The origin of the term in the context of celebrity is uncertain, but a similar expression is attested in The Cricketers of My Time, a famous cricket book by John Nyren about the Hambledon Club. Writing in 1832, Nyren described the outstanding 18th-century batsman John Small as "a star of the first magnitude".

The earliest use of the term "superstar" has been credited to Frank Patrick in reference to the great hockey players on his Vancouver Millionaires teams of the 1910s-1920s, specifically Cyclone Taylor.

Within a major published piece in Interview Magazine that appeared in June 1977, when asked by editor Glenn O’Brien, “Who invented the word superstar?” Andy Warhol, the pop artist known for popularizing the term, responded, “I think it was Jack Smith.” O’Brien then asked, “And who were the first superstars?” To which Warhol responded, “They were all Jack Smith’s stars; every one of them was really a great person.”

The term received widespread and commonplace use from the title of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, in particular the 1970 concept album of the musical and the eponymous hit song.

"Super Star" is the name of a hugely successful rose which Harry Wheatcroft introduced and named in 1960, licensed from a German developer..

By 1909, the silent film companies began promoting "picture personalities" by releasing stories about these actors to fan magazines and newspapers, as part of a strategy to build "brand loyalty" for their company's actors and films. By the 1920s, Hollywood film company promoters had developed a "massive industrial enterprise" that "... peddled a new intangible—fame."

Hollywood "image makers" and promotional agents planted rumours, selectively released real or fictitious biographical information to the press, and used other "gimmicks" to create personas for actors. Then they "...worked reinforce that persona manage the publicity." Publicists thus "created" the "enduring images" and public perceptions of screen legends such as Rock Hudson, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly. The development of this "star system" made "fame... something that could be fabricated purposely, by the masters of the new 'machinery of glory.'"

According to Sofia Johansson the "canonical texts on stardom" include articles by Boorstin (1971), Alberoni (1972) and Dyer (1979) that examined the "representations of stars and on aspects of the Hollywood star system." Johansson notes that "more recent analyses within media and cultural studies (e.g. Gamson 1994; Marshall 1997; Giles 2000; Turner, Marshall and Bonner 2000; Rojek 2001; Turner 2004) have instead dealt with the idea of a pervasive, contemporary, 'celebrity culture'." In the analysis of the 'celebrity culture,' "fame and its constituencies are conceived of as a broader social process, connected to widespread economic, political, technological and cultural developments."

In 1976 Mattel, Inc. produced a Superstar concept of its Barbie™ Doll.

In the 1980s and 1990s, entertainment publicity tactics have become "more subtle and sophisticated", such as using press releases, movie "junkets, and community activities. These promotional efforts are targeted and designed using market research, "to increase the predictability of success of their media ventures." In some cases, publicity agents may create "provocative advertisements" or make an outrageous public statement to "trigger public controversy and thereby generate "free" news coverage."

With the advent of internet and technology in the 21st century the concept of Superstars has been revolutionized.However there are few names that have persisted and seem to have made a place for themselves. Vin Diesal is an American actor, producer, director and screenwriter known for his character Dominic Toretto.He is the highest paid actor because of his character Dominic Toretto.Vin Diesal is also the most followed person on Facebook and very popular worldwide.Another important name is Jackie Chan. Jackie is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, film director, producer, stuntman, and singer.He is worlds 3rd highest paid actor.No particular character of Jackie Chan can be pinned down as a world wide fascination however his characteristic acrobatic fighting style and use of improvised weapons has become a trade mark. Aamir Khan is another noted name. Aamir khan is Indian film actor, producer, director and television talk show host. Aamir Khan is a well known face in India, China and Asian countries, mostly for his diversity and consistency in movies and his most recent movie named Dangal in India renamed Wrestling Daddy in china.Some sources have also made a bold claim that Aamir Khan is Worlds Biggest Superstar based on the revenue collected by his movies in the past 3 years.Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are truely sports Superstars of the 21st century. Their popularity and fan following is also world wide.They are both world class soccer players and media and fans have recuringly pitched the two against each other.

According to Roger Caillois, superstars are created by the interplay between "mass media, free enterprise, and competition." Superstars are produced by a mixture of effort by the actors or athletes and chance (the luck of winning, due to the many arbitrary factors influencing sports, film releases, etc.). The "superstar has extraordinary natural talent augmented by an even more extraordinary perseverance and drive."

However, "small and relative differences are of decisive importance for winning or losing by a hair's breadth." It is here that chance plays a role; a sudden gust of wind at the end of a yachting race can mean the difference between stardom and defeat. Caillois notes that the role of chance in superstardom is paradoxical, given that the west is such a "predominantly meritocratic society," which valorizes the role of work, competition, activity, and determination.

" only one may be first. choose to win indirectly, through identification with someone else"- the superstar, whose triumph as the most popular actor or hit recording artist is in part due to the actions of "... those who worship the hero". The public believes that "the manicurist elected Beauty Queen, by the sales girl entrusted with the heroine's role in a super production, by the shopkeeper's daughter winning the Tour de France, by the gas station attendant who basks in the limelight as a champion toreador" represents the chance or possibility, from the public's perspective, that they may become wealthy and successful. For example, Levine points out that "Lars Ulrich, the drummer for Metallica, was a service station attendant before becoming a rich rock star; Harrison Ford was a cabinet maker" before becoming a wealthy film star.^[15]

Caillois calls superstars' huge incomes and rewards "disguised lotteries", a "special kind of game of chance." For example, the grand prizes for literary competitions "bring fortune and glory to a writer, for several years." Caillois notes that a "superstar" cannot merely be successful at some activity; they must also be richly rewarded. He says that the "material reward of the superstar is a necessary ingredient (for the glory of the star) for the identification of the public with the star, or whether it is the excellence or the private life of the star which is of more importance." He states that superstars' extravagant incomes play an important psychological "compensating mechanism" role for the public.^[14]

According to Madow, "fame is a "relational" phenomenon, something that is conferred by others. A person can, within the limits of his natural talents, make himself strong or swift or learned. But he cannot, in this same sense, make himself famous, any more than he can make himself loved." Madow goes on to point out that "fame is often conferred or withheld, just as love is, for reasons and on grounds other than "merit." This means that regardless of how "... strenuously the star may ... try to "monitor" and "shape" it, the media and the public always play a substantial part in the image-making process."^[6]

Sherwin Rosen (1981) examined the economics of superstars to determine why "relatively small numbers of people earn enormous amounts of money and seem to dominate the fields in which they engage." Rosen argues that in superstar markets, "small differences in talent at the top of the distribution will translate into large differences in revenue."^[17] Rosen points out that "...sellers of higher talent charge only slightly higher prices than those of lower talent, but sell much larger quantities; their greater earnings come overwhelmingly from selling larger quantities than from charging higher prices"^[18]

Modern microconomist Alfred Marshall explains that technology has greatly extended the power and reach of the plane