Celebrites: Alien or Human?

Danielle and I often discuss how you have to love celebrities like Mariah Carey and Victoria Beckham because they are so deeply, totally committed to be as fabulous as possible that they're basically not human anymore. Mariah may take her dog for a walk, but she does it in 4 inch Manolos and a mini-dress. In January. And she probably has an assistant whose entire job it is to pick up the poop. You know I love actors like Jennifer Garner, who probably spends an average day coloring with Violet, taking her to the playground, and then making mac n' cheese for dinner. But it takes a whole other level of commitment to live like these women. A few months ago this photo of Victoria Beckham and Dita Von Teese was posted on Jezebel.com, and one of the comments was "They're like aliens from Planet Fabulous." Yes! That's what I demand from this kind of star-- I don't want them to do anything that might land them in the "Stars-- They're Just Like US!" pages, like pumping gas or going to the gym in sweats with no makeup. No passing out drunk in the front seat of cars or walking into bathroom's barefoot, either. In exchange for the public's attention and spending money, they should give us a full-on glamour persona 24/7.

But the thing about this is that when they break out of the persona, it's so suprising and refreshing that you end up liking them even more when they break out of the persona. Say, Mariah Carey showing she has a sense of humor about herself by playing laser tag with Kenneth from 30 Rock in her new music video. Or, specifically, this photo of Posh Spice shopping at Target that inspired this post. She's wearing jeans and a t-shirt, carrying her own basket, shopping for $5.99 DVD bargains or whatever, and she looks shockingly great. I mean, if you could sleep with Target Posh or bug-eyed sunglasses Posh, you would pick Target Posh, right?

On the other hand, she brought her security team with her to the store. Doesn't that seem kind of unnecessary? What mob is going to form at Target around Victoria Beckham?

So, I don't know what this does to my theory of celebrity. But I do know that all celebrities should aspire to be more like Naomi Campbell, who showed up to do community service wearing a dress that probably cost way more than a year's rent, and then auctioned the dress off to charity. Strut on, Naomi.