The Changing Face Of…

In the summer of 2012, as the eyes of the world focus on London for the Olympic Games, another landmark event will also be celebrated in the British capital: the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. For six decades her face has been on our stamps and money and over 20 million people worldwide tune in to her Christmas Day Speech every year. Whether in tweed or the crown jewels, she’s instantly recognizable. Queen Elizabeth II is the most iconic woman in the world.

Madonna is the mistress of re-invention and understands the power of the visual image. From her days as a “Boy Toy” via the “Material Girl” to her latest incarnation as a movie director, she has never lost ability to shock, grabbing headlines and selling not just herself but her records, books and films. Through her marriages to Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie to her role as the adoptive mother of AIDS orphans, Madonna continues to fascinate.

Liz was a child-star brought up and schooled on the MGM lot. The studio controlled everything she did – they even chose her first two husbands for her. She shocked the world when she began a passionate and adulterous affair with Richard Burton that transformed her into one half of the world’s most famous couple. Her image and story has been at the heart of all the biggest changes in celebrity culture: the arrival of the jet set, the paparazzi, the first actress to earn $1million dollars, the first to launch a signature perfume and the first to campaign on behalf of AIDS. She was a pioneer and an icon.

Arnold’s is a classic rags-to-riches story, the American dream come true. Brought up in a poor family in Austria, he became a champion body-builder and Mr Universe. It gave him a ticket to America where he starred in a movie and married a Kennedy before conquering Hollywood. He has not only sculpted his body, he has created a series of new identities for himself: athlete, actor and then politician as Governor of California. They said he’d get nowhere with his name and his accent – but he has proved the critics wrong.

This shy, non-descript Brooklyn boy became the biggest selling recording artist of the 1970’s, with 10 number one singles in the Billboard charts. He’s weathered the storms of critical derision and confounded the reviewers by remaining one of the most popular singers of a generation. His millions of enthusiastic fans have remained loyal over the decades and his live shows still sell out around the world.