At the head of a community of more than 9 million followers, Céleste Barber, an Australian mother, specializes in celebrity pastiche. With an irresistible sense of self-mockery.
Celeste Barber is nothing like the smug fan of admiration. Far from raving about the sometimes improbable postures adopted by people on social networks, this 40-year-old Australian plays with them and reproduces them with caustic humor! It all started in 2015 with a certain… Kate Hudson! Both startled and amused by the unnatural photo of the actress posing in front of her Hollywood swimming pool, the mother, who for years has reveled in the discrepancy between real life and the daily lives of stars with her sister Olivia, asks her husband to take her picture.
The snapshot published on her parody Instagram account showing her lying in front of a banal garden swimming pool and the Instagram hashtag #celestechallengeaccepted will transform her life. “I’m an actress and comedian who loves to make people laugh. I thought it would be funny to see what a normal person looks like who behaves like the icons of glamour”, she confided in 2017 to Neon. Celeste Barber was able to count on the help of watered sprinklers like Kris Jenner, who did not hesitate to relay a parody of her daughter Kim Kardashian!
To make people laugh, a mission that she also accomplishes on the boards
Since then, the comedian has posted more than 1,400 photos and hundreds of videos. “Most often, the shots are spontaneous: I see an image, I choose underwear and my husband takes the photo. But sometimes, I need to find a place for the shoot and to bring a friend to photograph me“, she explained, still at Neon. To make people laugh, a mission that she also accomplishes on the boards, she who made a world tour of her one woman-show baptized Fine, Thanks, that she played to sold-out crowds, including in Paris.
Two years after winning the AACTA (The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards) award for favorite comedian of the decade, this mother of two boys and mother-in-law of two grown daughters, happy alongside her arborist husband, does not intend to stop on such a good path. She is currently filming a series for Netflix called Wellmania of which she is the heroine, prepares collaborations with creators… and dreams of presenting the Oscars.
“Through my parodies, I say aloud what many think quietly”
With always the same objective: to make women feel guilty like everyone else. “Through my parodies, I say aloud what many think quietly: we are worth more than our appearance. […] It’s as if the universe was cut in two: women with the ideal silhouette on one side and, on the other, the rest, that is to say almost all of us!”, she launched in She. Faced with these still entrenched stereotypes, Celeste Barber has only one advice to give to her more than 9 million subscribers on Instagram: “Laugh. Laugh all the time. Laugh at you, and at me!”