Talk the business of show business with Bad Bunny, Kendall Jenner, Pharrell and other A-listers.
In a year that saw Taylor Swift become a billionaire and Barbie dominate the box office, some of the biggest names in entertainment spoke to Forbes reporters about what it takes to be successful and the skills that keep them going.
The Rock talked about the And actors Jamie Lee Cutis and Catherine O'Hara shared insight into their decades in the entertainment industry.
Influencers and creators also revealed the secrets of their success. Dylan Mulvaney, who was at the center of controversy earlier this year over a campaign with Bud Light, told Forbes how the incident changed her business mentality. And Khaby Lame, the most followed person on TikTok, shared what it's like to get more views on a video than a Super Bowl broadcast.
Many celebrity businesses also give back to others. For example, Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream founded the cannabis nonprofit Ben's Best Blnz, which donates 100% of its sales proceeds. And Bad Bunny took the stage at the U30 Summit to present a $300,000 prize to the winner of a Latinx pitch competition.
Here are the celebrity interviews Forbes readers saw stars in in 2023.
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TIM TADDER FOR FORBES
Bad Bunny gives an exclusive tour of his burgeoning sports, fashion and entertainment empire
By María Gracia Santillana Linares
There's no better way to understand Bad Bunny's force of nature than to see him perform in his native Puerto Rico. That's exactly what Forbes reporter Maria Gracia Santillana Linares did this fall when she profiled the 29-year-old superstar. Bad Bunny is more than an entertainer – he's also a rising mogul, expanding his influence from music to shoe design and supporting local sports. “It’s not always about the money,” he told Forbes about choosing collaboration partners. “It’s about how much I love the brand and how much they respect my creativity.”
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TIM TADDER FOR FORBES
From cover photos to tequila shots, how supermodel Kendall Jenner plans to build a liquor empire
By Kristin Stoller
Kendall Jenner followed her sisters Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian in gracing the cover of Forbes earlier this year. At the launch of her 818 tequila brand, the 28-year-old model told the magazine how it helped her find herself. “With modeling, I was part of someone else’s vision,” she told Forbes’ Kristin Stoller. “Moving to being the founder and owner of my own company was a really cool way to get to know myself again.” And she doesn't mind the crowded celebrity tequila market. “It just makes us want to be better.”
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Inside Pharrell Williams' $1 Billion Plan for Black and Hispanic Entrepreneurs
By Jabari Young
In November, senior writer Jabari Young visited musician Pharrell Williams at his Black Ambition foundation's third annual Demo Day. The organization donated more than $3 million to over 30 companies involving Black and Hispanic communities. “We need real change,” Williams said. “We can’t wait any longer. Our parents and their parents – for them, equality was their top priority. And for us, equality is absolutely on the list, but equality is stronger than equality.”
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Fraser & Thompson
Drink whiskey with Michael Bublé
By Adam Morganstern
Michael Bublé was inspired to enter the liquor business by his Italian grandfather, who made homemade wine in his basement. The singer's whiskey brand, Fraser & Thompson, takes its name from two rivers in his native British Columbia – Bublé spent time camping at their meeting point during his childhood. Come hear his craft whiskey stories and learn about the time Bublé was almost eaten by a polar bear.
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Dylan Mulvaney wants to reinvent what it means to be a celebrity
From Forbes Video
Creator Dylan Mulvaney first gained popularity on TikTok for her series “Days Of Girlhood,” in which she documented her gender transition. The 26-year-old soon experienced the ups and downs that come with fame when she became embroiled in a marketing controversy. Mulvaney praises her agent for giving her the business advice she lives by: “Don’t react. Answer.”
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U-turn
How Halsey went from music star to makeup mogul
By Alex York
Singer Halsey spoke to Forbes reporter Alex York about her makeup line “about-face.” She was asked to start the Gen Z-focused brand in 2019 after years of frustration with the lackluster products on the market when doing her own makeup for her concerts. As the brand's chief creative officer, Halsey, 29, spends as much time on the phone as she does her music. The commitments paid off: the company achieved sales of $50 million in 2022.
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Insights into the success of “Schitt's Creek”: The importance of the second city for Catherine O'Hara
From Forbes Video
In a conversation with Moira Forbes in May, actress and comedian Catherine O'Hara discussed her decades of success in the entertainment industry. “Comparing yourself to anyone is just deadly,” she explained. O'Hara recalled a time early in her career when she was jealous of her Second City actress Andrea Martin and what she learned about herself as she got over it. She also expressed her opinion on parents putting filters on pictures of their babies: “What’s the point? It’s so scary.”
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