true stars permanent celestial bodies who radiate their own light, and who form constellations by which we navigate the history of cinema itself.
A genuine star is ageless, unchangeable and fixed, even as the world turns beneath her. Some court that fame, like Gloria Swanson:
Ive gone through enough of being a nobody. I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment the star!
Others shun it, as Ava Gardner did:
What Id really like to say about stardom is that it gave me everything I never wanted.
Even so, everyone applauds when a star is born. This book charts the history and, most especially, the very first appearance of seventy-five actresses who have