Does fame cost lives? Study shows increased risk of death among celebrities

Fame has a price - as a new study by Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) suggests. Johanna Hepp, Christoph Heine, Melanie Schliebener and Prof Dr Michael Dufner from the Chair of Personality Psychology and Diagnostics have found that famous singers have a significantly higher risk of dying than their lesser-known colleagues. On average, they live around five years shorter.

Fame or appointment? What really increases the risk

In order to clarify whether it is the fame itself or simply the stresses and strains of the music profession, the researchers compared 324 famous singers with 324 lesser-known musicians. The pairs were closely matched in terms of age, gender, origin, genre and solo or band status. This made it possible to identify differences that can actually be attributed to the "celebrity" factor.

The analysis shows: Famous singers had a 33% higher risk of death and an average life span 4.6 years shorter than their less famous twins. Overall, solo artists showed a slightly higher risk regardless of the fame effect, possibly because band structures provide social support.

Why fame is a burden

"Fame brings attention, but also pressure. Constant public scrutiny, high expectations and pressure to perform can increase psychological stress," says Johanna Hepp. "Our results show that fame is not only a privilege, but also harbours health risks."

The study thus provides the strongest evidence to date that fame itself can jeopardise health - regardless of the usual appointment-related stresses. It suggests that targeted support and prevention measures could be useful for people in the limelight.