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A celebrity (sometimes referred to as a celeb in popular culture) is a person who is easily recognized in a society or culture, or who has a wide-span reputation.

Generally speaking, a celebrity is someone who gets media attention and in certain circumstances shows an extroverted personality. There is a wide range of ways by which people may become celebrities: from their profession, appearances in the mass media, or even by complete accident or infamy. Instant celebrity is the term that is used when someone becomes a celebrity in a very short period of time. In some places, someone who somehow achieves a small amount of transient fame, through hype or mass media, is stereotyped as a B-grade celebrity. Often the stereotype extends to someone who falls short of mainstream or persistent fame but seeks to extend or exploit it. In the 21st century, the insatiable public fascination for celebrities and demand for celebrity gossip has given rise to the gossip columnist, tabloid, paparazzi and celebrity blogging.

The rise of international celebrities in acting and popular music is due in large part to the massive scope and scale of the media industries, enabling celebrities to be viewed more often and in more places.

15 minutes of fame

Andy Warhol coined the phrase "15 minutes of fame". "Celebrities" in the 21st century can now be famous simply by being in the right place at the right time. These "celebs" are regular people who originally are not celebrities, becoming celebrities, and are often turned into celebrities based on the ridiculous things they do. An example of this is reality TV contestant Tiffany Pollard also known as "New York", from VH1's Flavor of Love. "In fact, many reality show contestants fall into this category: the only thing that qualifies them to be on TV is that they're real."[5] Other "15 minutes of fame" celebrities can be average people seen with an A-list celebrity, who are sometimes noticed on entertainment news channels such as E! News.

Warhol also hinted that these people would be famous for "15 minutes", or in other words "a really short time until the fad or trend has died out." This also explains why certain people can be world famous in a certain century, decade, year,... but already obscure soon after. Lorenzo de' Medici was a famous Florentine statesman during the 15th century, but today only people who are familiar with history might know his name. Film actors like Harold Lloyd and Louise Brooks, who were world famous in the 1920s are not as well known by the general public nowadays as they were back then. MC Hammer is famous to people who were young in 1990, but later generations are less familiar with his name or music.

The opposite can be true as well. Painter Rembrandt van Rijn and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,[citation needed] who were successful during their lifetimes, both died almost forgotten. Their reputation grew only a few decades later. Vincent van Gogh was obscure during his lifetime and only sold one painting in his life. Only several years after his death was he regarded as an innovator and artistic genius and did his fame grow to international proportions. Blues singer Robert Johnson only recorded a handful of songs in the 1930s and then died, only becoming well known in the vicinity of the state where he used to live. He is now much more famous and respected as an artist, due to the legends surrounding his life.

Certain people are only remembered today because of a movie portrayal, certain story or urban legend surrounding their life and less for their accomplishments. Antonio Salieri was a famous and well known 18th century composer, who sank into obscurity the next two centuries. He was rediscovered thanks to the musical and film Amadeus, but his fictional portrayal as an antagonist has been more famous than his music since the end of the 20th century. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and O.J. Simpson are more notorious for the murder scandal in which they were involved than for their respective movie and sports careers. Ronald Reagan is more famous as a politician today than as a movie actor. Centuries after his death, Andrea Mantegna now better known as the mentor of Leonardo Da Vinci than for his own paintings

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