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The stock market may be unpredictable, but you can still bet on star power. Celebrity-backed brands continue to boom in 2024 as big stars are driving disruptive businesses across a slew of categories and making bank at retail during an entertainment industry contraction. Dwayne Johnson‘s Teremana tequila sold a million cases in the U.S. last year, for example, and Selena Gomez‘s Rare Beauty is valued at more than $2 billion.
But as more A-listers venture into entrepreneurship, the landscape for their brands is more competitive than ever. “The financing environment now for consumer startups has only gotten more discerning, and consumer attention spans online are even more limited,” says Mahmoud Youssef, head of corporate development and ventures at Range Media Partners. “It’s really changed the playbook for how to properly build any business, especially one around talent.”
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That playbook is centered on three nonnegotiables: an excellent product, a great operator as CEO, and, most critically, an authentic connection between the star and the product. “When we pair that authenticity and passion with a smart approach and go-to-market strategy, that’s the perfect marriage,” says Youssef. For a star founder, that strategy increasingly includes supporting distribution deals as well as marketing efforts, adds Ben Enowitz, EVP of investments and talent ventures at Endeavor. “You’re seeing the talent not just use their social megaphones to build and promote the brands, but you’re seeing them really doing the legwork to go to Minnesota and meet with Target, or go to Arkansas and meet with Walmart,” Enowitz says. “It’s no longer a market or ecosystem where it’s enough to say, ‘Hey, I’m posting my brand on social, swipe up or click and purchase.’”
Even with all the elements in place, building a brand is hard. “There are only a handful of stars who have what’s called ‘buying permission,’ agnostic of category, with their fans,” adds Courtney McHugh, vice president and head of brand management at UTA Ventures. For every Skims that soars — such as Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company, which reached a $4 billion valuation in 2023 — there are others that stumble. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s Hello Bello baby brand, which reportedly notched $180 million in revenue for 2022, filed for bankruptcy last fall and was sold for $65 million to a private equity firm.
Still, the reach of a celebrity’s voice brings a priceless advantage. “We’re more bullish than ever before on building meaningful, ambitious companies that have strong value systems that tie to the cofounders,” says Leonard Brody, cofounder and executive chairman of Caravan, a joint brand-building venture with CAA. “Consumers are moving to buy from companies with clear value systems they identify with. When you can partner and cofound with a celebrity, whose value system is very clearly known, their influence helps you break through in a way that no advertising is going to help you break through.” That goes double for stars who are building businesses that also give back, like Tom Hanks’ Hanx Coffee, which donates 100 percent of net profits to veterans. “We’ve seen that really resonate when it integrates naturally,” adds CAA’s head of talent business ventures, Toby Borg. “There’s an openness to try the product because they believe in what he does.”
For this list, THR spoke to a range of investors and brand builders (including Squared Circles’ Alexander Gilkes, Fourward’s Will Ward, Plus Capital’s Adam Lilling and several beauty, spirits and other consumer goods insiders) about which celeb entrepreneurs are making the right plays. Here, Hollywood’s top star founders share their missions and ambitions and what they’ve learned along the way.
Jennifer Aniston
LOLAVIE, PVOLVE, VITAL PROTEINS
Nearly three years after founding her vegan hair-care line, Jennifer Aniston (who’s also a partner at fitness company Pvolve and chief creative officer at supplement brand Vital Proteins) is celebrating LolaVie’s rapid growth as it expands from online-only to brick-and-mortar sales. Last spring, Ulta Beauty started selling the brand at its 1,300-plus outlets — “a partnership that’s been so successful that we’ve expanded into all Ulta inside Target stores nationwide,” in late July, says Aniston. Credo added LolaVie to its offerings last August, and in February, Uber Eats began delivering the products, a partnership marked by a memorable ad featuring a forgetful Aniston, unable to recognize her iconic “Rachel” coif.
The Morning Show star and executive producer is hands on with product and promotion, announcing April’s sixth addition to “our little family” — a sculpting paste — on Instagram, where she has 45 million followers. LolaVie products have scored more than 20 beauty awards, and industry sources told WWD the brand was set to cross $50 million in revenue for 2023.
How being an artist makes it easier (or harder) to run a business “Much of what I’ve learned is important to being successful as an artist applies to building a business — the collaboration that’s required and the importance of having a strong team that you trust and love to support you.”
Elizabeth Banks
ARCHER ROOSE
Sales of canned wine are expected to swell by at least 13 percent a year until 2028, according to Grand View Research. Elizabeth Banks is positioned at the forefront of the trend; she became a sizable stakeholder in Archer Roose canned wine back in 2020, and the actress-director has been using her endearing style of humor to push the premium liquids ever since. A recent tongue-in-cheek promotion (shared with her 4 million Instagram followers) promised a live snake as reward for purchasing 100,000 cases. “I’m hoping a live moose is up next,” says Banks, noting that the brand is making inroads into traditionally beer-friendly sports venues. “We have meaningful sponsorships with Angel City, LAFC and the Cincinnati Reds, to name a few,” she adds. “I love that we’re enhancing people’s recreational experiences.”
My brand’s biggest win of the past year “Our stadium deals are infusing innovations in places where wine has traditionally taken a backseat to beer and seltzers. Our cold cans are introducing customers to Archer Roose on premise in a setting they will always remember, like BMO Stadium where my Falcon Flight was LAFC’s biggest internet story of the season.”
My entrepreneurial role model “The Shark Barbara Corcoran could have rested long ago but she seems to be more interesting and fearless than ever. I gotta send her some canned wine.”
Drew Barrymore
BEAUTIFUL, FLOWER HOME, FLOWER BEAUTY
Drew Barrymore, whose talk show was renewed for a fifth season in January, is cementing her celebrity mogul status as the face of affordable beauty and home goods. Her brand partnerships with Walmart include Flower Home furnishings and Beautiful kitchen appliances, home and tabletop goods, and cookware. Her biggest recent win? “Towels. We did a huge unexpected business at Walmart with our Beautiful by Drew brand and I have always collected vintage towels! That’s why it was personal for me,” says Barrymore, who’s also the founder of cruelty-free Flower Beauty and publishes the quarterly magazine Drew.
“I am now realizing that I have ideas I want to execute, and I also love when someone tasks me with something,” says Barrymore, who launched Flower Films in 1995 with cofounder Nancy Juvonen. “Inspirations are allowed to come from all.” She has the same approach when it comes to working with her consumer product and talent teams. “Bring everyone on board,” she says. “It’s an empowering time saver to tell everyone everything, and there is no synergy without it.” In September, she’ll appear alongside Christina Ricci, JoJo Siwa and other former child actors in Demi Lovato’s directorial debut, Child Star, slated to debut on Hulu.
Our out-of-the-box promotion that worked “I started on Instagram when the platform started, and it gave me a QVC type of storytelling that I loved. I still believe in digital platforms for showing people what you made because you made it for them!”
Hailey Bieber
RHODE
In June 2022, Hailey Bieber — model and YouTube host (Who’s in My Bathroom? and What’s in My Kitchen?) — launched Rhode Skin. This year, the clean-beauty brand expanded its offerings to include cleanser, blush and a lip-tint holding iPhone case that went viral.
In June 2024, influencer marketing platform CreatorIQ ranked Rhode as the top-performing skin care brand in the U.S. with earned media for the month of $32.9 million. Bieber — a master at social media engagement (think 2023’s strawberry glaze moment) — helped Rhode’s limited-edition Pocket Blush in shade Sprinkle sell out online in under 25 minutes on Aug. 1.
Jon Bon Jovi and Jesse Bongiovi
HAMPTON WATER
To dive into the rosé game, rock legend Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse Bongiovi tapped French winemaker Gérard Bertrand, an icon in his own right. Together they developed wine brand Hampton Water Rosé, a fresh and lively sort of juice from the Languedoc region, built predominantly from Grenache grapes. American drinkers were quick to sing their praises in response. Last year, the brand (founded in 2018) became the fastest-growing rosé, according to Wine Enthusiast. “The wine business is all about collaboration, and so is being in a band,” Bon Jovi says. They also both require a ton of time on the road. adds Bongiovi, an always-on-the-go ambassador who’s helping fuel a 40 percent growth YTD. “This job requires lots of travel. I’ve become really good at sleeping on flights.”
What Hollywood could learn from startup culture “It’s all hands on deck all the time, and no job is too small for any one person on the team to achieve,” says Bongiovi.
Our out-of-the-box promotion that worked “We pretended to launch a water brand this year for April Fool’s called Hampton Water Water. People tried to order cases of it ahead of the launch. It certainly got some attention we did not expect,” says Bongiovi.
We considered calling it… “Bed of Roses rosé. Although ‘considered’ is a strong word. ‘Laughed off’ is a more appropriate way of describing it,” says Bongiovi.
Emma Chamberlain
CHAMBERLAIN COFFEE
It’s hard to scroll through TikTok without spotting a Chamberlain Coffee-branded tumbler or canned latte. The Gen Z-favored coffee company — founded by YouTube star Emma Chamberlain in 2020 — sells an ever-increasing range of products, including cold brew singles, instant sticks, coffee pods, ground and whole bean options, and matcha. In June 2023, the brand (in which United Talent Agency is an investor) announced it had raised $7 million in a new financing round. Chamberlain says she’s especially proud of taking the coffee into retail, including at Whole Foods. “It was a personal dream to have a strong retail presence because of the sacred feeling I have toward grocery shopping,” she says. “I absolutely adore the art of a well-designed grocery store, and when I can I spend my free time roaming the aisles.”
How being an artist makes it easier (or harder) to run a business “I think it makes it easier when it comes to constantly creating and updating a unique brand identity — I’d argue an artist’s brain is wired for projects like that. I think it’s challenging when it comes to combining what is technically possible, from a budget/production standpoint, with unique ideas. Artists tend to be more imaginative and grand with their ideas, which can be incredibly beneficial for a brand when the idea is reasonably executable, and very upsetting when not.”
Cameron Diaz
AVALINE
Four years after launching her additive-free wine alongside co-founder Katherine Power, Cameron Diaz has seen Avaline become the No. 2 organic wine in U.S. retail and the No. 4 best-selling celebrity brand in the booming adult beverage sector. With the launch of a sparkling red Lambrusco this July, Avaline’s portfolio now includes a dozen varietals — two of which Diaz and Power poured on Aug. 2 as guest bartenders at East Hampton’s Sí Sí Mediterranean.
Gal Gadot
GOODLES
The same day in September 2023 when food brand Goodles confirmed it had secured $13 million in Series A financing — less than two years after its launch — founding partner Gal Gadot took to Instagram to share a surprising factoid with 108 million followers: A box of health-conscious Goodles mac and cheese is purchased every two seconds. Available at mass market retailers like Target, Kroger, Walmart and Costco, Goodles (which has 14 grams of protein in every box) stays true to a mission to “Make, Be and Do Gooder,” donating at least 1 percent of all the products it sells to organizations that address food insecurity.
Lady Gaga
HAUS LABS
Lady Gaga is a global superstar, so it’s fitting that her beauty brand has similar reach, with estimated 2023 revenue of $75 million to $100 million, according to BeautyMatter. In March, Haus Labs expanded to 12 additional European countries exclusively with Sephora, after a U.K. launch. Haus Labs products that have gone viral on TikTok include her Triclone Skin Tech Foundation. The company, which offers 125 products, has painted a pretty profile particularly on platforms like TikTok where beauty creators constantly rave about everything from blush to lip oil — her Triclone Skin Tech Foundation was a viral hit. “What you can do with makeup, it’s endless,” the Joker: Folie á Deux star has previously said. “I took a love for makeup that I have and a love for transformation that I do over and over again and poured it into each of these products.”
Jennifer Garner
ONCE UPON A FARM
Jennifer Garner came on as a co-founder of Once Upon a Farm — offering organic baby food pouches, as well as meals and snacks for older kids — in 2017. Since then it’s taken off, with the company reportedly earning more than $100 million annually in revenue. The mom of three brings plenty of personal touches to the operation, with Garner’s longtime family farm in Oklahoma inspiring some of the recipes, as well as the brand partnering with two of the star’s other side projects, non-profit Save the Children (where she’s a board member) and women’s soccer team Angel City FC (in which she’s an investor). Of being an entrepreneur, she says, “Artists have a lot to add to the business community — we are collaborative and open to direction; we are used to rejection and have a tough skin; we are creative!”
What I learned about myself from building a business “I have always believed that how you do anything is how you do everything. Make yourself indispensable. Show up at meetings that have nothing to do with you, learn the guts, know the problems, identify the fixers in your organization and support them. Be a cheerleader, and, when you have something to add, be a coach.”
How I work with my company team vs. how I work with my talent team “Well, I never yell at my talent team, but at the company — I lay down the law and they better like it. Just kidding. I don’t know the difference.”
Selena Gomez
RARE BEAUTY
Sold both direct-to-consumer and through Sephora, Selena Gomez’s 4-year-old vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand Rare Beauty has become a staple in makeup bags around the world, with the company reportedly valued at $2 billion, according to The Business of Fashion. In response to reports of Gomez selling the company, she recently told Time: “I don’t think I’m going anywhere.”
The Only Murders in the Building star has been a vocal advocate for mental health and brought that into the beauty brand through the Rare Impact Fund, which has raised more than $15 million for youth mental health by supporting 26 organizations. Gomez is also an investor in grocery delivery service Gopuff and co-founded mental health platform Wondermind in 2021. Says Gomez of starting a business, “At the beginning it wasn’t easy, but I’ve really learned to follow my gut and trust my instincts.”
How being an artist makes it easier (or harder) to run a business “I’d say starting any business is an incredible undertaking whether it’s a small local business or a large company. I commend anyone that takes the risk and makes it through all the hurdles to open their businesses. It’s not easy for anyone, artist or not.”
Kevin Hart
GRAN CORAMINO, HART HOUSE, VITAHUSTLE
Commonly regarded as the hardest-working comedian in show business, Kevin Hart is no slouch when it comes to the booze business either. In May of 2022, the busy entrepreneur brought his own tequila brand to market: Gran Coramino. And he enlisted some masterful help to make it happen, bringing on board Juan Domingo Beckmann, 11th-generation distiller of Cuervo fame. Together they developed a smooth-sipping flagship expression that falls under the Cristalino category; a barrel-aged liquid that’s charcoal filtered to remove color while retaining sweet notes of oak. It’s now one of the top-selling celebrity liquor brands in the country, per a distributor source. He’s also the founder of vegan fast-food chain Hart House, a brand partner of Fabletics Men, and co-founder of supplement company VitaHustle.
Jay-Z
ARMAND DE BRIGNAC, D’USSÉ
In 2005, Jay-Z famously rapped the line “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.” He wasn’t joking. With an estimated worth of $2.5 billion, he is today the wealthiest musical artist in the world. Much of that lucre has been amassed through his venture capital firm, Marcy Venture Partners, which he co-founded in 2018 with former Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown and VC veteran Larry Marcus. Most recently, the fund secured a stake in Miles Teller-backed ready-to-drink canned cocktail Finnish Long Drink. Jay-Z also owns Armand de Brignac champagne (in which LVMH bought a 50 percent stake in 2021) and D’Ussé cognac.
Dwayne Johnson
TEREMANA, ZOA, PAPATUI
Can you smell what The Rock is cooking? It’s cold hard cash via a diversified portfolio. Leading the pack is Dwayne Johnson’s Teremana small-batch tequila, which launched in 2020, sold a million cases last year, and has won more than a dozen spirits awards. In 2024, Teremana will launch in five international markets including the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Colombia as part of a global expansion in partnership with Mast-Jägermeister. There’s stateside news too: Teremana partnered this year with World Series champs the Texas Rangers on a multi-year partnership as the team’s official premium tequila parter at Globe Life Field.
For the sober set, Johnson fuels the beverage category with zero-sugar ZOA Energy drinks and pre-workout supplements. As if that weren’t enough, Johnson, an owner of the new United Football League, elbowed his way into the beauty business by way of Papatui, an affordable men’s grooming line that launched in March at Target.
The Kardashians
MULTIPLE BRANDS
Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, Kendall, Kylie and Kris have built a colossal empire of Kardashian-Jenner products touching almost every industry, from beauty (SKKN by Kim and Kylie Cosmetics), shapewear (Skims) and size-inclusive clothing (Good American) to alcohol (818 Tequila), wellness (Poosh and supplements line Lemme) and cleaning products (Safely). Kim leads the sibling pack, with Forbes pegging her net worth this year at $1.7 billion and Skims (which regularly goes viral for its star-filled ad campaigns) itself valued at $4 billion. Each brand feels particularly tailored to a specific family member’s interests, and tends to be heavily featured on both their social media platforms and Hulu’s Kardashians series.
Blake Lively
BETTY BUZZ, BETTY BOOZE, BLAKE BROWN
Last year, Blake Lively launched her low-alcohol sparkling cocktail brand Betty Booze, a follow-up to her nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brand Betty Buzz, which was already a hit.
In 2023, Betty Buzz inked a partnership with the multi-state restaurant chain Yard House, and has experienced four-digit year-over-year retail sales growth since 2021. The zero-proof brand also launched internationally last year and is a sponsor of UK-based Wrexham AFC, which her husband Ryan Reynolds (also featured on THR’s list) co-owns.
Lively also debuted just Blake Brown, a hair-care line sold exclusively at Target. Her biggest lesson working in brand business? “Never, ever compromise on quality,” she says. “Ever.”
How being an artist makes it easier (or harder) to run a business “Creativity is key, not just in the areas you think you need it, but it’s key in every facet of a startup. Necessity is the mother of invention, and if you can’t be creative to solve logistical, financial, or practical hurdles, you are done. You have to adapt and move fluidly through each scenario. No matter how well you plan, nothing goes exactly as it’s intended. Sometimes for worse, and sometimes for better.”
Eva Longoria
CASA DEL SOL, SIETE
Longoria not only is proud that Casa Del Sol, the tequila brand she co-founded in 2021, is made at a “100 percent Mexican-owned distillery,” but she positively beams about the fact that the company “has a lot of women in positions that are traditionally held by men,” including a female master distiller. “That’s a big win for me,” says the star, who also joined food brand Siete as an investor and strategic adviser earlier this year. Siete, accordign to Food & Wine, is the fastest growing Mexican American brand in the United States.
What Hollywood could learn from startup culture “Collaboration!”
My entrepreneurial role models ”The Beautyblender founder Rea Ann Silver and Spanx founder Sara Blakely. I love those success stories. I love their chutzpah. They are go-getters and hard workers. They are resilient and resourceful. They figured it out even when they didn’t know about manufacturing and cost per unit and shipping. And that resourcefulness is so needed when you are starting your own company. There are so many times people will say no and you gotta keep going and stay positive and believe in yourself.”
Shay Mitchell
BÉIS, ONDA
Fresh off Thirst, her unscripted travel series for Max, Shay Mitchell is expanding her stylish luggage and accessories company, Béis, with offerings for the entire family, releasing kids collections that have sold out. She credits her team and out-of-the-box marketing with Béis’ success: “We always try to be very scrappy and tactful, but also extremely strategic,” she tells THR. In 2019, Mitchell also co-founded Onda, a canned sparkling tequila company that now sells bottles of blanco and reposado; per a distributor source, Onda is now one of the best-selling celebrity adult beverage brands in the country.
We considered calling it… “BEIGE! I had an old bag that I used until it fell apart. It was beige.
Turns out you can’t trademark that, so Beige became Béis, which is ‘beige’ in Portuguese.”
Our out-of-the-box promotion that worked “I would say when my team took to the friendly skies to celebrate our Lonely Ghost collaboration. I was out of town otherwise I totally would have been there with them, decked out in full-looks from the collaboration and carrying the collection. It was definitely great for visibility, but I’d say the most important component was the opportunity we had to connect with existing and prospective consumers while at the airports. Throughout the day from LAX to Vegas, we executed random acts of kindness in the airports … paid for meals and drinks, gave out free products, and discount cards for existing consumers. We had team members capture content throughout the day that was used for owned channels, and this organic flying-the-skies content ended up outperforming all of our recent lifestyle and editorial content. This was a huge learning lesson for us!”
MrBeast
FEASTABLES
MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, moved on from his MrBeast Burgers last year and has recently launched an internal probe of his company after a series of controversies: He apologized for using “inappropriate language” in the past, and contestants on his upcoming Amazon reality competition show, Beast Games, have complained of unsafe conditions on the set.
But MrBeast is minting cash with his Feastables chocolate bars. In 2022, the YouTube star (whose channel has 309 million subscribers) launched the brand with a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-inspired sweepstakes that awarded over $1 million to 10 winners. He has said that the bars — sold everywhere from 7-Eleven to major supermarket chains — bring in annual revenue of $100 million.
Gwyneth Paltrow
GOOP
Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow predated the wholesale rise of the actor-turned-entrepreneur trend, launching Goop as a newsletter in 2008 and growing it into a lifestyle empire. Known for leaning on razor-sharp marketing of products that range from cashmere sweaters and antiaging serums to viral items like the “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle, Paltrow has expanded into food (Goop Kitchen), beauty (including Goop’s first mascara), experiential travel (a partnership with Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas) and home decor (a partnership with Ruggable). Paltrow has launched clean beauty line good.clean.goop, available at Target and Amazon, with the intention of expanding the brand’s accessibility and reach.
Katy Perry
BRAGG, DE SOI, KATY PERRY COLLECTIONS
Katy Perry’s nonalcoholic De Soi drink brand — which she co-launched in 2020 while pregnant with daughter Daisy — is on track to double its number of retail doors in 2024, eyeing 10,000 locations. The pop star is also a co-owner of Bragg Live Food Products (along with husband Orlando Bloom) and continues to crank out some signature bold footwear via her Katy Perry Collections company, which she became the sole owner of in 2021 after buying back her brand. “I learned that I could transfer my creative eye into product, but I’m also keenly aware that I don’t know what I don’t know,” she says. “You’re only as good as your team.”
My brand’s biggest win of the past year “This year, De Soi celebrated a major victory with the launch of our newest product, Spritz Italiano! This new flavor skyrocketed to the top of our sales charts. We couldn’t have timed it better, introducing this refreshing spritz just as summer began, making it the go-to drink of the season and helping us effortlessly welcome new customers into the De Soi family. Our omnichannel marketing blitz — featuring events, social media, influencer gifting, and ads — ensured that Spritz Italiano felt like it was everywhere, creating a buzz that was impossible to ignore.”
Michelle Pfeiffer
HENRY ROSE
Michelle Pfeiffer’s 5-year-old company just dropped its lucky 13th scent in late July. Like every product from Henry Rose — which has expanded to body (sprays and creams) and home (candles) — the new limited-edition Jake’s House BVI is genderless, Environmental Working Group-certified and cruelty-free. Launched as a DTC brand, Henry Rose now has retail partnerships with Credo, Nordstrom and (as of June 2023) Sephora, which sells the brand online and at more than 600 North American stores. The Sephora partnership came one month after a Series A infusion — the company’s first external investment — from Sandbridge Capital.
“The beauty space is constantly evolving, so the learning happens every day,” says Pfeiffer, who is set to star in Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming Yellowstone spinoff and also headlines Amazon MGM Studios’ Christmas comedy Oh. What. Fun. “The key is to stay true to the vision, the purpose, as you go about building your brand and company.”
How being an artist makes it easier (or harder) to run a business “As an artist you’re creating. It’s true for an actress and perfumer both. Conjuring a character or a scent that resonates. Imagining something that doesn’t exist, then rolling up your sleeves to make it happen.”
Issa Rae
HILLTOP, SIENNA NATURALS, VIARAE
Issa Rae is heading toward mogul status, while also putting a careful spotlight on her community. The South L.A. native teamed up with Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan for Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, now with four locations after launching in Inglewood and aiming to bring healthier options to underserved areas. The Barbie and Insecure star is also the co-founder of clean textured hair and scalp care brand Sienna Naturals (which recently entered Sephora) and in 2023 launched prosecco line Viarae. How could Hollywood learn from startup culture? Answers Rae, “Fill a void, be innovative and take risks!”
How being an artist makes it easier (or harder) to run a business ”How well your brand does depends on how well you’re doing and how much people trust you at any given moment.”
Our out-of-the-box promotion that worked “Our ASMR, shirtless bartender ads for Viarae. It was such a beautiful collaboration of minds and executed so well in a way that perfectly resonated in the way we wanted it to.”
Ryan Reynolds
MULTIPLE BRANDS
Ryan Reynolds makes serious bank onscreen and off. In addition to his visible role as co-owner of Wrexham AFC alongside fellow actor Rob McElhenney, Reynolds joined a group of investors taking a stake last year in the Alpine Formula 1 team. According to Forbes, last year he earned roughly $337 million from the $1.35 billion sale of Mint Mobile (in which he had a reported 25 percent stake) to T-Mobile.
Reynolds is also the co-founder of production company and marketing firm Maximum Effort, which was acquired by MNTN in 2021; he serves as MNTN‘s chief creative officer. The actor continues to have an ownership stake in Aviation Gin, which sold to Diageo in 2020 for $335 million up front and as much as $275 million more based on performance over 10 years.
The Deadpool & Wolverine star and producer, who seems to relish the marketing side of being an entrepreneur, describes his approach as ” ‘fastvertising’ — marketing which not only acknowledges and plays with the cultural landscape but does so at relative speed. So the marketing feels like it’s in lockstep with the ‘digital water-cooler’ conversation of the moment.”
What I learned about myself from building a business “Saying, ‘I don’t know’ and being curious is a strength, not a weakness. It empowers colleagues and emotionally invests everyone in growing together. Collaboration and authorship is an incredible fuel to push creative farther than delegating alone.”
What Hollywood could learn from startup/brand culture “Audiences and consumers are smart. I think in order to work, consumer products have to form long-term relationships with customers. Showbiz can sometimes focus on a short-term win over establishing trust and consistency.”
Rihanna
FENTY BEAUTY, SAVAGE X FENTY, FENTY HAIR
Words like mogul, boss and empire are tossed around rather generously these days but they stick like glue to Rihanna, and deservedly so. The Grammy-winning singer kickstarted her entrepreneur status with the launch of Fenty Beauty way back in September 2017. Since then, Fenty has grown “bigger than I ever imagined,” she has said. How big? Well, Forbes bumped her up to billionaire status in 2021 backed by 50 percent ownership of all things Fenty. What started as a brand known for having the widest range of foundations for all skin tones has expanded to include skin-care line Fenty Skin, Fenty Eau de Parfum, Savage X Fenty clothing brand, Fenty x Puma shoes, and the recently launched Fenty Hair product line.
Tracee Ellis Ross
PATTERN BEAUTY
Actress, activist and entrepreneur Tracee Ellis Ross launched Pattern Beauty in 2019, a company dedicated to championing Black beauty and creating products for curly, coily and tight-textured natural hair patterns. Two of its best-sellers, the Curl Mousse and Leave-In Conditioner, are helping drive double-digit revenue growth this year, she says. The brand also expanded its heated tool category with the launch of a three-in-one professional-grade curling iron. Her unexpected marketing approach? “I take a shower and use Pattern products in front of an audience. … I wear a bathing suit. I’m not just a CEO — I’m also a customer, and I think it’s really important to demonstrate how I use the products.”
How I work with my company team vs. how I work with my talent team “Both teams work collaboratively and have a deep respect for each other and what we bring to the table. So much happens in my world. Without the connective tissue between both teams, I wouldn’t be able to do all that I do so seamlessly. My approach is actually pretty similar on both sides. I am always looking for the ‘why’ — why are we doing what we’re doing? Where is it taking us? We hold each other accountable to the DNA of Pattern, [my production company] Joy Mill Entertainment and my personal mission.”
Snoop Dogg
MULTIPLE BRANDS
Snoop Dogg — the viral star of the Paris Olympics — is among the most prolific rappers in music history. His entrepreneurial bona fides are almost equally profuse. Through his investment fund, Casa Verde Capital, the artist has reaped significant rewards in the cannabis industry. He’s made money on everything from Dr. Bombay Ice Cream and Snoop Cereal (from his company Broadus Foods) to Snoop Doggie Doggs apparel for actual canines. But his foray into the adult beverage sector might be his most savvy business play. His wines for Australian label 19 Crimes are the best-selling celebrity alcohol offering at one of the largest U.S. distributors, per a source. And alongside his longtime collaborator Dr. Dre, he launched a line of ready-to-drink cocktails in February: Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop.
“We surprised everyone when we unexpectedly launched at a party after the Super Bowl,” Snoop tells THR. “We announced our own college football game: the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop. It’s the first time an alcohol company is the title sponsor of an NCAA bowl game.” In July, he adds, “we expanded to the UK and Dr. Dre and I performed in London for the first time in 30 years with our surprise guest Eminem.”
My brand’s biggest win of the past year “Working with family is important, so when Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop had the opportunity to celebrate West Coast culture on Juneteenth and support our friend Kendrick Lamar with his Pop Out concert Ken & Friends, we were all in.”
Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley
BROTHER’S BOND
Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley have seen their bond progress from co-stars to close friends to eminently successful business partners. After their run on The Vampire Diaries concluded in 2017, the actors pondered how they could keep working together. Sinking their teeth into American whiskey was the unexpected answer. Launched in 2021, their Brother’s Bond Bourbon — one of the top-selling celebrity spirit brands in the U.S., per a distributor source — has forged partnerships with Marriott and Delta for its Delta One lounges and has expanded to include award-winning expressions of rye, barrel-strength bourbon and a blend made with grains cultivated through regenerative agriculture. The most important key to success is perseverance, says Somerhalder (who also recently launched powdered supplement brand The Absorption Company with his wife, Nikki Reed). “Put a smile on your face even in the darkest days, and keep going,” he says. “Entrepreneurs forget sometimes that energy is infectious.”
How I work with my company team vs. how I work with my talent team “With my company teams it’s a day in and day out grind if you will — a systematic download and upload of information, tasks and systems. With my talent team it’s more the nuances of negotiating current contracts, building strategic partnerships with brands — as I have mostly stopped acting. But as of late we’re just starting to figure out how to develop the last show I will most likely ever do in my career with my producing partner and my talent team,” says Somerhalder.
We considered calling it … “Ian [Somerhalder] came up with the name Brother’s Supreme. I said, ‘Over my dead body’ and suggested Brother’s Bond. The rest is history,” says Wesley.
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
MULTIPLE BRANDS
Power partners in life and business, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union (either separately or jointly) have stakes or ownership in fashion (Way of Wade clothing, Mission athletic wear, Stance socks), beauty (Flawless hair care), sports teams (Utah Jazz, WNBA’s Chicago Sky, MLS’s Real Salt Lake and NWSL’s Utah Royals), entertainment (BallerTV), snack food (Bitsy’s, available at Walmart), wine (Wade Cellars) and cannabis (Jeeter). The entrepreneurial couple also co-own Proudly (available at Target), a baby-care line formulated for melanated skin, which recently released baby products for textured hair. “What’s worked best for us with Proudly are real people telling real stories about how the products have been game-changers for their kids,” says Union.
We considered calling it… “A name I rejected: Gabby’s Goodies,” says Union of developing Proudly baby care.
How being an artist makes it easier (or harder) to lead/run a business “Being an artist makes it easier to get the word out about your business — social media and press opportunities — and to get startup capital. But it’s harder in the sense that you might be treated like a bank with endless disposable income and also as someone who doesn’t mind working for free,” says Union. Adds Wade, “Being an artist allows me to show up as my authentic self in every facet of my business. It allows me to cultivate a space for my team and business partners to be authentic and creative, because as a leader I understand how important this is. It also allows me to dream big and realize the limitless potential I have.”
My brand’s biggest win of the past year “In 2021, I launched an event series as a part of my wine brand, Wade Cellars, named When We Gather,” says Wade. “When We Gather was created to hold space for community and conversation through wine and food experiences. Through partnerships with minority-owned restaurants, we’ve been able to curate interactive wine dinners across the country. This year we had the opportunity to expand the series in partnership with various brands such as JP Morgan Wealth Management and also with Netflix where we curated a night of stand-up comedy during their Netflix Is A Joke Festival.”
Sofía Vergara
SOFÍA BY SOFÍA VERGARA, DIOS MÍO COFFEE, TOMA
Sofía Vergara, up for an Emmy for Griselda, began her ongoing partnership with Walmart in 2019, designing apparel, intimates, accessories, home decor and, just in July, swimwear and cover-ups for the Sofía by Sofía Vergara collection. Her entrepreneurial ventures don’t stop there. In June, Vergara launched a Colombian coffee line called Dios Mío Coffee (available at Walmart), blended by a team of all-female coffee growers. That same month, Vergara and her son, Manolo Gonzalez, brought their culinary brand Toma to life with the intention of sharing Latin cuisine, from salsas to empanadas, with the world.
What I learned about myself from building a business “I’m really good at thinking outside the box! When building a business, you face all sorts of unexpected problems and roadblocks. I found myself coming up with clever solutions and workarounds, which I think are great creative skills to have as a founder.”
Kirsten Chuba, Danielle Directo-Meston, Chris Gardner, Nicole Fell, Brad Japhe and Erin Lassner contributed to this report.
A version of this story first appeared in the August 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
