Black, Fat, Famous, and Loved:The Body That Transgresses and Fissures the Representations of the Celebrity Woman

What happens when a fat black woman shows up (or is exhibited) in environments with the highest media visibility? What are the relationships built between these bodies and viewers whose eyes are accustomed to consuming more homogeneous and controlled images? In this article, we see, through the analysis of famous women of modest social origin, among them the Brazilian singer MC Carol and the American presenter Oprah Winfrey, how the presence of dark skin and fat bodies, besides the markers of poverty, is still seen as faults that disorganize the idealized scenario of celebrities. In this sense, it is noticed that there is a hierarchy of celebrities, and that getting to the pulpit of high visibility and staying there are more dramatic tasks for those who do not belong to the subjective and imaginary repertoire of celebrities. This paper examines this question drawing on the concept of Weberian status as it is used in celebrity studies, at the same time that indicates the limitations of such approach.