What Kind of Star Would You Make?

photo by Jaime Kowal

Stardom is a funny thing. Most of us will never be stars of stage or screen to find out how we would react to being adored, pampered, fawned over, and pursued by paparazzi. Yet I suspect that if most of us could get a vote, we’d want to try on the lifestyle. I would! I’d be keen on seeing what it’s like to have my face and of course, (what would be) my stellar acting reputation, precede me as I walk (strut?) into a public venue. I could go for a little privilege and adulation. How ’bout you?

I believe the real draw to being a star is the perception that everything is taken care of for you. In fact the (second) meaning of prima donna is “a temperamental person who takes adulation and privileged treatment as a right and reacts with petulance to criticism or inconvenience.” In other words, you’re paid a lot of money, it’s others’ job to make you comfortable, and you don’t have to be sensitive in how you deal with people.

However, I’d also be interested in learning just how hard it is to keep a level head with all that attention swirling around you. In fact, that would be the interesting part and the true test… how much of a jerk or gentle(wo)man you’d be while sitting in the lap of celebrity. It’s clearing the decks for the real question—if put in a situation where you always got what you needed, would you still treat people as you would want to be treated—with kindness and respect?

Our delightful cover girl, Canadian TV star Gabrielle Miller, begs the question for us. In preparing this story and cover shoot, we went through the usual “star” steps of Gabrielle’s PR people vetting the cover image and fielding questions in anticipation of her SharedVISION exposure. After all, when your image is your livelihood, it’s vital to frame it. But this is where the stereotypical star stuff ends with Gabrielle. As you will see, in writer Adrian Mack’s insightful and lively story, this star is one who epitomizes all the values that SharedVISION holds so dear.

Reader Survey
Please take a few minutes to complete our Reader Survey. I know you’ll be drawn to do it out of the goodness of your heart—but if that’s not enough incentive, we’re giving away some terrific prizes, including a two-night stay at the Villa Marco Polo in Victoria.

True Wealth
What does it mean to you to be wealthy? That’s a loaded question (so to speak), as we all have vastly different notions of it. We kick off a new column this month with writer Nancy Zimmerman, who may likely stir up some old stuff for you, but she does it in an entertaining and irreverent way.

Food, Glorious Food
Here at the magazine we’re partial to clean, organic, local food, and this month we’re awash in it! Check out our events calendar and Fresh Greens for the skinny on the plenty. The Capers Living Naturally Fair is a perennial favourite (11,000 expected) that this year is raising funds for MOBY (myownbackyard.ca).

It’s all good. It’s all a SharedVISION.
In gratitude,
Rebecca