Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a famous landmark with shiny stars set in the sidewalks. These stars are along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California. Each star honors a special person in entertainment, like actors, filmmakers, musicians, and even some fictional characters.

The idea for the Walk of Fame started in 1953, and the first stars were shown to the public in 1958. Over the years, more stars have been added, and the area has grown. Work began in 2008 to fix it up and keep it looking nice.

The Walk of Fame is taken care of by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. They use money from sponsors to help keep the area clean and beautiful. Many people visit the Walk every year, and it’s a popular spot for celebrating special moments or showing support for favorite stars. Even though some people disagree about certain stars or how the place looks, it remains one of the most visited places in Los Angeles and has inspired similar walks in other parts of the world.

Description

The Walk of Fame covers 1.3 miles on Hollywood Boulevard between Gower Street and La Brea Avenue. It also has a small part on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard.

As of April 2026, the Walk has 2,840 stars. Most stars are set in the sidewalk, about 6 feet apart. Each star is made of coral-pink terrazzo with a brass edge. They show the person’s name and a symbol for what they are honored for. The symbols include a film camera for motion pictures, a television set for broadcast television, a phonograph for audio recording or music, a microphone for broadcast radio, masks for theater or live performance, and a trophy for sports entertainment.

Some stars have special designs to honor important people from Los Angeles. There are also squares to thank sponsors. Four round monuments honor the Apollo 11 moon landing crew.

Administration

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce takes care of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Chamber gets money from sponsors for each new star. This money helps pay for making and putting up the stars and keeping the Walk looking good. The Chamber also plans special events to honor new stars and owns the rights to the Walk’s name and image.

Since 1962, the Chamber has helped the City of Los Angeles choose new stars for the Walk. Every year, many people suggest famous entertainers for stars. To be chosen, a person must have worked in entertainment for at least five years and done good deeds. The Chamber’s special group picks about thirty new stars each year. If a chosen person cannot come to the special event, their star cannot be placed. This rule started after a famous musician missed his own event.

The Chamber keeps the Walk looking nice using money from new stars. They also make sure the stars are cleaned and repaired, sometimes with help from nearby builders. Once a star is placed, it stays forever because it is part of Hollywood’s history.

History

The Hollywood Walk of Fame started in 1953 to bring more visitors to Hollywood. The first stars were placed in 1958, and permanent stars were added in 1960. The Walk of Fame honors people in entertainment with stars on the sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles, California.

Many famous actors, musicians, and filmmakers have stars there. Over time, new categories were added, and the Walk has been cared for and expanded. It became a historic site in 1978 and still grows today, with new stars added each year.

Honorees

Main article: List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

See also: List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars

The Hollywood Walk of Fame has more than 2,800 stars. Because some people have more than one star, the number of honored individuals is smaller. In the early 2010s, it was estimated that about 2,200 people were honored.

Diversity

In 2011, a study showed that people from minority groups were less represented on the Walk. For example, stars for African-Americans made up only 5.1% of all stars, Hispanics 3.4%, and Asians 0.4%. This reflected broader issues in Hollywood. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said they are working to improve diversity. Some of the original honorees were minorities, like Anna May Wong, Dolores Del Rio, Cantinflas, and Hattie McDaniel.

Multiple honors

Frank Sinatra has three stars for recording, television, and motion pictures. No one has been honored in all six categories, but Gene Autry has stars in five. Bob Hope and Tony Martin have four stars each. Roy Rogers and Mickey Rooney each have three stars, with an additional shared star for Roy Rogers as part of Sons of the Pioneers and Mickey Rooney with his wife Jan Chamberlin. Over thirty people have stars in three categories, and many have stars in two. Each member of The Beatles has two stars in the same category, once alone and once as a group.

The family with the most stars is the Barrymores, with five. Other families with more than two stars include the Bridges, Carradines, Curtises, Dern-Ladds, Garland-Minnellis, Hustons, Lockharts, Nelsons, and Reynolds-Fishers.

Unique and unusual

Professions

Many people who work behind the scenes in films have stars, including cinematographers like Conrad Hall and Haskell Wexler, costume designers like Edith Head and Ruth E. Carter, and makeup artists like Max Factor and The Westmores. Special effect make-up artists like John Chambers, Stan Winston, and Rick Baker also have stars, as do visual and special effects artists like Ray Harryhausen and Dennis Muren.

Two novelists, Sidney Sheldon and Ray Bradbury, have stars. One film critic, Roger Ebert, has a star in the television category. Movie theater owners like Sid Grauman, creator of the Grauman's Chinese and Egyptian theaters, and Earvin Magic Johnson, former owner of Magic Johnson Theaters, also have stars. Business people like Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, are honored too.

Eight inventors have stars, including George Eastman, inventor of roll film, and Thomas Edison, developer of many film industry devices. Hedy Lamarr is honored for her acting, not for co-inventing a system that helped create modern wireless technology.

Several honorees have also been well-known in politics. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump have stars, and Arnold Schwarzenegger also has a star as a former California governor. Three judges, Judge Greg Mathis, Judge Judy Sheindlin, and Judge Joseph Wapner, are honored in the television category.

Animals

Three dogs have stars: the fictional character Lassie and real animal actors Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. An animated dog, Snoopy, and several other animated animals also have stars.

Fictional characters

Main article: List of fictional characters with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Walk also honors fictional characters. The first were Lassie and Betty Lou. Later, Mickey Mouse was honored in 1978 for his 50th anniversary. Minnie Mouse got her star forty years later. Other characters include Bugs Bunny, Godzilla, and Batman. Jim Henson has three stars for his creations: The Muppets, Kermit the Frog, and Big Bird.

Clayton Moore is closely linked to his character The Lone Ranger, and Tommy Riggs is listed with Betty Lou. Paul Reubens as Pee Wee Herman is also honored.

Shared names

There are two stars for each of two different people who share the same name: Harrison Ford the silent film actor and Harrison Ford the modern actor, and Michael Jackson the pop singer and Michael Jackson the radio personality. After the pop singer Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, fans sometimes confused the radio personality’s star for the singer’s.

Groups and pairings

Some stars honor groups instead of individuals. Sports teams like the Harlem Globetrotters and Los Angeles Dodgers have stars. The largest group is the estimated 122 adults and 12 children known as the Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz.

Other stars honor pairs, like radio co-hosts Al Lohman & Roger Barkley, live performers Siegfried & Roy, and actors Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen. Music duos like Sonny & Cher and Daryl Hall & John Oates also have stars. The star for the band Heart includes the names of its singing duo Ann & Nancy Wilson.

Repeat selections and entries

The astronauts of Apollo 11 — Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins — share four monuments at Hollywood and Vine. George Eastman has two stars for the same achievement.

Charlie Chaplin was chosen twice for the same star. He was first selected in 1956 but later excluded. He was added to the Walk in 1972.

Organizations

Businesses with at least fifty years in the entertainment industry can be considered. These stars are placed on private property next to the Walk. Stars in this category include Chevy Suburban, Disneyland, Hollywood Reporter, KTLA, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Times, Musso & Frank, Variety, and Victoria's Secret Angels.

Other organizations with stars include the Los Angeles Police Department, Screen Actors Guild, Recording Academy, and the Walk of Fame itself.

Errors

Some stars have the wrong emblem for the category. Carmen Miranda and Monty Woolley have television emblems but were honored for motion pictures. Larry King has a motion picture emblem but was honored for television.

Some stars had the wrong name at first. Don Haggerty’s star said “Dan” at first. This was fixed, but later when Dan Haggerty got a star, people thought his star had been removed. Mauritz Stiller’s star said “Maurice Diller” for 28 years before being corrected in 1988.

Other misspellings include Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s star saying “Julia Luis Dreyfus”, Dick Van Dyke’s star saying “Vandyke”, and stars for Lotte Lehmann, Merian C. Cooper, and Auguste Lumière that remain misspelled.

Rejected

Some people chosen for the Walk have turned it down. Prince refused twice, saying he wasn’t ready. Madonna found the Walk “cheesy”. Clint Eastwood has refused several times. Others like Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, and Denzel Washington haven’t shown up for their star ceremonies.

The Chamber also rejects many nominations each year, often without announcing them. After Kim Kardashian said she wanted a star, the Chamber said she wouldn’t be honored because the Walk doesn’t include reality stars unless they have won major awards like an Oscar, Emmy, or Grammy.

Visitors

The Walk of Fame helps bring many tourists to Los Angeles County. A report from 2003 says about ten million people visit each year. This is more than places like the Sunset Strip, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Queen Mary, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Many people visit the Walk, but some think it is not very clean or safe. The Walk is a popular spot for street vendors and performers. In 2018, selling things on the streets was not allowed, but this rule changed in 2024. Vendors often sell food or special items. Musicians and costumed performers also enjoy being here, especially near Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds Hollywood.

When a new star is added, anyone can come to the celebration for free. These events are usually paid for by studios or companies. Big crowds attend these events. For example, Michael Jackson’s star unveiling in 1984 had many people, and Selena Quintanilla’s in 2017 also had a large crowd.

Fans sometimes leave flowers or gifts at the stars of people who have passed away. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce puts flower wreaths at these stars, and fans often visit to show their respect.

Sometimes, people use the stars for protests or rallies. Police sometimes watch these stars more closely if the person has been in the news for bad reasons. For example, Donald Trump’s star has been a spot for many protests.

Influence

See also: List of halls and walks of fame § Walks of fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame has inspired many similar walks around the world. Places like Almeria, Berlin, Cambridge, MA, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, NV, Łódź, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Sydney, Tampere, and Wembley have created their own versions. In California, the Rainbow Honor Walk and the Walk of Game in San Francisco were inspired by the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Walk has also been used as a model for protests in different cities. For example, protests happened in Mumbai, India and in Washington D.C., both inspired by the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In media

Many films and shows have featured the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Movies like Pretty Woman, The Substance, Harry and Tonto, Inland Empire, and The Fanatic have scenes set there. TV shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! have done funny segments at the Walk. Music videos, such as Miley Cyrus's "Walk of Fame," and songs like The Kinks' Celluloid Heroes mention or are inspired by the Walk. Famous street photographer Garry Winogrand has also taken pictures there.