Beauty and the brand

By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
05-MAY-05

People magazine's annual "50 Most Beautiful" issue has hit newsstands and, as usual, its choices are a blend of the obvious, the unsurprising and the totally unpredictable.

This week we will take a peek at two "Most Beautiful" leading ladies who have applied incredibly effective brand strategy to their careers on- and off-camera. They are capable businesswomen who are fully aware of their place among the world's most closely watched people, requiring savvy and constant management.

Jessica Simpson

Jessica broke the mold, proving that seemingly wrong decisions can be the right ones. When her MTV reality series, "Newlyweds," launched, Jessica was seen as the No. 3 girl _ a beautiful singer in the shadows of the more successful Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

Cut to three years later and Jessica, now 24, has left them in the dust. Her unconventional decision to invite the world into her home to witness the first years of her marriage attracted a huge viewership and a new fan base.

Jessica took full advantage of the momentum sparked by her show. Her musical career has blossomed and word is that her first starring role in a motion picture, as Daisy Duke in the upcoming "The Dukes of Hazzard," will have other starlets quaking in their cowboy boots.

And Jessica hasn't stopped there; following on the heels of her successful launch of a makeup-and-lotion line last year, she is now developing her own clothing line.

Still, perhaps the most palpable recognition of Jessica's success is that other celebrities, including Britney Spears, are now following her lead, inviting TV networks to capture their real lives.

Julia Roberts

Though she stole another woman's husband and is rumored to be discourteous to her staff, Julia Roberts has remained America's golden girl, commanding $20 million per film and legions of fans.

Her popularity and image are a testament to her skillful brand management, and she has proven capable of spinning potentially calamitous media coverage into flattering press. At perhaps her lowest point, she was photographed wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "A Low Vera," a play on the words "Aloe Vera" meant to send a stinging message to Vera Steinberg, then wife of Julia's cameraman-boyfriend, Danny Moder.

Vera was apparently resisting Danny's attempt to secure a divorce so he could marry Julia, whom he had met on the set of "The Mexican" in 2001. According to Vera, she and Danny were happily married before Julia stole Danny's heart. As usual, Julia got what she wanted _ Danny divorced Vera and married Julia at her New Mexico home, and late last year the couple welcomed twins Hazel and Phinnaeus to the family.

While many other celebrities might have been labeled a husband stealer, the "Pretty Woman" has expertly focused attention on her choice to live outside Hollywood, her self-proclaimed down-to-earth nature and her focus on being a wife and mother.

As for her career, Julia appears on-camera just rarely enough to keep audiences wanting more, and her face on the cover of the Most Beautiful issue proves that Julia's masterful brand management makes her one to watch even after all these years.

(Samantha Ettus is a columnist and author of "The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do" (Random House). Contact her or at Samantha(at)celebrityassets.com.)