`Being Yourself': The Pursuit of Authentic Celebrity

Abstract

This article examines some dimensions of the construction of contemporary celebrity. It looks at issues of image management, where the concern is to link the performance of celebrity to certain kinds of moral credibility, where the performance might be seen as `authentic'. These issues are examined in relation to the career of Geri Halliwell, in her attempts to reconstruct her celebrity image following her departure from the Spice Girls. Specifically, it examines her performance in the documentary film Geri (1999) made by Molly Dineen. The focus is on the kinds of talk Geri produces in this context, and in particular the footings she employs as she constructs a persona which combines a public identity (as UN `ambassador') with an authored `ordinary' self. Some wider questions are raised about the apparent proliferation of celebrity attachments to `good causes' of various kinds in the global media culture.