Zolra's Corner: What Is A Celebutante?

Do you remember watching stuff on the news about this word? Remember growing up, you was never that interested in hearing about the life of our fellow celebrities. Then once you entered your young adult years, you suddenly picked up and bought your own copy of OK! Magazine. Suddenly, the word came into your head, and you begin to ask yourself that same question.

What is a celebutante? Or better yet, how do we become one?

On Wikipedia, a celebutante is generally used to refer to a young woman from a rich family who has received a large amount of media attention, primarily for her wealth and lifestyle. Due to the fact that we see male taking on that role too, the definition might need a few adjustments.

The first time I starting learning about the life of a celebutante was after I finished reading this book, which coincidentally around the same time I was watching the 2008 Academy Awards (which by the way was an amazing show).

The book is called Celebutantes. The heroine of the novel, Lola Santisi, is a 26-year-old “daughter of Hollywood”, who has grown up surrounded by the limelight. Her father is a semi-famous director and is nominated for an Oscar, while she is struggling with her own sense of self and so-called “actorholism.” Lola dates the hottest actors and has an entourage of BFF’s that anyone would envy, including a career-driven agent named Kate, a yoga-obsessed actress named Cricket and an up-and-coming gay designer named Julian.

It sounds easy from the way I describe it right? No it's not. It's one of the most difficult things to do. For her, Oscar week is one crazy downward spiral full of hilarious turns and star studded mania. After seeing this book and watching the videos, I know that it is difficult being a celebutante. According to Wikipedia, we can't be an everyday Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Brody Jenner, Spencer Pratt, or The Kardashian Sisters.

After the Oscars, I saw this video that was used to promote the book. It stars Wilson Cruz as Julian Tennant, a character in the book, and also a fashion designer.



Suddenly, I am online, discovering new web series, and I stumbled upon this new show. It's called The Vent.

The Vent is a new TV and Internet show created by Maggie Cassella and Charlie Smith. It's social commentary without the finger wag. Our stalker psycho love letter to pop culture where each week we take on one topic with sketch, talking heads, movie trailers, stick puppets and more! These are one of the collections of the first episode. You will definitely like this show if you want to learn about being celebutantes. Either that or become a starter wife or husband.


Finally, Antonia Pagliarule brought the term back to literature in a series of books that has just been added to my list.


Celebutante is just a label that they put on people that are generally famous for being famous. It is also considered "celebrity socialites". Instead of looking at them like a celebrity, look at them as a human being. People that are working hard, doing what they are doing.