Star Studies: A Critical Guide, mother volume of the Film Stars series, maps the progress and future of star studies, and identifies a set of research methods for film students to apply to their work on star studies or one film star in particular.

Part of a vanguard of Spanish talent claiming success at home and in Hollywood, Penelope Cruz is one of the best known European stars today. Focusing on Cruz's key films and their surrounding discourse, Ann Davies charts the development of Cruz's star persona both at home and abroad and the questions, difficulties and pleasures it inspires."

A revealing insight into the star persona and career of Hanna Schygulla, the iconic actor of the New German Cinema from her early days as a member of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's anti-teater group, to her work with European auteurs including Jean-Luc Godard, Andrzej Wajda and Fatih Akin, and her reinvention as an acclaimed cabaret chanteuse."

Tall, dark and handsome, with a manufactured name and a scrupulously designed professional image, Rock Hudson represented the Hollywood ideal of American masculinity during the 1950s and 60s; an ideal that was to be questioned and ultimately undermined during the years to follow by lurid accounts of his private life and his death from AIDS related illness.

This illuminating analysis of Hudson's career reassesses the perceived disparity between his public persona and his 'true' nature. Exploring his unique qualities as a performer and exposing the role of his agent, producers and directors...

In this illuminating insight into Denzel Washington's multifaceted image and remarkable career, Cynthia Baron traces his star persona and impact on mainstream society - from his time as a skilled actor in theatre and television in the 1980s, to his leading man roles in landmark films of the 1990s, to his place in Hollywood's elite in the 2000s.

Julie Christie's prickly relationship with stardom is legendary. This fascinating text provides a comprehensive account of Christie's career, from her emergence in the 1960s to present day. It moves from analysing her star persona, to exploring her performance and her politics, and in doing so raises important questions for the film industry.

Throughout her career, Natalie Wood teetered precariously on the edge of greatness. Trained in the classical Hollywood studio style, but best mentored by Method directors, Wood was the ideal actress for roles depicting shifting perceptions of American womanhood. Nonetheless, while many of her films are considered classics of mid-twentieth century American cinema, she is less remembered for her acting than she is for her mysterious and tragic death.

Rebecca Sullivan's lucid and engaging study of Natalie Wood's career sheds new light on her enormous, albeit uneven, contributions to American...

Amitabh Bachchan has dominated the Indian film industry as its pre-eminent star for the past 40 years. Sunny Singh considers both Bachchan's film performances and his persona as a political actor and global brand, and explores the reason's behind the longevity of his star career.

A wide-ranging account of the Indian film star Madhuri Dixit, exploring her star persona and legacy. Nandana Bose argues that Dixit represented a wholesome and traditional figure of femininity that resonated across class and cultural hierarchies at a time of great economic and social change in India.