The Multi-Hyphenate Celebrity: Why Hollywood's Greatest Minds Are Recession Proofing Their Finances

Being a household name on the silver screen, selling out shows, or having multiple top-charting songs and albums is no longer enough for the modern celebrity, and with good reason. There was a time when it was common practice for entertainers to sign exclusive contracts with production companies and record labels. These contracts often came with draconian rules that afforded them little time, freedom, or the presence of mind for anything outside their contract’s stipulations.

But the old Hollywood contract system has long been washed away and today’s celebrities can wear as many hats as they can handle. The title of celebrity is no longer the be-all and end-all of their existence; it's now just another title on their calling card.

It’s currently not uncommon to read about celebrities who are making it big in non-entertainment endeavors. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names are invested heavily into everything, from established industries, such as fashion and real estate, to relatively emerging spaces like CBD.

This move beyond entertainment isn’t just about making more money, though—A-list actors, for instance, already bag $15 million to $20 million on average per movie. It’s about building a financial ecosystem for themselves that guarantees wealth generation regardless of what happens on the entertainment front. It’s about leveraging their success and status as celebrities to establish their long-term financial health.

According to Priyanka Murthy, the founder of Access79, a disruptive jewelry brand that has created statement pieces worn by Hollywood A-listers, “Some of the entertainment industry’s most famous names are beginning to see more success outside of their core service as entertainers." She believes that these are the endeavors that'll keep them relevant beyond their prime years.

Entertainment is not recession-proof

If there was any doubt over the fickleness of the entertainment space, it was largely quashed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The consequence of the pandemic was huge financial losses for different sectors of the economy, including Hollywood.

Artists canceled tours and show organizers pushed back festival events or restructured them as virtual events. Movie studios suspended several productions, scaled-down their budgets, and even had to cut ties with some actors for financial reasons. Cinemas and event centers were closed, causing global box office revenues to fall well short of their projections from the second quarter of 2020, amounting to just $11.8 billion for the year—a 72.2 per cent drop from 2019’s $42.3 billion revenue.

“The pandemic was a reality check for many people and businesses, some celebrities included,” states Murthy. “Whenever tragedies as widespread as the pandemic come around and rock your major money maker that quickly, you learn that no business is ever one hundred per cent failproof. This pandemic-driven recession has pushed many Hollywood big wigs to diversify their business and investment portfolios, essentially becoming multi-hyphenates.”

Priyanka Murthy, being a multi-hyphenate herself, understands the financial buffer that wearing several business hats can deliver. She is a former Fulbright scholar and lawyer with an extensive resume in litigation, having worked for some of the nation’s most powerful federal judges and reputable law firms. Beyond the legal world, Murthy has also built a name for herself as an entrepreneur, a feat that saw her named to the Forbes 1000 List for 2021. She founded two jewelry brands, Arya Esha and Access79, serving as the CEO of the latter. Murthy’s efforts with Arya Esha, her luxury jewelry brand, have seen her create statement jewelry pieces that have been worn by celebrities like Julia Roberts, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lawrence, and Lupita Nyong’o, while Access79 is a disruptive and unconventional try-before-you-buy styling brand that leverages technology to design an experience that connects women to the most unique jewelry pieces and the best indie jewelry designers in a way that focuses on discovery and personalization.

“I’ve always been both analytical and creative and have never liked the idea of doing just one thing, no matter how skilled I am at it. So while law satiated my analytical skills, I applied my creativity and business acumen in my jewelry brands.” Says Priyanka Murthy, “They say, you can’t have it all, but I believe you can

at least have a part of everything, and everyone from celebrities to the female blue-collar worker is beginning to realize this too.

“I have built a luxury jewelry brand that makes women feel joyful and celebrated. I’m just as comfortable analyzing hard data and crafting legal arguments as I am crafting one-of-a-kind jewelry.

“The diversity of my skills and businesses not only allows me to diversify and recession-proof my income sources but most importantly, it allows me to broaden my impact.”

“Celebrity” is an adjective, not a noun

Fame is a marketable and sellable commodity and the best entertainers have perfected the art of leveraging their fame for paychecks. But fame can only go so far. Priyanka believes that fame, no matter how great, has an expiration date and the onus is on celebrities to be proactive and use their time to create multiple sources of income that will continue even when the fame runs its course, should they ever quit entertainment.

As she puts it, “Fame is powerful while it lasts, but it’s a diminishing commodity. The passage of time will eventually make you less relevant. Celebrity is an adjective, not a noun, and this is why I strive for impact and significance impact and not status.”

There’s also the matter of competition. Besides the fact that fame is not only fleeting, it’s also extremely competitive. Thanks chiefly to social media, the creative economy has evolved to where a 13-year-old creating videos in her bedroom can arguably become as famous as a seasoned celebrity who studied for years at Juilliard. The 13-year-old can also probably do it in a shorter time, and without going through half the troubles the A-lister probably had to contend with.

This is probably as good a time as ever for up-and-coming celebrities, especially social media influencers, to start thinking more broadly and understand that their celebrity status ought to be a means to a more sustainable end. Like Priyanka Murthy says, it’s an adjective, not a noun.

Celebrities do this either by starting a business from scratch, investing in an existing one, or making an outright purchase. Among these options, you’ll find veterans of the wealth diversification game like Sean Combs, Oprah, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. Even younger celebrities like Billie Eilish and Marsai Martin are getting in on the diversification train early.

Some celebrities are still in the honeymoon phase of their career and basking in their fame, but the ones who’ve been around a while are finally embracing diversification in their numbers. Of course, we should all be thinking along these same lines, celebrity or not.