Secret Celebrity Entrepreneurs

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Some brands will forever be linked with their celebrity endorsers.What would women's wear line Kate Moss Topshop be without, well,Kate Moss? Or Gisele Bündchen's sandal line, Ipanema byGisele, without the supermodel's name, image and unrelentingpromotion?
And yet other bold-face celebs have chosen a decidedly lessin-your-face approach. Who but the most fanatical know that theWilliam Rast jeans line isn't owned by anyone named William Rast,but instead is backed by the guy who "brought sexy back," croonerJustin Timberlake?
Or, that if you stop by Bess Bistro in Austin, Texas, everyoffering on the menu--as well as the bistro-branded Bessencecandles for sale at the counter--were all crafted by actress SandraBullock? In Pictures: 10 Secret Celebrity Entrepreneurs In Pictures: 12 Supermodels Turned Moguls
The celebrities' goal in keeping a healthy distance: to maintaincreative control in building sustainable brands not solely relianton their faces or fame. The other reason: "If [the business] fails,their name isn't associated with it in a big way," says RyanSchinman, chief executive of Platinum Rye, an entertainmentconsulting company representing corporations, including DirectTV (nyse: DTV - news - people ) and AT&T Wireless, that partner with celebrities.
That flame-retardant works the other way too. If a celebrity'simage evolves or--perish the thought--smudges, the business canstill survive.
Consider the ubiquitous Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley. Not onlydid the perky twosome outgrow their Disney roots, they devolvedinto partying, cadaverous divas (without the box office numbers toback them up). In an attempt to keep a safe distance, one of thetwins' clothing lines--manufactured by L'Koral Industries, creatorof Seven for All Mankind jeans--is named after their siblings,younger sis Elizabeth and older brother James. (Despite theirtarnished image, the twins, now 22, don't exactly need the cash:Their branded, teen-oriented merchandise brought them a combined$15 million last year.)
No matter the marketing strategy, only businesses that meet a realneed--and continue meeting it--last. "The way to build a long-termbrand is to make people a fan of the product," says Ramez Toubassy,president of Brand Sense Partners, the company behind BritneySpears' line of fragrances. "A celebrity may sell a product once,but after that, the product has to sell itself." Toubassy is quickto point out that, despite Spears' very public immolation, herfragrances, including Curious, Fantasy, Midnight Fantasy andBelieve, are nearing $1 billion in sales.
Not that these celebrity entrepreneurs keep their distanceentirely. Take Timberlake. He didn't splash his mug (or tush) onbillboards, but chose a more subtle approach. Photos of him wearinghis own jeans began strategically appearing in the tabloids;Timberlake also hung out at the William Rast booth at the Men'sApparel Guild in California trade show in Las Vegas.
Now the singer-songwriter is flexing more of his marketing muscle;he recently filmed a series of Internet vignettes--appearing as the"character" William Rast, clad head-to-toe in the brand's gear--topromote the brand. Like most celebrities, Timberlake gets anupfront fee for his troubles--anywhere from $250,000 to$500,000--plus a percentage (usually around 8%) of sales.
Marketers know that, when it comes to celebrities, even a littlesizzle goes a long way. "As soon as we issued a press release, wewere inundated with retailers," says Toubassy, who also cut a dealwith singer Sheryl Crow and Canadian manufacturer Western GloveWorks to create a brand of denim apparel, Bootheel Trading Company,scheduled to roll out this fall. "There's no question that Sheryl'saffiliation upped the ante dramatically." While Crow's image willbe used initially in the marketing blitz, the long-term plan is tolet the brand fend for itself.
Unfortunately, even the warmth of a superstar's glow fades in afrigid economy. To wit: Recent plans for a Las Vegas hotel andcasino, affiliated with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, have gonenowhere. "Look at what's happened to Las Vegas real estate, and youcan guess what happened there," says Platinum Rye's Schinman.
Nor should celebs get the idea that, even as the most silent ofpartners, they can completely sidestep a conflict with theirwell-crafted images. Adds Schinman: "If Robert De Niro opened acandy store, I don't know if that would be successful." In Pictures: 10 Secret Celebrity Entrepreneurs In Pictures: 12 Supermodels Turned Moguls
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