We’re kind of living in the “Golden Age” of celebrities who appear to be famous for no discernible reason. It’s not because they can sing, act, or for athletic prowess, but because they have a reality TV show and an Instagram account (and maybe a sex tape…can you tell who we might be thinking of?). But, this is not a new phenomenon and the useless celebrity has been a fixture for decades. Let’s take a look at some of the celebs of ages gone by that achieved fame and infamy for no good reason
Zsa Zsa Gabor
This glamorous Hungarian sexpot became a worldwide celebrity and Hollywood royalty, with her “career” starting in the 1930s and continuing up until….now we guess. She’s still kicking at age 99! She burst onto worldwide consciousnesses through gossip columns and was originally known for being pretty and being involved with lots of famous men. Zsa Zsa seemed to court controversy, and was the O.G. of manipulating the press. She did end up being cast in a number of classic movies, though her celebrity status came first, then the film offers came after.
Edie Sedgwick
The “It Girl” of the 1960s Edie Sedgwick was a troubled rich society girl who fell in with some of the biggest stars of the decade such as Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol. She became something of a muse to Warhol and a fashion inspiration to young woman across the nation. But, why was Edie famous and why did people know her? She just WAS, and no-one could ever quite explain how it came to be that everyone knew Edie Sedgwick.
Angelyne
In the 1980s, the leggy, busty, blonde Angelyne made herself a low-level star by placing billboards around Los Angeles that sported an image of herself and her name. She was acting and fronting a rock band since the ’70s, but didn’t break through until she spread her billboards through tinsel town. Even though her film and music career definitely picked up, it’s for her-being-her that she reached her elated status of a B-list celeb.
LaToya Jackson
LaToya Jackson is best known for being a sister to 8 people all more famous than her. But for being the only Jackson family member without talent she’s managed to parlay her 2nd-hand fame into multiple reality TV shows. Poor LaToya is often the butt of jokes but she’s the one who is famous for no good reason. So it seems to us that the joke is on her critics.
Kato Kaelin
Don’t think it’s just hot women who get renown for who knows why, laid back mimbo Kato Kaelin achieved worldwide infamy for his starring role in the classic film Beach Fever…and….just kidding. He got famous for freeloading off of O.J. Simpson, living in the Juice’s guest house and becoming a minor witness in THE trial of the 90’s. He made lemons into lemonade through being connected to a grisly murder and used his connection to the O.J. Simpson murder fiasco into some kind of bizarre (and lasting) celebrity status.
Paris Hilton
We end at the beginning, though throughout then 20th and 21st century there’s plenty of examples of “famous for being famous” Paris Hilton invented the present phenomenon of the anti-celebrity. Just check the boxes off: Already rich, good-looking, reality show, sex tape, and tabloid scandals. She’s the mold, the primo-example, that all the present “when we call them celebrities we use air quotes” famous people are echos of.
Whatever happened to her anyway?
Did we forget anyone? Don’t leave us in the dark, tell us in the comments section now. And, taste a little fame yourself by sharing this post!
