I think the thing about being a celebrity is that people like you before they every meet you. They like you or admire you or want you or are sexually attracted to you or are otherwise generally well-disposed towards you purely based on your work.
Of course, in most cases, your work is not you. Yet people act as if they know you based on your public presence. My sister was on the radio for many years. People thought they knew her from her radio presences. It was all a huge fantasy on their part, and kind of off-putting to her. It was especially funny to her when people met her and they said, “You sound a lot taller on the radio.” My sister doesn’t break 4 foot 10 inches.
Celebrities want attention. I think many of them have great insecurities and are driven to succeed as a way to feel ok about themselves. But when they do succeed, everyone wants a piece of them. They are hounded by papparazzis. They have no privacy, unless it’s inside their own compound surrounded by privacy shields. They have a love-hate relationship with the public, in many cases.
Me—there’s really only one thing I ever wanted from being famous, and it wouldn’t do me any good any more. But back when I was young, I would have loved to have women throw themselves at me. Nowadays, I don’t mind the odd ego boost, but there’s not much point, since I don’t need that kind of complication any more.