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Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Why becoming a celebrity can literally kill you
A tiny woman in a London flat, frail and ravaged by addiction, watches and re-watches videos of her old performances. 'Boy, could I sing,' she says to her bodyguard. A black woman who used her voice like nobody on earth dies handcuffed to a hospital bed, having been hounded by the FBI. A blonde woman in clown makeup, suffering some kind of psychosis, mutters about a plastic doll being her newborn baby. These are some of the images in Philippa Snow's brutal and brilliant study of female celebrity, It's Terrible the Things I Have to Do to Be Me. It's both a joy to read, fizzing with intelligence, and profoundly dispiriting. Fame, as Snow portrays it, is a fate to be regarded with the same pitying revulsion as we would any other self-inflicted harm. This is somewhat familiar terrain for Snow, who last year published a magnificent short book called Trophy Lives on the notion of the celebrity as an art object; but It's Terrible… is longer and broader in scope. It's capacious enough for her sometimes delightful, sometimes horrifying digressions, and, most of all, it's characterised by an insistent tenderness toward her subjects. Each of the seven chapters focuses on two famous women, discussed separately but in view of one another. The contextualising partnerships are lightly drawn, and no crude comparisons are made: Lindsay Lohan and Elizabeth Taylor, or Britney Spears and Aaliyah. Rather, we see how similar restrictions and demands afflict different women in different times in similar ways, while Snow also works to distinguish each one as her own individual. She doesn't allow either her format or her analysis to overburden the task at hand, which is to examine how female celebrities are compelled to carry the desires and disgust of the wider culture, and what this does to the actual human being concerned. 'I am not a historian,' Snow writes, 'nor am I a biographer. I am not an academic, either. What I am is an interested party.' This is the book's great strength: she brings some of the guilelessness of the unabashed fan to the table, but alloys to it her expansive insight. The first essay covers Anna Nicole Smith and Marilyn Monroe. Snow published a version of this one in The White Review in 2021, and it appears to have been the inciting work which prompted the rest. It gives her the book's title too: 'It's very expensive to be me,' Smith once protested. 'It's terrible the things I have to do to be me.' The Smith-Monroe piece is the strongest in the book, and the one in which the duality is most pronounced. Smith was obsessed with Monroe, carrying VHS copies of her films around, making plainly impossible claims to have been her daughter, dyeing her own hair the same shimmering version of platinum blonde. Both women would be cherished and reviled for their dramatic curves, and affects that walked the line between 'vulnerable' and 'knowing'. Both would have troubling relationships with the men in their lives – not just the romantic interests, but the medical professionals, the photographers, the money guys. They would both die lonely deaths caused by drug overdoses before they had the chance to reach middle age. This first essay exemplifies the thesis Snow lays out in her introduction: that she's concerned with female celebrities because they're the extreme renderings of what ordinary women experience. Ordinary women are also typified and minimised and confined to a single box, treated with alarmed fury when they take on a role that hasn't been prescribed. With Smith and Monroe, we see these demands – so intolerably outsized for them, compared to the ordinary woman – as cords tightening, cutting off the pulse. Their deaths have become inextricable with their original appeal, seeming with hindsight somehow inevitable, as much a part of their American Dream fulfillment as having double Ds or being a bottle blonde. Sex, Snow points out, is rivalled only by death as a source of entertainment. The combination of the two is unbeatable. 'Daddy issues' abound in this book, from Peter Fonda's cold appraisal of his young daughter Jane's appearance, to Lindsay Lohan's abusive father. In the case of both Britney Spears and Aaliyah, a teenage girl is launched to unimaginable heights and taught to simultaneously emphasise and fudge the fact of their youth. Was Britney's Catholic-schoolgirl uniform, in the video for her song ...Baby One More Time, an innocent reflection of her actual demographic – she was just 18 – or a subtle-ish nod to the conventions of teen-girl pornography? Aaliyah, meanwhile, was subject to a literal skewing of her age when R Kelly falsified documents to make her 18, instead of 15, so that he could marry her. There are quite a few unfamiliar and fascinating stories here, though it's also true that by definition the most famous women are the most known to us. Some of the more straight biographical passages for the likes of Joan Collins or Elizabeth Taylor will be recognisable to Hollywood buffs and Kenneth Anger fans. But Snow knows that we aren't just reading for the anecdotes, but also for her enjoyably loose appraisal, and the exposition of a new lens through which we might view the overfamiliar. It's striking, for instance, that the essay on Pamela Anderson makes a point of undermining the idea that she has been an unwitting victim of patriarchal culture – a position taken by the 2022 television fictionalisation Pam & Tommy. 'The gravest mistake the creators of Pam & Tommy made,' Snow writes, 'was to presume that in order to enhance her martyrdom and thus ensure their audience's sympathy, they should make their version of Pamela Anderson a dumb, surprised babe-in-the-woods [whom] things happened to, and not a woman who made things happen – one who had spent much of her life making herself into exactly the person she desired to be.' Snow nimbly avoids leaning too far into what's sometimes branded 'choice feminism': that is, the assertion that any choice any woman makes is feminist, simply because a woman is choosing it. But she does admiringly explain the self-creation that had satisfaction and meaning for some of these women, even if in some cases it eventually soured into self-annihilation. When asked for comment on the TV series, a source says 'Pamela has no regrets about her life': Snow speculates that this came from Anderson directly. Although the line isn't entirely true – Anderson has expressed regret about surgeries she underwent – it's true in essence, for Anderson seems to regard her experiences with an amused sanguinity rather than any outrage. Having experienced sexual abuse as a child, she writes in her memoir that the first Playboy shoot was revelatory, that by the end of the first week 'you had to stop me from running out the door naked.' This, as Snow points out, is about as divergent as it is possible to be from the downtrodden, wide-eyed Pamela that the TV series gave us. The most valuable thing about It's Terrible… is Snow's ability to take what's often dismissed as frippery and address it earnestly, without resorting to garbled academicised language. There's no ironic winking about the idea of paying serious attention to these women. Instead there's a refreshing admission and admiration for the ineffable quality of star power, or what might just be called 'charisma'. We have a natural tendency to configure celebrities as inhuman, whether because we resent the walls of wealth around them and assume they'll absorb any blows, or because we are so used to seeing images of them they no longer register as anything else. Snow does the opposite, and invites them back into the world – after all, what is charisma except being human, only more so? Stars really are just like us, only better and therefore, inevitably, worse.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Elizabeth Taylor perfume that 'gets lots of compliments' is 40% off on little-known site
"It's a beautiful, soft powdery scent that is perfect for pretty much any occasion." Perfume lovers are grabbing a 'masterpiece' scent that has nearly 40% off in a limited-time sale. Violet Eyes by Elizabeth Taylor normally retails at £52 for a 100ml bottle but has been reduced to £32 on OFFSCENT. Launched in 2010, Violet Eyes was created by renowned perfumer Carlos Benaïm. Highly renowned, Benaïm has worked on numerous bestselling fragrances, including YSL Libre (£82.50 for 50ml), ViktorandRolf's Flowerbomb (£60 for 30ml) and Giorgio Armani's My Way (£57 for 30ml). Violet Eyes opens up with bright peach, although as the top note, this is the first to fade, before settling into a floral heart of rose and jasmine. It's got a woody base of Virginia cedar, peony and amber. While it has yet to receive reviews on OFFSCENT, Violet Eyes has garnered glowing praise on Fragrantica, a platform where fragrance enthusiasts share their opinions. Many fragrance fans shared their love for the fresh, summery scent. One user wrote: "This is a great affordable light fresh-fruity-floral. It's along the lines of Light Blue, Daisy (especially Daisy) and I Love Love. If you love these perfumes, or fragrances similar to those, you would most likely love this one! Perfect for Spring and Summer, but super fresh for Summer without being "beachy". The dry down is similar to Light Blue if LB also had a fruitiness to it." Violet Eyes £52 £32 OFFSCENT Buy Here Product Description Many are making comparisons between Violet Eyes and Light Blue, noting that Light Blue costs twice as much at £64 for a 30ml bottle at Boots. One fragrance fan said: "I adore Violet Eyes. It's the only perfume I can wear from the Elizabeth Taylor collection because it's not outdated, and the notes are seamlessly blended. A masterpiece by Carlos Benaïm. It's like the woody floral version of the citrusy fresh Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana. Beautiful and reasonably priced." However, not everyone is drawn to this fragrance for everyday use, with some finding it more appropriate for the colder months. One disappointed shopper said: "Out of all the Elizabeth Taylor perfumes I own, this wasn't one I'd reach for. I've been trying to cycle through my collection and use up stuff, and this one really surprised me -- while it's a floral, it really shines in the winter, thanks to the cedar note. It's very light and frothy, and it lifted my spirits. To make it feel more woodsy, I layered it with Good Chemistry's Rustic Woods." OFFSCENT has a huge selection of perfumes on their website, including discounted ones. However, our readers get an exclusive 25% discount on full-priced fragrances such as Lancome La Vie Est Belle Eau de Parfum when they use the code REACH25. Elizabeth Taylor's Violet Eyes is now up for grabs for just £32 at OFFSCENT.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
Lawyers Market Big #MeToo Verdicts, but Their Clients Struggle to Collect
Elizabeth Taylor spent nearly a decade pursuing a sexual-harassment claim against her former boss at an online streaming company in Los Angeles. The long, grinding legal fight seemed worth it when a jury awarded her $8.4 million in late 2023. Her lawyer, Lisa Bloom, was ebullient, splashing news of the verdict across her website, Instagram page and YouTube channel. She billed it as 'one of the biggest sexual harassment verdicts of the year.'
North Wales Live
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Live
'Masterpiece' perfume is 40% off from little-known site that is 'perfect for summer'
Perfume lovers are rushing to buy a 'masterpiece' fragrance that's now nearly 40% off in a limited time sale. Elizabeth Taylor's Violet Eyes, typically priced at £52 for a 100ml bottle, is available for £32 on OFFSCENT. Launched in 2010, Violet Eyes was crafted by celebrated perfumer Carlos Benaïm, known for hits like YSL Libre (£82.50 for 50ml), ViktorandRolf's Flowerbomb (£60 for 30ml), and Giorgio Armani's My Way (£57 for 30ml). All of these are discounted on OFFSCENT with code REACH25, which just needs to be added before checkout. The sophisticated Elizabeth Taylor scent begins with bright peach notes, followed by a floral heart of rose and jasmine, before settling into a woody base of Virginia cedar, peony, and amber. Although it has yet to receive reviews on OFFSCENT, Violet Eyes has garnered rave reviews on Fragrantica, a platform where fragrance enthusiasts share their opinions. One fragrance aficionado praised it, saying: "This is a great affordable light fresh-fruity-floral. It's along the lines of Light Blue, Daisy (especially Daisy) and I Love Love. If you love these perfumes, or fragrances similar to those, you would most likely love this one! Perfect for Spring and Summer, but super fresh for Summer without being "beachy". The dry down is similar to Light Blue if LB also had a fruitiness to it." Another reviewer wrote: "I wore it today, Beautiful feminine scent, very very classy, amazing for everyday wear not to strong lasts a good amount of time. Wonderful," reports the Manchester Evening News. Many fragrance fans are seeing parallels between Violet Eyes and Light Blue, with the latter being priced at £64 for a 30ml bottle at Boots; one enthusiast shared: "I adore Violet Eyes. It's the only perfume I can wear from the Elizabeth Taylor collection because It's not outdated and the notes are seamlessly blended. A masterpiece by Carlos Benaïm. It's like the woody floral version of the citrusy fresh Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana. Beautiful and reasonably priced." While some may not reach for it frequently, finding it better suited for colder weather, another person commented: "Out of all the Elizabeth Taylor perfumes I own, this wasn't one I'd reach for. I've been trying to cycle through my collection and use up stuff and this one really surprised me -- while it's a floral, it really shines in the winter, thanks to the cedar note. It's very light and frothy and it lifted my spirits. To make it feel more woodsy, I layered it with Good Chemistry's Rustic Woods." OFFSCENT boasts an extensive selection of fragrances on their site, including deals on some, but offers our readers an exclusive 25% discount on full-priced scents such as with code REACH25.
The Age
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Date-night dressing: Taylor Swift makes an effort – and so can we
This story is part of the June 21 edition of Good Weekend. See all 8 stories. It's date night: what do I wear? Finding love can be difficult but, as Elizabeth Taylor (eight marriages), Pamela Anderson (five) and Billy Bob Thornton (six) discovered, keeping it can be more challenging than making it to the end of The Brutalist. For many couples, regular date nights help keep the romantic spark alive, fan the flames of passion and supercharge any other fire metaphor that doesn't involve charred logs. It's been almost two years since Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce started holding hands and their regular date nights show that they're still having fun (while keeping the paparazzi entertained). They're making an effort, even when it's just an outing à deux to a restaurant. While other couples get comfortable in their old trackies, worn undergarments and untouched roots, Swift and Kelce look as if they're still on their first date: there are shoes that require transport straight to the door (strictly no strolling), vertiginous hemlines that demand the strategic placement of a napkin at dinner and attention-grabbing jewellery. Adding a little evening sparkle – see Tay Tay's embellished Simkhai coat – and some subtle colour coordination to your date-night outfits shows respect for your partnership. It reminds your loved one of their initial attraction to you and proves to you that you can still flirt with fashion. For Kelce, that means punching above the average, male date-outfit of blue shirt, old jeans and boots with a sizzling, waxed-denim combo by Nahmias that finds echoes in his partner's red lipstick, nails and Louboutin platforms. For now, it looks as if the couple that dates and dresses together stays together – at least until it's time for another break-up album.
