15 minutes of fame

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"Fifteen Minutes" redirects here. For the film, see 15 Minutes.

15 minutes of fame (or famous for 15 minutes) is an expression coined by the American artist, Andy Warhol. It refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity that attaches to an object of media attention, then passes to some new object as soon as the public's attention span is exhausted. It is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry and other areas of popular culture.

Andy Warhol, photo by Helmut Newton.

1 Origin
2 Interpretation
3 Specific references
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Origin

The expression is a paraphrase of Andy Warhol's statement in 1968 that "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 fifteen minutes."^[1]

Becoming bored with continually being asked about this particular statement, Warhol deliberately tried 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."

[edit] Interpretation

Warhol's comment and the insight it expresses grew out of his own interest in fame and celebrity. 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 short-term, disposable celebrity.

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").[1]

The unit of measurement "the Warhol" is derived from his maxim.

[edit] Specific references

In 1986, Warhol had a short-lived MTV television series, Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes.

The title of the 2001 film 15 Minutes is a reference to this quotation, as is the title of the Touched by an Angel episode The Sixteenth Minute.

Author and adult entertainer Benjamin Nicholas named his popular online blog 15 Minutes... after Warhol's statement.

The Sugar Ray album 14:59 was named to refute claims the band would be a one-hit wonder, saying that their 15 minutes weren't quite up.