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The Price of Fame

The relentless scrutiny of fans and the media leads some celebrities to become acutely self-conscious. One researcher looks at the works of songwriters Kurt Cobain and Cole Porter.

The constant attention that comes with fame inflates some
celebrities' egos. For others though, the effect is the reverse: it makes
them so aware of their shortcomings that they may be driven to
self-destruction.

Mark Schaller, Ph.D., of the University of British Columbia, has
surveyed the works of songwriters Kurt Cobain and Cole Porter and of
writer John Cheever to see how often they used the first person singular.
With each man, the rate of self-reference jumped after he became
famous.

Schaller theorizes that the relentless scrutiny of fans and the
media leads some celebrities to become acutely self-conscious. Some
develop "impostor syndrome," he observes. "They think to themselves, 'I
know that I'm not as great as they think I am.'"

The need to escape this agonizing self-awareness may lead some
famous people into alcoholism, drug abuse, or compulsive sexuality, says
Schaller. Porter and Cheever were both alcoholics. Using journals and
letters, Schaller has found that Cheever's battles with alcohol
apparently followed the periods of his greatest renown.

As for Cobain, the leader of Nirvana was addicted to heroin and
ultimately killed himself with a shotgun. "Suicide has been called 'the
ultimate escape from self-awareness,'" Schaller notes.