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Date Posted: 00:47:41 10/12/04 Tue
Author: USA Today article
Subject: The Young and the Shameless

The young and the shameless
by Karen Thomas, USA TODAY

Britney. Paris. Lindsay. Jessica. Mary-Kate and Ashley.


They're young, famous, rich and sexy.

They're the newest crop of first-name wonders, a gaggle of mostly blond girls who are dominating celebrity news with their good looks and never-dull personal lives.

They're pushing their not-so-elders off magazine covers and hogging camera time on entertainment news shows.

• Lindsay Lohan, 18. The Mean Girls star isn't afraid to flaunt her sex appeal in photo spreads, including October's GQ.

• Paris Hilton, 23. The hotel heiress and serial dater hit it big with The Simple Life and an infamous sex tape.

• Britney Spears, 22. The pop star has become a tabloid regular with not one but two surprise weddings this year.

• Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, 18. The multimillionaire twins made gossip columns with Mary-Kate's eating disorder and their joint trek to New York for college.

• Jessica Simpson, 24. The ditzy blond bombshell of MTV's hit Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica has even spawned a career for little sis, singer Ashlee, 20.

Just how hot are they?

Fourteen of the past 20 covers of Us Weekly, whose median-age reader is 32, have featured one of these young stars. And at People, with a readership that skews a bit older (40.7 years), 11 of the past 20 covers included one of the new brat pack.

And it's not just the magazine world that has taken notice. The girls got a shout-out on VH1's The Fabulous Life of Hollywood's It Girls, which premiered Sept. 22.

And shows like Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood regularly follow their antics, which include clubbing and dating hunky guys.

Many of the young women play together and work together, says Todd Gold, West Coast bureau chief at People. "They're friends; they're all about the same age and going through the same things."

They're often better known for their ability to titillate than for their talent. Did Lohan have a breast job? (She denies it.)

They are out and about and are frequently photographed. "These girls do it all, and they're changing the definition of celebrity because they're great social animals," says Ken Baker, executive editor at Us.

And they're pushing reality-TV stars and bigger Hollywood names off the front pages.

"The rise of Paris Hilton is in direct correlation to the decline of Angelina Jolie," says Baker. "Nicole Kidman, Meg Ryan, Madonna even - they just seem so worn-out and tired."

Editors trace the rise of the young female star to Spears' phenomenal success by age 17. Execs at non-teen outlets began to "realize that these really young stars had an appeal to readers over age 19," says Michelle Lee, executive editor at In Touch Weekly.

But not all readers are delighted by the youth movement. In the Sept. 27 People, one wrote: "Did your layouts get mixed up with Teen People?"

Those who appreciate more mature stars shouldn't completely despair. People's Gold cites a "very popular cover in August with Kirstie Alley, who obviously doesn't fit the mold."

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