Today’s digital, hyper-connected; reality TV influenced world has given rise to a strange phenomenon.  Enter the realm of the “celebutante”, a term referring to those who enjoy fame, simply on the merit, of well… just being famous.  Or, put another way: an apparently otherwise useless fame whore.

Celebutantes spin drama, star in faux “fly on the wall” TV programs and cash in on major endorsements and marketing deals. Others have acquired some fame or are famous via association. They milk this for what it’s worth in order to live off the expectant royalties.

Here are some celebs that attest to the power of marketing genius over talent.

Kim Kardashian

The undisputed queen of reality TV, Kim is best known for her oversized butt, sex tape and incredibly short-lived (72 day), much- hyped marriage to a basketball star. The American socialite is, of course, a member of the overly dramatic and privileged Kardashian family with reality TV show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” airing on subscriber channel E!. Kim has produced several clothing lines and fragrances and continues to be popular and enjoy the rich spoils of endorsement deals – despite an overtly vapid persona.

Claim to fame:

• Starring in a sex tape
• Overdramatising her life at any opportunity (along with her family) on camera
• Getting divorced before the ink is dry on the marriage certificate
• Having an arse bigger than a small country

Paris Hilton

Paris who? I am referring to the original Celebutante: an idol to shallow, image-obsessed tween wannabes who consider “Real Life Barbie” to be a valid career choice. Once-upon-a-time megastar, Paris is now less “flavour of the month” then her counterpart and former friend Kim K (cue to Paris kicking herself for introducing aforesaid bimbo bedazzler to her socialite circle as she slinks off in the dust outside a D grade Hollywood nightspot). That being said, Paris still continues to hawk her clothing and fragrance line as she waits for the Hilton patriarch to hit the dust.

Claim to fame:

• Being an heiress and dumb blonde
• Starring in a sex tape
• Not wearing underwear
• Having a catchphrase – “that’s hot”.
• Torturing dogs by turning them into fashion accessories

Jessica Simpson

This former pop star sold out to reality TV at a tender age, and at a very formative part of her career. She must have had little faith in the continuation of her singing career – deciding instead  to cash in on a  TV show that allowed her new marriage to fellow late- nineties popster Nick Lachey  to unfold under public gaze. The cable series “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica” made her a pop culture icon but killed her marriage (big surprise there). She managed to produce a very successful clothing line and embraced the ubiquitous Hollywood Fragrance cash cow. Recently, she signed a lucrative deal with Weight Watchers in order to plug her (hopeful) post- baby weight loss.

Claim to Fame:

• Being a pop star
• Gaining weight
• Losing weight
• Being dim-witted
• Wearing tight fitting jeans
• Her quote: “Is ‘Chicken of the Sea’ Tuna Chicken or Fish?”

Lara Bingle

Establishing that the celebutante phenomenon is spreading beyond Hollywood, on Australian shores we find Lara Bingle – our very own fame-hungry socialite. She’s more well-known for her scandals than her talent. She milked her appearance in the 2006 Tourism Australia campaign “So where the bloody hell are you” and two failed, much-publicised relationships (one with Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke and the other with footballer Brendon Fevola) into a somewhat successful modelling career. She is currently creating a range of sunglasses, a coffee-table book and a make-up range; proving where one finds a celebutante a product range is never far away. She is currently on the reality gravy train with her television series “Being Lara Bingle” screening on Network Ten.

Claim to Fame:

• Starring in a TV commercial
• Starring in a nude photo scandal
• Being engaged to Michael Clarke
• Making frequent media gaffs

Image Links:

Image of Kim Kardashian: poponthepop.com

Image of Paris Hilton: sodahead.com

Image of Jessica Simpson: tv.popcrunch.com

Image of Lara Bingle: article.wn.com

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