# Is "famous for being famous" strictly an American phenomenon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873 "2015-10-27T14:10:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/41 "2015-10-29T14:02:22Z")
There are a number of magazines in the UK that cater to the sort of people who like to kiss the collective arse of the nobility (not royalty) and the nearly-noble. _Harper’s & Queen_ springs to mind, though [apparently](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_%28magazine%29) it now follows its US counterpart in both name and content. There’s also _[Tatler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatler)_. Most of the people those magazines cover fall perfectly into the famous-for-famous category, though the most prominent are usually considered tastemakers and therefore (I suppose) famous on merit. > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Many, _many_ years ago, there used to be a category of young women rarely out of the newspapers (in those days) called “starlets”. Few if any ever actually appeared on stage or in movies, they mostly seemed to turn up to be photographed looking glamorous at premieres. I can remember one of whom it was said she would turn up at the opening of an envelope. That was (at least originally) [Sylvia Miles](http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/a_politician_would_attend_the_opening_of_an_envelope), who was not famous-for-being-famous but famous for acting. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/42 "2015-10-29T14:37:30Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > …Now, industrialization of course of engendered novel previously unthinkable social phenomena, and then England was chronologically ahead of the pack. A few seasons back, at the Lord Lieutenant’s Ball, this rummy little chap wandered up and the old buster had to shake his hand, since he was the guest of her Grace, albeit with a bemused look on his face. Then we discovered the fellow was in trade. The county talked of nothing else for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/43 "2015-10-29T14:54:10Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That was (at least originally) [Sylvia Miles](http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/a_politician_would_attend_the_opening_of_an_envelope), who was not famous-for-being-famous but famous for acting. I should have realised it was too good to be home-grown, but I’m sure I saw it applied to one of our local glamour girls. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/44 "2015-10-30T02:18:51Z")
[Angelyne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelyne). I said, [Angelyne](http://digital.library.ucla.edu/websites/2003_999_041/images/billboard.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/45 "2015-10-30T02:57:43Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > **Japanese have “talent” or “talents”** that are famous for being small case famous. > > I think every society has folks that are famous for being famous… Bolded by me. Here’s the English Wikipedia explanation of Japanese **[tarento](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarento)**. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/46 "2015-10-30T05:38:15Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > At the turn of the 20th century, there was [Evelyn Nesbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Nesbit). Nesbit was a model (in fact, she’s considered to be the world’s first “super model”) and an actress on stage long before she met Henry Thaw. I wouldn’t consider her “famous for being famous”. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/47 "2015-10-30T08:23:32Z")
> [@Smitty](#): > > Do others countries have the equivalent of the Kardashians? Are we the only country that makes celebrities out of people for no apparent reason? I am not counting other country’s royal families in this. Oh yes. Germany has a lot of these and it’s not really a new phenomenon. Usually, it involves individuals who happen to be filthy rich (just like the Kardashians). Also, Germany hasn’t had royals for almost 100 years now, but the descendants of the many ruling dynasties from the past are still very much visible today, which is an interesting subject in itself. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/48 "2015-10-30T12:16:34Z")
> [@Smitty](#): > > I am not counting other country’s royal families in this. But can we count Pippa Middleton? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/49 "2015-10-30T16:41:57Z")
Noted without comment: the thread currently immediately above this one is about Oscar Wilde. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/50 "2015-10-30T17:38:50Z")
How about Mandy Rhys Davies, who stayed a celeb of sorts in Britain long after the Profumo sex scandal. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/51 "2015-10-30T17:55:34Z")
Well, she would, wouldn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/52 "2015-10-30T19:56:26Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Well, she would, wouldn’t she? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/53 "2015-10-30T20:46:16Z")
Cute reply. I think Mandy was sort of the Kato Kaelin of her day. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/54 "2015-10-30T21:56:28Z")
_Rice_-Davies. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/55 "2015-10-31T17:14:57Z")
In the pre-Internet era, one of the major examples of FFBF (in the U.S.) was [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zsa_zsa_gabor). Although she started her career as an actress, and made a number of films in the 1950s, by the mid-1960s she was better known for her multiple marriages (nine to date) to people like Conrad Hilton (great-granddad to that other FFBF, Paris Hilton), and actor George Sanders. She was a regular on the talk show circuit, and at a certain point only appeared in films as herself, or as a novelty cameo. On her many marriages, she commented: “I am a marvelous housekeeper: Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” (In researching for this post, I was shocked to learn that she’s still alive, and will turn 99 next February.) ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/56 "2015-10-31T17:37:11Z")
As a variation of the original question, one could look for individuals who are (1) to some extent distinguished in their field/profession, but (2) the amount of publicity they receive is not warranted by their actual success. I go first and nominate Anna Kournikova. A woman tennis player who (unlike Kournikova) unfortunately happens to be an ugly duckling doesn’t become a household name in mainstream media if she never wins a major tournament. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873/57 "2015-10-31T17:41:50Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > In the pre-Internet era, one of the major examples of FFBF (in the U.S.) was [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zsa_zsa_gabor). Although she started her career as an actress, and made a number of films in the 1950s, by the mid-1960s she was better known for her multiple marriages (nine to date) to people like Conrad Hilton (great-granddad to that other FFBF, Paris Hilton), and actor George Sanders. She was a regular on the talk show circuit, and at a certain point only appeared in films as herself, or as a novelty cameo. > > On her many marriages, she commented: “I am a marvelous housekeeper: Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” > > (In researching for this post, I was shocked to learn that she’s still alive, and will turn 99 next February.) although I did find her cameo in _The Naked Gun 2-1/2_ to be amusing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-famous-for-being-famous-strictly-an-american-phenomenon/735873.md?page=2)