the secret to knowing what to say and how to say it; and the importance of making it to the scene and being seen!

Celebrity Culture and the American Dream, Second Edition considers how major economic and historical factors shaped the nature of celebrity culture as we know it today, retaining the first edition’s examples from the first celebrity fan magazines of 1911 to the present and expanding to include updated examples and additional discussion on the role of the internet and social media in today’s celebrity culture. Equally important, the book explains how and why the story of Hollywood celebrities matters, sociologically speaking, to an understanding of American society, to the changing nature of the American Dream, and to the relation between class and culture. This book is an ideal addition to courses on inequalities, celebrity culture, media, and cultural studies.

No one wakes up and decides, “I’m planning to ruin my marriage, neglect my kids, and cause mistrust in my family.” Yet our personal pursuits and busyness can lead us there. In this book, marriage and leadership coaches Dr. Josh and Christi Straub show how seven core decisions can help us put what’s most important center stage in our lives. Famous at Home is Josh and Christi’s realistic, grace-filled look at the struggles families face in a culture that competes for their time, attention, and identity. Whether you’ve found yourself putting more effort into becoming famous on stages outside the home, or your stage is the home, Famous at Home offers guidance and inspiration to help you give your family the best version of you instead of your leftovers. Famous at Home will help you and your spouse Be on the same team—fighting for each other and not against each other Stay emotionally connected even if work, distance, or busyness are in the way Deeply invest in the emotional lives of your children You really can be famous at home, showing up in intentional and meaningful ways for your biggest fans. All it takes is realizing that the greatest red carpet you’ll ever walk is through your front door.