Stars in Service: The Disruption of the Second World War onto Women’s Celebrity in the UK, USA, and France

There is an implicit–and at times explicit–assumption in celebrity studies that star systems went on a period of pause throughout the Second World War. This suggests that they did not undergo meaningful transformation and that celebrities were largely irrelevant, even secondary to the conflict. This paper intentionally challenges this assumption by examining the celebrity images of several women who attained and maintained celebrity status in the UK, US, and France during the war. It argues that the Second World War significantly disrupted existing celebrity systems, as successful celebrity images became increasingly tied to gendered performances of citizenship; a phenomenon that was less apparent before the conflict. By adopting a transnational approach and bridging Second World War history with the evolving field of celebrity studies, this paper highlights how popular culture was meaningfully and deliberately mobilized in the effort to wage “total war.”

Clare V. Church received her doctorate from Aberystwyth University in 2024. She is currently focusing on transforming her doctoral thesis into a monograph, focusing on the role of popular women singers throughout the Second World War and their capacity to boost morale across national boundaries.

This session is a hybrid session and in-person tickets are limited.