15 minutes of fame (or famous for 15 minutes) is an expression which refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity that grabs into an object of media attention, then passes to some new object as soon as people's attention spans are exhausted. It is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry and other areas of popular culture.
It was coined by the American artist Andy Warhol.
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The expression is a paraphrase of Andy Warhol's 1968 statement: "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." In 1979 Warhol reiterated his claim: "...my prediction from the Sixties finally came true: In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes."[1]
Becoming bored with continually being asked about this particular statement, Warhol attempted to confuse interviewers by changing the statement variously to "In the future 15 people will be famous" and "In 15 minutes everybody will be famous."[2][3]
Also in the years after Andy Warhol's death, the rise of Reality Television and the popular website, YouTube, allowed relative unknowns to rise up to the ranks of fame. Some of these figures are accused of being "famous for being famous", meaning they did nothing to deserve their fame or achieved it through wealth and social status, rather than talent. However, that view of a celebrity is subjective. An example of a celebrity widely considered "famous for being famous" is socialite/heiress Paris Hilton. Other people get their 15 Minutes of Fame through videos on YouTube showcasing their talent or creating internet T.V. series. One example of somebody who achieved the 15 Minutes of Fame status is Octomom, Nadia Sulleman, after giving birth to eight babies and receiving a reality t.v. special. An example of the aforementioned YouTube 15 Minutes of Fame are Tay Zonday and or Fred. The relevance of this phrase is very strong in the first decade of new millennium and beyond, well beyond 20 years from when Andy Warhol coined the phrase.
Warhol's comment and the insight it expressed emerged from his own fascination with fame and celebrities. His view of the media was that they could enable any person to become famous. Warhol's own shifting entourage of otherwise undistinguished hangers-on in the '60s and '70s, whom he dubbed his "Superstars," exemplified his idea of ephemeral, disposable celebrity.
The age of reality television has seen the comment wryly updated as: "In the future, everyone will be obscure for 15 minutes."[4] The British artist Banksy has made a sculpture of a TV that has, written on its screen, "In the future, everyone will be anonymous for 15 minutes."
A more recent adaptation of Warhol's quip, possibly prompted by the rise of online social networking, blogging, and similar online phenomena, is the claim that "In the future, everyone will be famous to fifteen people" (or, in some renditions, "On the Web, everyone will be famous to fifteen people").[5] This quote, though attributed to David Weinberger, was said[5] to have originated with the Scottish artist Momus.[6]
Interview Magazine and Andy Warhol threw a "15 Minutes of Fame Party" in NYC in the mid '80s, attended by Blondie's Debbie Harry, dance's Lawrence Leritz, and many of Warhol's underground film stars.
In 1986, Warhol had a short-lived MTV television series, Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes.
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15 minutes of fame (only in this plural form)
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   | Famous to fifteen people - Joho the Blog: Famous to fifteen people |
| | Looking For Fame In All the Wrong Places - Looking for fame in all the wrong places | Oakland Tribune | Find Articles at BNET |
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