A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is
famous
Famous may refer to:
Companies
* Famous Brands, a South African restaurant franchisor
* Famous Footwear, an American retail store chain
* Famous Music, the music publishing division of Paramount Pictures
* Famous Studios, the animation division ...
for their starring, or leading, roles in
movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and whose names are used to promote movies, for example in trailers and posters. The most prominent movie stars are known in the industry as
bankable stars.
United States
Hollywood's early years
In the early days of
silent movies, the names of the actors and actresses appearing in them were not publicized or credited because producers feared this would result in demands for higher salaries.
[100 years of movie stars: 1910-1929]
, ''The Independent'', January 25, 2010. However, audience curiosity soon undermined this policy. By 1909, actresses such as
Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence (born Florence Annie Bridgwood; January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as the "first movie star", and was thought to be the first film actor to ...
and
Mary Pickford were already widely recognized, although the public remained unaware of their names. Lawrence was referred to as the “Biograph Girl” because she worked for
D. W. Griffith
David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...
's
Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios was an early film studio and laboratory complex, built in 1912 by the Biograph Company at 807 East 175th Street, in The Bronx, New York City, New York.
History
Early years
The first studio of the Biograph Company, formerly ...
, while Pickford was "Little Mary." In 1910, Lawrence switched to the
Independent Moving Pictures Company
The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) was a motion picture studio and production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle. The company was based in New York City, with production facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1912, IMP merged ...
, began appearing under her own name, and was hailed as "America's foremost moving picture star" in IMP literature.
Pickford began appearing under her own name in 1911.
The Independent Moving Pictures Company promoted their "picture personalities", including Florence Lawrence and
King Baggot, by giving them
billing,
credits
Credit refers to any form of deferred payment, the granting of a loan and the creation of debt.
Credit may also refer to:
Places
* Credit, Arkansas, a ghost town
* Credit River, a river in Ontario, Canada
* Credit River (Minnesota), a river in ...
and a
marquee.
Promotion in advertising led to the release of stories about these personalities to newspapers and fan magazines as part of a strategy to build brand loyalty for their company's actors and films. By the 1920s, Hollywood film company promoters had developed a "massive industrial enterprise" that "...peddled a new intangible—fame."
[Mitchell A. Flagg,]
Star Crazy: Keeping The Right Of Publicity Out Of Canadian Law
" (1999) Ad IDEM Early Hollywood studios tightly controlled who was a movie star, as only they had the ability to place stars' names above the title; according to film historian
Jeanine Basinger Jeanine Basinger (born 3 February 1936, in Ravenden, AR), a film historian, retired in 2020 as the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies and Founder and Curator of The Cinema Archives at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.
Education
Ba ...
, this was done "only for economic reasons".
Hollywood "image makers" and promotional agents planted rumors, selectively released real or fictitious biographical information to the press, and used other gimmicks to create
glamorous
Glamorous may refer to:
* "Glamorous" (Fergie song), a 2006 song by Fergie
* "Glamorous" (Natalia song), a 2007 song by Natalia & En Vogue
* ''Glamorous'' (album), a 2005 album by Denise Ho
* ''Glamorous'' (TV series), a 2023 Netflix televisio ...
personas for actors. Publicists thus "created" the "enduring images" and public perceptions of screen legends such as
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
,
Judy Garland,
Rock Hudson,
Marilyn Monroe, and
Grace Kelly. The development of this "
star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speak ...
" made fame "something that could be fabricated purposely, by the masters of the new 'machinery of glory'."
However, regardless of how "...strenuously the star and their media handlers and press agents may ... try to 'monitor' and 'shape' it, the media and the public always play a substantial part in the image-making process."
According to Madow, "fame is a 'relational' phenomenon, something that is conferred by others. A person can, within the limits of his natural talents, make himself strong or swift or learned. But he cannot, in this same sense, make himself famous, any more than he can make himself loved."
Madow goes on to point out "fame is often conferred or withheld, just as love is, for reasons and on grounds other than 'merit'." According to Sofia Johansson the "canonical texts on stardom" include articles by Boorstin (1971), Alberoni (1972) and Dyer (1979) that examined the "representations of stars and on aspects of the Hollywood star system". Johansson writes that "more recent analyses within media and cultural studies (e.g. Gamson 1994; Marshall 1997; Giles 2000; Turner, Marshall and Bonner 2000; Rojek 2001; Turner 2004) have instead dealt with the idea of a pervasive, contemporary, '
celebrity culture'." In the analysis of the celebrity culture, "fame and its constituencies are conceived of as a broader social process, connected to widespread economic, political, technological and cultural developments."
In the 1980s and 1990s, entertainment companies began using stars for a range of publicity tactics including press releases, movie junkets, and community activities. These promotional efforts are targeted and designed using market research, to increase the predictability of success of their media ventures. In some cases, publicity agents may create “provocative advertisements” or make an outrageous public statement to trigger public controversy and thereby generate "free" news coverage.
Movie studios employed performers under long-term contracts. They developed a star system as a means of promoting and selling their movies. "Star vehicles" were filmed to display the particular talents and appeal of the most popular movie stars of the studio.
Egypt
Egypt's most famous movie stars include
Youssef Wahbi,
Fatima Rushdi,
Leila Mourad,
Anwar Wagdi,
Naguib El-Rihani
Naguib el-Rihani ( ar, نجيب الريحاني; January 21, 1889 in Cairo – June 8, 1949 in Alexandria) was an Egyptian film and stage actor.
Biography
Born in Bab El Shereya, Cairo to a middle class family. His father, a Christian who wor ...
,
Taheyya Kariokka
Taheyya Kariokka ( ar, تحية كاريوكا) also Tahiya Carioca (born Badaweya Mohamed Kareem Ali Elnedany), (February 22, 1915 – September 20, 1999) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress.
Early life
Born in the Egyptia ...
,
Ismail Yassine
Ismail Yassine (also credited as ''Ismail Yasseen''; ar, إسماعيل ياسين ; 15 September 1912 - 24 May 1972) was an Egyptian comedian actor, and is considered as one of the greatest comedians in Egypt.
Personal life
Ismail Yassine ha ...
,
Faten Hamama,
Salah Zulfikar,
Shadia
Fatma Ahmed Kamal Shaker ( ar, فاطمة أحمد كمال شاكر; 8 February 193128 November 2017), better known by her stage name Shadia ( ar, شادية, ''Shādiyya''), was an Egyptian actress and singer. She was famous for her roles in l ...
,
Soad Hosny,
Nadia Lutfi,
Ahmed Zaki,
Nour El Sherif
Nour El-Sherif ( ar, نور الشريف; 28 April 1946 – 11 August 2015), born Mohamad Geber Mohamad Abd Allah ( ar, محمد جابر محمد عبد الله) was a prominent Egyptian actor. He has 6 films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list. ...
,
Mervat Amin
Mervat Mostafa Amin ( ar, ميرفت مصطفى أمين; born November 24, 1948) is an Egyptian actress.
Early life
She was born in El Minya to Mohammed Mostafa Amin, a doctor from Upper Egypt, and a Scottish mother, the headmaster of Victori ...
,
Adel Emam,
Naglaa Fathi
Naglaa Fathi aka Nagla' Fathi , whose birth name is Fatmah Elzahra' Hesin Fathi ( arz, فاطمة الزهراء حسين فتحي, born 21 December 1951),. Nagla' Fathi, is an Egyptian actress. She started her acting career in 1967 and has pla ...
,
Mahmoud Yassin
Mahmoud Yassin ( ar, محمود ياسين; 19 February 1941 – 14 October 2020) was an Egyptian actor. He was an iconic actor in both Egyptian cinema
The cinema of Egypt refers to the flourishing film industry based in Cairo, sometimes also re ...
,
Mona Zaki,
Ahmed Ezz,
Menna Shalabi
Menna Shalabi, also spelled Shalaby ( ar, منة شلبي; born Mennah Hesham Shalabi on 24 July 1981) is an Egyptian actress featured in numerous cinema and TV productions, among them the TV series ''Every Week Has a Friday''.
Awards
Menna Sh ...
,
Ahmed El Sakka
Ahmed Mohamed Salah El Din El Sakka ( ar, أحمد محمد صلاح الدين السقا; born March 1, 1973) is an Egyptians, Egyptian action actor. The son of theatre director Salah El Sakka, he began his career with uncredited roles in a lot ...
,
Karim Abdel Aziz, and many more considered
Egyptian Cinema movie stars.
Asia
Movie stars enjoy considerable prominence in Asia. In
Asian film
Asian cinema refers to the Film industry, film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia. However, in countries like the United States, it is often used to refer only to the cinema of East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. West Asi ...
industries, many movies often run on the weight of the star's crowd pulling power more than any other intrinsic aspect of film making.
China
A number of
Chinese film actors have become some of the most popular movie stars in
Eastern Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
, and several are also well known in the Western world. They include
Jackie Chan,
Jet Li,
Chow Yun-fat,
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-chi (, born 22 June 1962), known professionally as Stephen Chow, is a Hong Kong filmmaker, former actor and comedian, known for ''Shaolin Soccer'' and ''Kung Fu Hustle''.
Early life and education
Stephen Chow was born in British ...
,
Sammo Hung,
Gong Li,
Ziyi Zhang,
Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (; born 20 September 1964) is a Hong Kong former actress. Raised in Hong Kong and Britain, she started her career after placing second in 1983's Miss Hong Kong Pageant. She achieved critical success in the late 1980s and in ...
, and the late
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
.
India
The
Indian film
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...
industry consists of various regional cinema industries. One regional cinema, the Hindi film industry, commonly known as
Bollywood, has its own set of rules in this respect. There are often
superstars in this region who command premium pay commensurate with their
box office
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
appeal.
Some mainstream Indian movie stars, like the
Khans of Bollywood
The term Khans of Bollywood refers to several actors of Bollywood, the Mumbai-based Hindi language Cinema of India, Indian film industry, whose surnames are Khan (surname), Khan. Most commonly, this involves the Three Khans: Aamir Khan , Shah R ...
(
Aamir Khan,
[How To Become A Foreign Movie Star In China: Aamir Khan's 5-Point Formula For Success](_blank)
'' Forbes'', 11 June 2017 Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
,
Salman Khan,),
Madhubala,
Raj Kapoor,
Nargis,
Mithun Chakraborty,
[Do you remember Jimmy Jimmy?](_blank)
SBS, 18 March 2017 Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
and
Aishwarya Rai gained international fame across
Asia and
Eastern Europe. For example,
Bollywood films were
popular in the Soviet Union, more so than
Hollywood films and occasionally even domestic
Soviet films. Indian actors like Raj Kapoor, Nargis
and Mithun Chakroborty were household names in the Soviet Union,
with films such as ''
Awaara'' (1951) and ''
Disco Dancer'' (1982) drawing more than 60 million viewers in the country.
The
Hindi film
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actors Raj Kapoor
and Aamir Khan also became very popular in China, with films such as ''Awaara'', ''
3 Idiots
''3 Idiots'' (stylized as ''3 idiots'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Adapted loosely from Cheta ...
'' (2009), and ''
Dangal'' (2016),
one of the top 20
highest-grossing films in China.
['Dangal' Makes More History In China, Joins List Of All-Time 20 Biggest Box Office Hits](_blank)
'' Forbes'', 9 June 2017
Southeast-Asian archipelago
20th Century
The film industry of the Malay Archipelago (also known as
Nusantara
Nusantara most commonly refers to:
*Nusantara (archipelago), an Old Javanese term which initially referred to the conquered territories of the Majapahit empire, corresponding to present-day Indonesia
*Nusantara (planned city), the future capital ci ...
) consists primarily of film industries which made the cinema of
Malaysia,
Indonesia, the
Philippines, and
Singapore. Over the past century, these four cinemas have collaborated on a number of projects. A number of actors from this region have become some of the most sought-after movie stars in southeast Asia, commonly in
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
-speaking countries. Many of these movie star have acted in all four countries
In the
Philippines their most recognizable thespian consisted of
Nora Aunor
Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 1953), professionally known as Nora Aunor (), is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows and concerts. She is known as Ph ...
,
Joseph Estrada,
Jose Padilla,
Fernando Poe Sr.
Allan Fernando Reyes Poe (November 27, 1916 – October 23, 1951) was a Filipino actor and film director during the early era of cinema in the Philippines.
Poe was the father of Fernando Poe Jr., who later became a prominent actor and film i ...
,
Fernando Poe Jr.
Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., and often referred to by his initials FPJ, was a Filipino actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and politician. His long and s ...
,
Roy Marten
Roy Wicaksono Abdul Salam (born 1 March 1952), better known by his stage name Roy Marten, is an Indonesian actor.
Life and career
Marten was born as Wicaksono Abdul Salam on 1 March 1952 in Salatiga, Central Java. He began his acting career in ...
,
Rudy Fernandez,
Dolphy,
Palito
Reynaldo Alfredo Hipolito (September 4, 1933 – April 12, 2010) was a veteran Filipino slapstick comedian and actor who was at the height of his career in the 1970s and '80s. He was well known for his unusually light build and thin anatomy ...
,
Ramon Zamora, among many more. Philippines first international celebrity and sole in the movie star category was Ernesto dela Cruz under the pseudonym
Weng Weng, who in 1981 with his hit film the
action comedy film ''
For Your Height Only
''For Your Height Only'' (also known as ''For Y'ur Height Only'') is a 1981 Filipino comedy spy action film starring Weng Weng. Its title is a play on words on '' For Your Eyes Only'', the title of the James Bond film released that same year. A seq ...
,'' became the world's first and shortest
leading man standing at 2 foot 9 while even with a short lived career the international success of the film hasn't been topped locally.
Indonesia's movie stars consist of
Rima Melati
Marjolein Tambayong (August 22, 1937 – June 23, 2022), better known by her stage name Rima Melati or by her nickname Lientje, was an Indonesian actress, model, and singer. She appeared in close to one hundred feature films, including works b ...
,
Deddy Mizwar
Deddy Mizwar (born 5 March 1955) is an Indonesian actor, film director and politician, born of an Indo (Dutch- Betawi) father and Betawi- Bugis mother. He is the Chairman of Indonesia's National Film Advisory Board (''Badan Pertimbangan Perfilman N ...
,
Christine Hakim
Herlina Christine Natalia Hakim (born 25 December 1956) is an Indonesian actress, film producer, and activist. Born to a devout Muslim family of a mixed-race background in Jambi, she grew up in Yogyakarta, aspiring to be an architect or psyc ...
,
Rano Karno, and many more.
Malaysia's most renown film celebrities are
P. Ramlee
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh (later Ramlee bin Puteh) (22 March 1929 – 29 May 1973), better known by his stage name P. Ramlee (Puteh Ramlee), was a Malaysian actor, filmmaker, musician, and composer famous in both m ...
,
Yusof Haslam,
Jins Shamsuddin,
Michelle Yeoh, Eman Manan, Alex Komang, etc.
Singapore's most famous included Fauziah Ahmad Daud, Nordin Ahmad, Saadiah, and others are also considered Singaporeans movie stars of the 20th century.
21st Century
Other, more recent movie stars include Romalis Syafril,
Erra Fazira,
Rosyam Nor,
Shaheizy Sam
Shaheizy Sam bin Abdul Samad (born 4 September 1982) is a Malaysian actor, singer, rapper, and producer who was known as a young star in the 1990s before rising to fame in the film ''Bohsia: Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam'' in 2009, and ''Adnan Semp ...
and
Maya Karin, from Malaysia;
Nicholas Saputra
Nicholas Saputra Schubring (born 24 February 1984) is an Indonesian actor and film producer. He first rose to prominence as Rangga in the 2002 hit film '' Ada Apa dengan Cinta?'', a role he reprised in ''Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? 2'' in 2016. He ha ...
, Vino G. Bastian,
Dian Sastrowardoyo,
Tora Sudiro, and
Iko Uwais
Uwais Qorny (), known professionally as Iko Uwais, is an Indonesian actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, and martial artist. He is best known for acting in the action films '' Merantau'' (2009), '' The Raid'' (2011), '' The Raid 2'' (2014), ...
, from Indonesia; Claudine Baretto,
Piolo Pascual,
John Lloyd Cruz,
Jericho Rosales,
Aga Muhlach, Kristine Hermosa,
Dingdong Dantes, and
Bea Alonzo, from the Philippines; and a few from Singapore, such as
Aaron Aziz
Yang Hormat Dato' Aaron Mustapha bin Aziz ( Jawi: ارون مصطفى بن عزيز; born 23 February 1976) is a Singaporean actor, singer and film director currently based in Malaysia. He is largely known in Malaysia and also in some countr ...
and Adi Putra.
See also
*
Celebrity
*
Character actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
*
Charisma
*
Glamour
Glamour may refer to:
Arts
Film
* ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film
* ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film
* ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film
Writing
* ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women
* ''The Glamour ...
*
Leading lady
*
Leading man
*
List of actors
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of highest-grossing actors
*
List of highest-paid film actors
*
Matinée idol
Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre movie star, stars who are adored to the point of Flattery, adulation by their Fan (person), fans. The term almost exclusively refers to adult male actors.
Matinée idols often tend ...
*
Sex symbol
A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
*
Star system (filmmaking)
*
Superstar
*
Typecasting
*
Voice actor
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Movie Star
Acting
Celebrity
Film and video terminology