Stars = actors or actresses in films.
Celebrities = anyone famous who has achieved something.
Personalities = are only famous for being famous.
The birth of the film star originates from early Hollywood where producers refused to name the performers in case they demanded more money and often the film technicians would play parts. This all changed in 1910 where Carl Laemmle offered a pay rise from $25 to $1000 to the 'Biograph Girl' so Florence Lawrence became the first film star. To build up her fame Laemmle planted a story in St Louis that the Biograph girl had died in an accident the next day his company reported that it was a lie invented by their enemies. When Lawrence visited St Louis she was mobbed by fans.
The creation of a star requires the mass media. In order to create a star persona, details of their own lives need to be circulated within the public domain. The details do not have to be true, simply of interest to the audience. What we know of stars is their persona, but humans are far more complex than a star persona can allow.
Coverage of stars tends to come from magazines and film programmes but due to the internet you can find out all the information of about a celebrity in minutes. The way in which a publication presents a star is now very controlled. If a magazine criticises a star it is likely that the publication will be denied access to them in the future and in recent years stars have insisted on having the final say on what appears in the article. Magazine and newspaper coverage are the lifeblood of the celebrity, keeping the individual in the public eye.
Personalities tend to inhabit gossip magazines and rely upon nothing except the fact that they are being celebrated in such publications. They are postmodern celebrities.
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