Milly Williamson is a senior lecturer in Film and Television Studies at Brunel University. She has published work on television fan cultures, television celebrity, horror, gender and consumption.

'The book we’ve been waiting for! At last, a lucid guide to the political economy of celebrity culture. Ranging from the gendered star system of eighteenth-century theatre to the abuse of "ordinary" people in contemporary reality TV, Milly Williamson brings historical and theoretical sophistication to her lively analysis of the mutating relationship between celebrity and capitalism – all the while foregrounding "competing ideals and values about what it means to be human".' Jo Littler, City University, London 'There are myths about celebrity. Is it a sign of a decaying culture? Is it part of human nature to obsess over stars? Milly Williamson sidesteps these tired questions to get to the heart of the matter by providing the economic history that underpins the phenomenon. A game-changing contribution.' Toby Miller, University of California, Riverside"…a much needed contribution to the sprawling field of celebrity studies"Communication

• ContentsAcknowledgementsChapter One: What is Celebrity? The Changing Character of FameChapter Two: Celebrity and the Theatre: modernity and commercial culture Chapter Three: Celebrity and the industrialisation of cultural production: the case of the mass press and the cinemaChapter Four: Celebrity and NewsChapter Five: Ordinary CelebrityChapter Six: Social media and celebrity: the internet of �self�ConclusionNotesReferencesIndex

Milly Williamson is a senior lecturer in Film and Television Studies at Brunel University. She has published work on television fan cultures, television celebrity, horror, gender and consumption.

'The book we’ve been waiting for! At last, a lucid guide to the political economy of celebrity culture. Ranging from the gendered star system of eighteenth-century theatre to the abuse of "ordinary" people in contemporary reality TV, Milly Williamson brings historical and theoretical sophistication to her lively analysis of the mutating relationship between celebrity and capitalism – all the while foregrounding "competing ideals and values about what it means to be human".' Jo Littler, City University, London 'There are myths about celebrity. Is it a sign of a decaying culture? Is it part of human nature to obsess over stars? Milly Williamson sidesteps these tired questions to get to the heart of the matter by providing the economic history that underpins the phenomenon. A game-changing contribution.' Toby Miller, University of California, Riverside"…a much needed contribution to the sprawling field of celebrity studies"Communication

• ContentsAcknowledgementsChapter One: What is Celebrity? The Changing Character of FameChapter Two: Celebrity and the Theatre: modernity and commercial culture Chapter Three: Celebrity and the industrialisation of cultural production: the case of the mass press and the cinemaChapter Four: Celebrity and NewsChapter Five: Ordinary CelebrityChapter Six: Social media and celebrity: the internet of �self�ConclusionNotesReferencesIndex

Milly Williamson is a senior lecturer in Film and Television Studies at Brunel University. She has published work on television fan cultures, television celebrity, horror, gender and consumption.

'The book we’ve been waiting for! At last, a lucid guide to the political economy of celebrity culture. Ranging from the gendered star system of eighteenth-century theatre to the abuse of "ordinary" people in contemporary reality TV, Milly Williamson brings historical and theoretical sophistication to her lively analysis of the mutating relationship between celebrity and capitalism – all the while foregrounding "competing ideals and values about what it means to be human".' Jo Littler, City University, London 'There are myths about celebrity. Is it a sign of a decaying culture? Is it part of human nature to obsess over stars? Milly Williamson sidesteps these tired questions to get to the heart of the matter by providing the economic history that underpins the phenomenon. A game-changing contribution.' Toby Miller, University of California, Riverside"…a much needed contribution to the sprawling field of celebrity studies"Communication

• ContentsAcknowledgementsChapter One: What is Celebrity? The Changing Character of FameChapter Two: Celebrity and the Theatre: modernity and commercial culture Chapter Three: Celebrity and the industrialisation of cultural production: the case of the mass press and the cinemaChapter Four: Celebrity and NewsChapter Five: Ordinary CelebrityChapter Six: Social media and celebrity: the internet of �self�ConclusionNotesReferencesIndex