Christina Aguilera, Beyonce and more

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From Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty to Dwayne Johnson’s Teremana, even the most successful star-backed brands started with an idea and the courage to make it happen. “I admire anyone who takes the risk and overcomes all the hurdles,” says Gomez, one of the The Hollywood ReporterThe 30 best star entrepreneurs of 2024.

Top agents, investors and brand developers helped THR Discover six new celebrity companies just getting started. Read what their star founders have to say about the art of business and navigating the competitive startup world.

Christina Aguilera

playground

Christina Aguilera was named chief brand advisor and co-founder of Playground in March 2023; the sexual wellness company’s newest lubricant, Pillow Talk ($20 for 109 ml), is her brainchild. “With startups, you have to break the current norms,” ​​says Aguilera. “I always gravitate toward products and art that take more creative risks and push boundaries.” Playground closed a seed funding round in October and has retail partners from Amazon to Target.

What I learned about myself through building a business “Building and co-founding a company has been a rewarding and eye-opening journey. It’s not just about having a vision, but also being adaptable, learning from setbacks and staying true to yourself. The creative process in business is very similar to making music – it requires passion, dedication and the courage to take risks. I’ve learned that I’m not just a singer and performer, but also a businesswoman who can overcome challenges and create and build something from scratch that means a lot to me.”

Beyonce

Cécred

Beauty insiders have high hopes for the megastar’s haircare brand Cecréd, which launched in February with eight products ($30-$52) after debuting with her fragrance Cé Noir.

Beyoncé, whose partnership with Adidas for the Ivy Park clothing line ended in March, said she built Cécred “from the ground up and self-funded.” In April, she shared a #cecredwashday video tutorial with her 317 million Instagram followers.

Kaley Cuoco

Oh, Norman!

Pet grooming company Oh Norman!, which donates a portion of every sale to rescued dogs, launched with $3 million in venture capital in October and made a splash with its Amazon debut on Prime Day in July, when two of its products rose to the No. 1 spot on Hot New Brands. Co-founder Kaley Cuoco cites Jennifer Aniston (founder of hair care LolaVie) and Courteney Cox (founder of home product line Homecourt) as her entrepreneurial role models.

What I learned about myself through building a business “I learned that this type of endeavor is a marathon, not a sprint, and that teamwork makes the dream come true every time!”

What Hollywood could learn from startup culture “I was excited to start Oh Norman because I was looking for clean, healthy products that gave back, and I couldn’t find them on the market. Hollywood should invest in new innovative ideas that come from unexpected people and places!”

Simu Liu

MìLà

Simu Liu joined MìLà—known for its authentic frozen soup dumplings ($40-$45 for 50 pieces)—as chief content officer in 2023, shortly after the company closed a $22.5 million capital raise (Liu was previously an angel investor). MìLà is now in 2,000 stores from Costco to Whole Foods. “What I love about startup culture is that we’re constantly encouraged to be disruptive,” Liu says, “and challenge the status quo.”

My entrepreneurial role model “Ryan Reynolds. I think he has raised the bar for celebrity partnerships. By using his unique voice and confident humor in all of his brand activities, he has made endorsement deals exciting and fun.”

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves

Pants

In a crowded market, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have found a way to stand out with cheeky, pants-less ads for their tequila Pantalones ($45 to $55 a bottle), which launched in October. McConaughey says the company revealed his wife’s “incredibly clever and savvy negotiating skills,” while Alves leans into his marketing savvy.

What we learned about each other while building our company “This is Camila and I’m going to start our first business venture together as forward-thinking partners, so I’m going to share some of what I’ve learned from her. As a businesswoman, Camila consciously takes the time to question everything at every single stage. She understands that every new choice or decision can impact a previous one, and so at every step – from the financial agreement to making the juice to marketing to finding new partners – Camila is always weighing how a new idea can or will impact a previous agreement. And to her credit, her patience has allowed her to recognize some very important decision-making consequences over time that would have otherwise gone unnoticed,” says McConnaughey. Alves adds, “Matthew has the best marketing mindset I’ve ever seen; it shows in everything we do. He has a brilliant way of storytelling that goes deeper than most. He also comes up with great concepts, names, slogans, scenarios and designs – and he knows how to get the message across in a way that best reflects who we are.”

Brooke Shields

Start

Brooke Shields’ hair care brand Commence, for over-40s, launched in June. The waitlist was over 23,000 people and there were three products ($21 to $30), including a shampoo that sold out in less than two weeks. Launching a brand helped the star trust her gut, she says. “I learned that I’m even more ambitious than I thought and that I’m good at dealing with opposing ideas.”

What Hollywood could learn from startup culture “Slow and deliberate action is better than quick, unimaginative success.”
My entrepreneurial role model “(Spanx founder) Sara Blakely.”

A version of this story first appeared in the August 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.