The Celebrity Bug

As I pass my local kiosk on the corner of my street, I cant help but notice the front page headline on that glossy celeb magazine that never manages to escape my notice. A stunning, enlarged photo of an impeccable-as-always Jennifer Lopez catches my eye and the huge, red print reads, 'How did J-Lo lose all that baby weight?'. I can't help myself, but glide over to the magazine stand, which is bursting with celebrity magazines alike, and I immediately pick out that all important mag with the full cover story of how the beautiful Ms. Lopez went from carrying around 40 whooping pounds more than she's used to whilst pregnant with her adorable twins, Emme and Max - now 14 months old - to now; her body as enviable as ever and her weight down to her Jenny from the Block days. No need was there for me to flick to the intriguing feature, all I had to do was reach for my brand new, electric blue, patent purse that, if I may add, was a must-buy purchase after seeing Paris Hilton carrying one just like it in a photo I'd seen of her leaving Starbucks also in another of those celeb mags; the J-Lo cover story, along with the rest of the mag, was then an instant buy. So I popped it into my Chanel tote bag - ok, another celebrity inspired buy - and I waited impatiently unti l I could spare 5 minutes to sit down, open up that all important, 90-page spread out of glossy pages, and read about yet another celebrity and their not-so-private, intriguing life that we all can't help ourselves but delve into.

Jen's story was inspiring, and her killer body wasn't all down to thousands spent in some miracle LA clinic that promises to make you look beautiful on your lunch break. It was the result of a lot of hard work, time and effort spent getting her body back to the one we've either jealously cristisized or drooled over at some point. Yes, she's got a bod we'd all die for, but it's her life in general we're so interested in. And it's not just about Jennifer Lopez, her baby twins, her heart throb hubby, Marc Anthony, or even her drop-dead looks. Those of us like myself can't resist a celebrity story, a good old gossip magazine or one of the millions of biographies now becoming the latest trend in celeb land. We're just so obsessively involved in what's going on with them, their relationships, their clothes, their stories, to the point that we feel we know them almost as well as we know our own best friends. Bearing in mind, nothing is kept a secret in celebville.

But what is it about them that attracts so much of our attention? Apart from all the exclusive parties they go to, fancy restaurants they dine in, or luxury stores they shop in, what is so interesting about their lives? Okay, so most of them make blockbuster films, great music and star in some of our favorite soaps or TV series'. But off screen, we continue to follow their every moves and keep a constant track of what they've been up to over spring break. And whether it's something as boring as washing their car, walking their dog or sunbathing down on Malibu beach, for most A list celebs, their paparazzi shots and sometimes uninteresting stories always manage to creep their way into one or more magazine or newspaper. We forget that they're also normal people like us who lead normal lives off-screen or out of the studio. They also have that tendency to do the same naughty things that most of us have done at least once in our lives, like getting incredibly legless, maybe have a smoke, or even get caught wearing no underwear.

Beautiful women are photographed with no make-up on and are are slashed as 'UGLY', and the handsomest of some famous males are seen unshaven, in scruffy jeans and a baseball cap, and are labelled 'TRAMPS'. But this is what we all forget - they're ordinary people just like you and me.

So why? What makes everything they do so eye-catching, attention-grabbing and amazingly intriguing? Well, my opinion is explained above. Because they are normal people just like the rest of us mortals and we enjoy to read, see and hear this.

Former females breathe sighs of relief as they realise that they're not the only ones struggling to maintain a size 8 figure and that even celebrities have their slip-ups days, as they see stunning supermodels indulging in a chocolate sundae. Whilst the male population catch a glimpse of Jake Gyllenhaal having a bad hair and hungover day looking like what us girls would call 'sexy rugged', but our men would think scruffy and rough looking. They secretly feel proud of themselves for thinking that these male models aren't as hot as their girlfriends think. And that's why we've all caught the celeb bug. Why we take so much interest in their lives. Because most of them are as boring and normal as ours and that's what we, subconsciously, like most about them. As long as they keep getting snapped doing their weekly grocery shop, angrily picking up a parking ticket, or having a quiet drink in their local, that's what we all want to know. They may have more millions than most of us will see in a lifetime, but what's money when they've got a constant trail of photographers, reporters and crazy fans followng their every move? We may love their lives, but definitely wouldn't want to lead it. Reading about it in my favourite celebrity magazine will always do for me. I've got the bug, but my feet are staying well fixed to the ground. Glossy pages are the closest I'll come to living in La La Land.