Celebrity Motherhood

Celebrities are those who have achieved fame as film and television personalities, athletes, musicians, politicians, models, and the like, as well as those increasingly ubiquitous figures from the late 20th century on who are, in Daniel Boorstin's terms, simply known for being famous. Celebrities who are also mothers or mothers-to-be have [Page 172]become, since the 1980s and more insistently in the new millennium, a cultural obsession. They are the mainstay of entertainment journalism—which includes print and electronic magazines, tabloid newspapers, TV news shows, and blogs—providing readers and audiences with weekly, daily, and even moment-by-moment updates about their lives.