'This is a real revolution': Chanel examines how 'celebrity' has changed in 100 years

To mark 100 years of their iconic N°5 perfume, Chanel asked an eclectic range of people, including Marion Cotillard and Graydon Carter, about the notion of celebrity

"Under 100 people worldwide will be remembered in 50 years"

It might not look like it, but Chanel’s iconic N°5 perfume is 100 years old this month. To mark the milestone, Chanel has looked back on how celebrity has changed over those 100 years and how it will be different again in another century.

They gathered a range of people to gain their insights into the phenomenon of fame for a short film, ‘Celebrity by’.

“If you're not a decent person and you have very little talent, you won't do well in Hollywood,” says former Vanity Fair editor, Graydon Carter.

Carter notes anyone can be famous now but he does not expect their names to be remembered by future generations.

“Right now, probably under 100 people worldwide will be remembered in 50 years.” 

He says anyone who becomes obsessed with their fame and public image will not be famous for long.

“Stay where you are. Be who you are. And that's the best chance of having a long and celebrated run in this world.”

Chanel No°5 Eau de Parfum

Psychologist, Dr Laurie Santos, is an expert on human cognition and has researched how we are biologically programmed to be motivated by sex, to be deeply influenced by other people — and to repeat our mistakes.

She says while our reverence for celebrities is built into our DNA, the emergence of the modern celebrity began in the 1950s through cinema and television.

“That was really the first time that we had celebrities in our home. We could listen to them on the radio, we could see them on our TV. They were literally coming into our living room. And this really changed the psychological relationship we had with celebrities.” 

Marilyn Monroe poses with a bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume on March 24, 1955 at the Ambassador Hotel in New York City, New York. Picture: Ed Feingersh/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

She says celebrities can influence our actions and our lives.

“As a psychologist, I'm often asked ‘is celebrity a good thing or a bad thing’. And I think it kind of depends on how we're relating to celebrities. What we do is we tend to copy what we see celebrities doing.” 

Clockwise from top left: Actress and face of N°5 Marion Cotillard; international dance star Lil Buck; esteemed former editor of Vanity Fair Graydon Carter; distinguished ballet dancer and choreographer Marie-Agnès Gillot; Chinese fashion media icon Hung Huang; renowned psychologist Laurie Santos

Thanks to social media, Dr Santos says celebrities are appearing more like normal people to us while normal people have the opportunity to become celebrities on platforms like TikTok.

“The famous people are becoming not so different from us and everyday regular people are becoming famous. I think this is a real revolution in the way celebrity is playing out in our culture right now. As a psychologist, I'm so excited to see where it's going to go in the future.” 

Also featured in the film are actress and face of N°5 Marion Cotillard; distinguished ballet dancer and choreographer Marie-Agnès Gillot; Chinese fashion media icon Hung Huang; and international dance star Lil Buck.

Topics discussed span the cultural and intellectual impact of celebrity: its legacy, its influence on psychology, and its role in shaping creativity for current and future generations.