Fame. Everybody knows it. Everybody wants it. But what is fame? Well according to Merriam Webster fame: noun is public estimation, reputation. Reputation: overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general. There it is, “judged by people”. If you asked a famous person to describe fame, they might say it feels like being “a bird in a cage”, a toy in a window, or a Barbie doll. A Barbie doll with a mind, heart, soul, and feeling. A Barbie doll with a family, desires, losses, insecurities, imperfections. So, not really a Barbie doll at all. 

There are three main types of fame, ascribed, achieved, or attributed. Ascribed status refers to when someone is assigned fame at birth or assumes it involuntarily later in life. This includes nepotism children, royalty, or the president - anyone who gets fame simply from the position that they occupy. Then we have achieved fame. Achieved fame can come from the vigorous pursuit of fame. Or, an achieved celebrity can be someone who is perceived to have done something noteworthy – for example, Pablo Picasso as a visual artist, Venus Williams as a tennis player, Ali Farke Touré as a musician. Finally, we have attributed fame. Attributed fame can be categorized as “ordinary people” propelled into media at the behest of cultural intermediaries in pursuit of high ratings or sales. It includes, for example, someone who has had an affair with a politician or sports star.

So, now that you know a little about fame, let’s talk about the pros and cons. There’s no ignoring the benefits that come with fame. For one, being famous can often mean being rich, and when you have money, it's easy to make money.  Celebrities receive special treatment wherever they go, you’d never have to wait in line again, and opportunities you could never imagine might just present themselves to you. Celebrities have fans, people who love them and idolize them. It can feel good to have someone recognize and respect you. However once an individual attains fame, the question of identity becomes critical. Fame often causes a public persona that might be vastly different from their private self. This dichotomy can lead to a conflict known as “role strain”, causing serious mental stress. Struggling to balance these two identities, many celebrities experience identity crises, feeling lost and disconnected from their authentic selves.

Fame is all about balance. Take George Clooney's words for example, he says "Fame can be very dangerous because you can start to enjoy that part of it... And that's not the good part of what I do for a living. The good part is the making of films. The unpleasant part is the fame part if you're not careful." Knowing what you know now, would you be famous?