Celebrity is an abstract word stemming from the Latin celebritas, itself from the adjective celeber 'famous, celebrated'.

A celebrity is a person who is widely recognized in a society. This article deals with this sense of the word.

Fame is the major prerequisite for celebrity status, but not always sufficient.

Indeed, as "infamy" (an equally well-known profile, but as a bad example; the antonym of fame) seems passing out of common English usage, even high-profile criminals may be considered to be famous, but they are not always celebrities, as this rather requires an active presence, at least in the media, while crime usually shuns publicity. Sometimes a game is played of pretending to loathe press attention, in itself only attracting even more, or keep them guessing so the press reports are repeated, according to the show business PR rule 'the only bad publicity is no publicity'. Traditionally, even high-profile politicians are rarely described as celebrities, but in the era of television, some have had to become de facto celebrities. Today's celebrities are largely media figures, especially from television and movies.

Rise of celebrity culture

The modern mass media has increased the exposure and power of celebrity. Often, celebrity carries with it immense social capital that is highly sought-after by some individuals. High-paying jobs and other social perks unavailable to most people are readily extended to celebrities, even for work not connected to the talents or accomplishments that made them famous. For example, a retired athlete might receive high "speaking fees", or compensation for public appearances, despite his talent having been sports, not oratory.

While some envy celebrities, and many aspire to celebrity, some who have attained it are ambivalent about their status. Often, celebrities cannot escape the public eye, and risk being followed by fans or paparazzi. As well, child celebrities are notorious for having poor emotional health in adulthood, and often turn to drug and alcohol abuse when their celebrity (as it usually does) fades. As adults, celebrities may suffer from Hollywood marriages which quickly end in separation or divorce.

Some participants in reality television shows have admitted that they appeared on these programs with the goal in mind of attaining celebrity. Most often, they achieve only "fleeting celebrity" with no social or economic value. However for those with career ambitions in the media, it can be an ideal start as a fast lane to fame as an actor or presenter. For example, the Australian Big Brother semi-finalist Blair McDonough landed a major part in the worldwide-broadcasted family soap Neighbours (even some plot elements mimicking his BB performance).

Celebrity culture, once restricted to royalty and mythical figures, has pervaded many sectors of society including business, publishing, and even academia (the scilebrities).

Only a small proportion of individuals in any profession can achieve true celebrity. For those who do, the benefits can be substantial-- in the form of speaking fees, book advances, and high-paying "consulting" jobs from firms seeking access.

There are disadvantages as well, however, academics and business leaders who become well known often lose credibility with their colleagues, or at least fear so - that is must not be so, at least if they have the good sense to be somewhat selective about the non-specialist appearances they make, was proven in 2005 when canon law professor Rik Torfs, who would have stood no chance before he proved a very witty, erudite and original guest in political and general background programs on Flemish TV and in leading quality newspaper De Standaard, was voted a close second by the academic community in the election of a new rector (active chancellor) of his -Belgium's major, catholic- university KULeuven.

In many fields, such as the arts and publishing, a moderate measure of celebrity (being "established") is necessary before individuals are able to "get respect". Most non-famous individuals in these sectors are poorly-compensated, though they may be as talented or more so than well-compensated, famous people in the same field.

Celebrity structure

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. Some sub national entities also have their own celebrity system, such as Quebec and Puerto Rico. In other cases, particularly in the United States, celebrity may be confined to only one state: Lin Sue Cooney, for example, is a well known television reporter in Arizona, but she is not that well known in other areas. Singers, actors (especially working in their native language) and other media celebrities from say the Netherlands are much more likely to be famous in equally Dutch-speaking Flanders, and vice versa, than anywhere else, though that happens too. The key is what audiences they can appeal to and are reached by the media they get attention from, which is much harder starting in the smaller countries and cultural communities, indeed it is often a good career move to launch English versions of one's hits songs et cetera to get a better chance on the global stage.

There is also a class of global celebrities, most often drawn from Hollywood and pop music, also from sports and modelling.

Professions that offer celebrity

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 invariantly celebrities. High-ranking politicians, television reporters, television show hosts, astronauts, and major-league athletes are also celebrities.

Some film and theatre directors, producers, artists, musicians, authors, trial lawyers and journalists are celebrities, but the vast majority are not, or much less then 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 or her own television show (or section) will usually become a celebrity: this includes chefs, gardeners, and interior decorators on shows like Trading Spaces and While You Were Out. However fame based on one program may often prove short-lived after it is discontinued.

Celebrity families

Individuals can achieve celebrity, but there are also many celebrity families, such as various royal families (sadly here, because of the rather unrealistically high moral and other expectations of a large part of the public, scandals tend really to be bad publicity, in the case of the British house of Windsor even leading to a referendum that nearly turned Australia into a republic) and artistic 'dynasties' e.g. the Barrymore, Cassidy (David and Shaun Cassidy), the Osmonds, Osbournes, Quintanilla, Redgrave, Sheen/Estevez, Stiller, Mistry, Jackson and Baldwin families, as well as the Bushes, Clintons, and Kennedys and some sports families.

Celebrity resentment

Because celebrities have fame comparable to that of royalty or gods in the past, some people exhibit curiosity about their private affairs. Due to the high visibility of celebrities' personal lives, their failures are often made public. Therefore, "celebrities" are usually viewed as exhibiting worse personal behaviour 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 behaviour of non-celebrities on Reality television.

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.

Literature

High Visibility, by Irving J. Rein, Philip Kotler, and Martin Stoller, studies the phenomenon of celebrity. To them, celebrity requires not only fame, but fame with an evident monetary value.