Celebrity Moguls

By Madison Malone Kircher

I cover internet culture.

“Please just keep in mind,” Nikki Glaser exhorted Hollywood’s A-list while hosting the Golden Globes last week: “The point of making art is not to win an award. The point of making art is to start a tequila brand so popular that you never have to make art again.” The stars arrayed before her chuckled.

They were laughing at themselves.

Among them was Selena Gomez. The actress, doubly nominated that evening for her roles in “Only Murders in the Building” and “Emilia Pérez,” has become a beauty tycoon with her popular makeup company, Rare Beauty. Ariana Grande, seated nearby, owns a cosmetics brand, too.

Need a drink? Ryan Reynolds sells gin, and Brad Pitt has rosé. George Clooney, Kendall Jenner and Dwayne the Rock Johnson all founded tequila brands. Got kids? Jessica Alba’s Honest Company proffers diapers and baby stuff. Looking for workout gear? There’s Kate Hudson’s Fabletics. Menopause products? Try Naomi Watts’s offering, Stripes.

These days it feels as if Hollywood’s entrepreneurs are dabbling in every part of the retail market. It’s not enough anymore for a celebrity to simply be a spokesperson for the brand. Now they’ve got to own it, too. This model offers more control — and potentially bigger profits. (Though that means bigger risks as well, naturally.)

Extra cash

Why is this happening? One reason is that a side hustle offers insurance against the fickle entertainment industry. It’s harder to score a big payday when streaming services pay a fixed price for a movie or a show, regardless of how many people watch it.

And roles might dry up, but a successful brand can outlast someone’s good looks or the buzz they earned from their last prize nomination. It can offer “a very steady amount of money that can go on for years, after your acting career is over or diminished,” Bruno Maglione, the president for licensing at the talent agency IMG, previously told The Times. In some cases, actors can make much more from their stuff than they do from their film credits. Gomez is reportedly a billionaire these days.