Would you want to be famous? Why would someone want to be?

[Dirtywellieseverywhere]

I would hate to be famous I think, especially now with the internet trolls etc, the lack of privacy.
I would like the money, but not to be famous.

Is there something about people who become famous/want to be famous? Why do they feel the need?

I USED to want to be. Wanted to be a writer for a while, and also an actress and a singer - waaaaay back in the 1980s. Sang in several bands - not well known ones, and actually did some plays and theatre (AmDram.) Auditioned a number of times for things, and was had singing lessons and acting lessons. Was desperate for fame. Wrote some stuff and sent it to publishers. Had no luck ever.

I never got the fame I wanted. (Like the majority of people who want it!)

I am glad now as I am very happy with my life and would NOT like to be famous. Living in a goldfish bowl, no privacy, always scrutinised, trolls on social media attacking and berating you, possibly getting death threats, never know who your true friends are, not got your own life. Nah mate!

Would be nice to have been a B-list actress (like worked as an actress and always been in work, but not super famous, like a jobbing actress.)

OR as has been said, being a successful writer (under a pseudonym,) or a session singer would be good, as you'd be doing something you love - but wouldn't be recognised.

But still, I'm not that bothered that it never worked out. I have a nice life. (In my late 50s now.)

Moreover, I don't envy ANY famous person.

No, an ex was, and not someone most people would recognise, but it was very irritating just being out and about doing normal things and being disturbed by strangers who think its okay to disturb, take pictures, touch etc.

If a job made me famous - I did dabble in acting at one point - then I’d see it as something I had to handle in order to carry on doing what I loved. I’m not sure I’d ever do something with fame as a goal.

I think some people do crave fame but for others it’s an unwanted side product of pursuing their career. Footballers, athletes, actors, musicians (some) etc. pursue their vocation and become famous as a result. Some manage to minimise the media but others do not.

I think you must need a very thick skin these days. Some online reviews are brutal, including some that are overly personal. (It shouldn’t matter what a musician looks like). I think many are motivated by jealousy and the writer’s other insecurities, but some of the comments must still sting.

Reading book reviews, it often surprises me that there’s no book in the world that some people didn’t find too boring to finish. To be fair, we live in a world where some people “can’t read” a 20-line MN post if it hasn’t been sub-divided into paragraphs.

This as well.

I wouldn’t. I’d love to be famous within a professional field of excellence; like being a brilliant physician with publications regarded as the bible that field, or a classical musician, but I wouldn’t want to be recognisable to the general public.

Yeah I could deal with brilliance, acclaim and respect in my field. 😁

No. I don't like people I don't know knowing "me", if you see what I mean? It actually makes me feel very unhappy and vulnerable. I had a brief brush with it years ago and recoiled viscerally from the whole thing - went full hermit. There's something absolutely psychologically brutalising about it that I can't really explain.

I tend to think people that pursue fame are damaged in some way. Maybe that's unkind. I don't mean to be unkind. But really, why would one seek the regard of absolute strangers? There's something broken about it. It's the one-way-ness of it that seems pathological. Like women who feel they must be attractive to all men, even men they would never want. I have a friend who feels this deeply and it really hurts her in her life. She's very clear eyed about it.

It’s not for me at all. I was very good at music as a child and teenager and a good singer. I got a place to study music at the royal academy but deep down I knew I wasn’t a performer (not even going as far as being famous). I went to Art School and became a painter instead much more anonymous.

So agree...
A friend of a friend is just hitting the big time as an actor and it's going to change their life so much.
Ordinary family life (2 small children) won't be the same, even if they pretend it is behind closed doors.

I would love to have a talent and be really good at it and make a lot of money doing what I love, but not at the price of being famous.

I’d perhaps like to be a minor celebrity such as the star of a musical, or a backing singer/dancer or lesser known member of a band (not the lead singer) and get the buzz of performing to huge crowds but still live a relatively normal life and not have people recognise me on the street and have no social media presence.

Well regarded, widely respected within my field - that would be lovely.

Actually famous? Hell no. I think those who chase fame are immature, lack imagination or are trying to make up for a lack in their lives.

I would like to be a famous writer, scientist or theatre director. Not a famous actor or singer. So low key fame.

I'd hate it too.
Can't imagine much else worse

Basically I would have liked to be Hilary Mantel without the health issues.

I think some people manage fame very well - they don't use social media, their PR do it, and they keep a very private life. But like PP's have said, you need a thick hide and to be able to be off duty.

And what if like Judi Dench you are extremely talented, plus you work very hard in your job to do the best job you can do, and because of all that you have no choice but to be famous?

Fame for many talented , hard working people is an unfortunate by-product, even in contemporary times.

Why would one seek the regard of absolute strangers?
You have just described social media where millions of people use.😉
I think many of us crave regard or validation. I know I do. Not to the extent of embarrassing myself on social media but certainly in a fantasy sort of way.

I think there's very few people who actively want to be famous. Most of them just want to make lots of money doing something they love, so acting, music, football. The great parties, people sending for freebies, that's a bonus as well.

The fame is the price they pay for these things, not the aim. The people who are famous because they're good at something - The Jack Nicholson's, the Coldplays, the Serena Williams, I doubt any of them enjoy their fame. They don't enjoy being mobbed in the street, having to hire bodyguards everywhere they go.

There's very few people who aim to be famous, and those that do are very rarely actually famous. No-one was mobbing Jade Goody in the street, I doubt Kerry Katona needed a bodyguard on a Sunday morning in Tesco's, and Joey Essex might get the occasional shag out of his fame, but most people couldn't pick him out of a lineup.

The Kardashian s are the only exception to the rule that I can think of. All they have is their fame, that's how they've built their empire. Their talent is fame itself, and that's how they make their billions.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't go on those things either. And I think still most people don't. It's a minority of people on, for example, Twitter, and then a vanishing minority of those actually post. And honestly a lot of them do seem to be a bit mad? I don't know if you've seen it, but when I've looked it's mainly been quite unstable people shouting at each other, like drunks out the back of a 24h Asda.

It's just that there's a lot of people in the world - billions of us - so even a small minority is actually millions of people. And you don't see the people not saying anything so availability bias can make it feel like it's a normal (by which I mean common) pursuit. I don't think it is that common really.

Most of them just want to make lots of money doing something they love, so acting, music, football.

Actually what most proper actors want is great roles, to do interesting work with wonderful directors, that audiences really enjoy.

That’s why so many actors who don’t need the money (because of films or long running tv) still return to theatre from time to time, where the pay is not good. Especially when you consider that they work evenings and weekends, 6 days a week, and can very very rarely take any time off.

(I know a lot of actors including those who have become wealthy).

This would be my nightmare. I don't do social media and I hate having my photo taken so being famous would likely push me over the edge.. Luckily it's not likely to happen😅

Not famous, but I wouldn't mind a tiny but loyal cult following.