You must log in or register to comment.
That couple from the Coldplay kiss cam.
Monica Lewinsky
Any household name from the STEM fields. Most people don’t get into those fields with the intention of becoming famous.
Those that do are often cranks, which, mostly to their annoyance, usually ends in infamy, not fame.
Some those that have had fame thrust upon them adapted pretty well to it. Stephen Hawking was a notable example.
Others really wanted nothing to do with it and have shunned the attention. Grigori Perelman is arguably better known for not wanting to be well known than he is for his mathematical work. (This assertion coming from my remembering his name and his desire to be left alone, but not the theorems he proved.)
Hard disagree. My colleague’s ranks are rife with narcissists who take any opportunity to get quoted or pictured when a new paper is published. They yearn for awards.
I thought this just pathetic old men when I was in my 30s and now in my 50s I can confirm it’s just pathetic old men. They are dumbfounded as to why I send me trainees to speak and put them in front of press releases.
Good point. Those actual scientists who crave fame have to be in there somewhere.
I can’t really argue one way or the other. I’m a recreational mathematician at best. There’s wanting to be recognised/known for good mathematical work and there’s wanting to be famous, and I didn’t really take that distinction into account. I wouldn’t mind the former - however unlikely - but the latter, no thanks.
It’s not clear what your narcissist associates (? or associates of associates) actually want out of the deal, but their crank level is clearly high even if they’re otherwise legit.
Maybe someone could write a paper involving the punnet square crank/non-crank versus pseudo-scientist/actual scientist, and how many of each there is in each square. Or could it be one of those 2D alignment charts. Throw in a third dimension and there’d be a fame/infamy axis too.
Hawking definitely had some crank about him - and not because of his disability - so he wouldn’t be at one of the corners.
Honestly? Completely fair. I wouldn’t wanna get hounded in public either
Rebecca Black
…Although I should have waited a day before posting this comment…
the Star Wars kid
The hawk tuah girl.
Kim Kardashian. She’s blowjob famous.
The rest of the Kardashians and the Jenners are blowjob famous once removed.
That was not accidental but entirely planned and orchestrated by her mom, though. Kris Jenner pimped out her family (not saying they’re victims or anything like that, I doubt they care about wrong and right) and now they’re swimming in money. 🤷
a succulent Chinese meal?!
The kid who thought he was helping build up the Scots wikipedia. Short version: he wasn’t. More information here.
Not really sure if that’s famous enough since he’s not a household name or anything but honorable mention at least.
Cillian Murphy, apparently he deliberately looked for movies that he thought wouldn’t do well because he didn’t want to be famous. Then peaky blinders happened.
He was in 28 Days Later, the Dark Knight trilogy, and Inception well before Peaky Blinders which were all very successful (perhaps 28 Days Later only in the UK). Granted he wasn’t the lead in the Nolan films but I would contest that he wasn’t famous before Peaky Blinders.
Every child of a famous person.
Most of the scientists in TV during the pandemic. Don’t know for other countries but in Germany the 2-3 scientists constantly interviewed because there where experts in their fields definitely only where experts in their field and not seeking or wanting attention except for the topic, not for their persona.
DONT TOUCH MY PENIS.
or any viral video (that was not recorded by the person themselves, since those are often people trying to be famous)
Ah, I see you know your judo well
Rick Astley, of “Never Gonna Give You Up” fame.
EDIT: Honestly, a lot of people known for being in a meme probably do a pretty good job of fitting into this camp, outside of maybe where viral marketing campaigns have managed to intentionally create successful memes themselves.
He was plenty famous before the meme.
It’s such a funny example. He was so famous in the 80s!
Never Gonna Give You Up was literally #1 in 25 countries in 1988. He was nominated for a Grammy but lost to Tracy Chapman.
He’s sold 40 million albums.
During the period between his debut release and his fifth single (in 1988), Astley outsold every other artist in the world. (From his Wikipedia article)
I would argue he wasn’t accidentally famous at all, as he partnered with the Hit Factory. They produced Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” in 1985.
“I knew, though, that when I got my turn, it would be a big thing, because Stock Aitken Waterman were becoming this big hit machine.”
Having a big hit is why he started working at their production studio as a “tea boy.”
