Why Have So Many Celebrities Died At Young Ages? What is The Real Price of Fame?

                                     Is anyone else alarmed at the rate of deaths among celebrities who are under or at only 50 yrs of age? This has been happening for a long time now (actually since the 1970s). Apparently, there exists a club, "The 27 Club", which is a group of artists and many other celebrities who have all passed away at age 27. Isn't that alarming? Why do so many celebrities die so young? Is the celebrity life such a hard one that celebrities actually lose their live behind it? What is the real cost of fame and is it worth paying?

      
          We must realize that in order to attempt at finding the mysterious culprit for so many young celebrity deaths we have to look at the vulnerabilities of being in the public eye, for unlike us, a "regular" or "normal" life is a luxury that many celebrities had to give up as just one of the costs of the fame they sought. They are now exposed and made more vulnerable to criticism and exploitation and even hated and adored by people who don't really know them. This type of vulnerability is not normal to endure on regular basis and can cause extreme amounts of depression and poor mental health even to the best. It can also cause the destruction of their belief system (not knowing whats real or fake).

With these things being said, usually drugs and alcohol is the only solace in the constant struggles of fame and stardom, drugs and alcohol being the number one killer of young celebrities across the country. You may be thinking that stress and depression  is not enough to outweigh the perks of being a celebrity. With mansions, condos, millions in cash, and people waiting on you hand and foot (not to mention tons of fans), what more can a person ask for? Stress and depression, loneliness and longing for stability reaches an entirely new level when stardom and the public eye is involved. Fame increases everything it touches....and some may feel this is a good thing....but what about vulnerability and insecurities? While the cash keeps rolling in, these problems roll in with it! Fame is not free and for some celebrities who are no longer with us, the price for fame was just too high.

                              A second point we must look at is the rate which life moves for a celebrity and how much faster life seems to be for them. As a young star, many celebrities have not had the chance of experiencing and going through life at a steady and normal rate , with highs and lows, good times, bad times, first times, last times, and generally a balance of all life experiences. In the life of a celebrity who has acquired a high amount of game, everything is fast paced, accelerated as if they are in another dimension almost. Becoming a celebrity  at the young age of 17, for example, can really take a toll on someone, seeing as though life is really just beginning for them and at the faster rate of living (due to the high amounts of cash) a celebrity can live right past his life! This is why many celebrities take to hiding the real them and putting on a show for others because they too do not know the real them and this is painful to realize. Sometimes a person can get caught up in "living" until they lose their lives. To the public, a celebrity is the epitome of "living the good life", yet they are seeing only a tenth of what this person is actually experiencing. Most of their life is seen on camera or on stage and in the "media-perfect" lens created by their producers and publicists. A fast paced life may seem exciting but I ask this question: If the celebrity life is so great then why do many celebrities try to revert back to normality or harp on and on about celebrity life being such a challenge?

What is the real cost of fame? Lets read what some celebrities say about their experiences in fame:


" I.....I like it at times but you know, I like it when I'm on the stage, but honestly I would be very happy if I could cut it off....and just enjoy my life when I wasn't performing."        -Beyonce Knowles (CNN Official Interview)


"I don't have friends in this industry. I have my circle and I have my people who've been with me through the bad times and the good times. Everybody else is just wallpaper."              -Chris Brown (Angie Martinez's Hot 97 Radio Show)

"I no longer know who's my friend or my enemy. I'm always second guessing everyone, trying to figure out, 'who is this person and what do they want from me?' "                        -Nicki Minaj (Black Book Magazine Interview)

" 'Oh, he's so arrogant, he's so this, he's so that!' People don't even f---ing know me and have so much to say. Paparazzi, anybody who comes close enough to me, if I ask you not to take a picture of me or not to ask me something: just realize I am a real person. I'm not a celebrity. I'm just famous and stuff, and I make good music."                    -Kanye West (MTV Europe Music Awards Interview 2008)