Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark that consists of more than 2,800 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. The stars are monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry and bear the names of a mix of actors, filmmakers, musicians, inventors, businessmen, fictional characters, and more.
The original idea for the Walk of Fame came in 1953, the first stars were unveiled in 1958, and the first permanent stars were placed in 1960. The Walk has been expanded on multiple fronts since then, including the number of stars displayed; categories, entities, and organizations honored; and blocks covered. The Walk also deteriorated while it was expanded, and a long-term restoration plan began in 2008.
The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. The Chamber collects fees from each new honoree's sponsor, which fund the creation and installation of their star as well as maintenance for the Walk as a whole. The Chamber also owns the Walk's trademark and licensing rights.
The Walk of Fame is one of Los Angeles's most popular tourist attractions, receiving an estimated ten million annual visitors in 2010.
Description
The Walk of Fame spans on Hollywood Boulevard between Gower Street and La Brea Avenue, and on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard. An additional short segment runs diagonally between Hollywood and La Brea on Marshfield Way., the Walk consists of 2,827 stars, all but one of which are placed in the ground, the vast majority in the sidewalk at intervals. The stars are five-point, coral-pink terrazzo rimmed with brass and inlaid into a charcoal-colored terrazzo background. The honoree's name is inlaid in brass block letters in the upper portion of each star, and below the name, a round inlaid brass emblem indicates the category of the honoree's contributions. Stars face east or west on Hollywood Boulevard and north or south on Vine Street so that pedestrians walking either direction will have stars facing them.
The Walk also contains hundreds of blank stars, each serving as a placeholder for a future honoree.
Categorization
The Walk of Fame honors entertainment industry contributions in six categories and every nominee must fit into one of them. The six categories and their emblems are:A seventh "special category" also exists for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to directly honor individuals, organizations, and corporations.
The categories are not represented equally. As of October 2025, 44% of all stars were in the motion pictures category, 25% in television, 19% in audio recording or music, 9% in radio, fewer than 3% in theater/live performance, and fewer than 1% in sports entertainment and the "special category" combined. Each star represents one category; therefore if an individual has been honored in more than one category, that person will have more than one star.
Alternative designs
Special category stars display emblems unique to those honored. Many of these stars honor those important to Los Angeles, for example: former mayor Tom Bradley, whose emblem shows the seal of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Police Department, whose emblem shows a Hollywood Division badge; KTLA, whose emblem shows a satellite dish, and the Los Angeles Times, whose emblem shows a former Los Angeles Times building. Some stars, such as those for Victoria's Secret, Los Angeles Dodgers, Screen Actors Guild, and Recording Academy display the honored organization's logo."Friends of the Walk of Fame" monuments are also part of the Walk. These monuments consist of charcoal terrazzo squares rimmed by miniature pink terrazzo stars that display all category emblems except Sports Entertainment, as no "Friends of the Walk of Fame" monuments have been unveiled since Sports Entertainment was added. In addition to the emblems, these monuments also contain the sponsor's name, logo, and contribution in inlaid brass block lettering.
Unlike the rest of the Walk, the Apollo 11 entries are not stars; they are circular moons. These monuments also contain text beyond the honorees' names, specifically they contain the date of the moon landing and "Apollo XI". The Walk contains four of these monuments, one on each corner of Hollywood and Vine.
Star locations
The blocks outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel are considered the prime locations for stars. Stars of particularly well-known celebrities are often placed in front of the Chinese, Oscar winners' stars near Dolby Theatre, and Disney-related stars outside or near El Capitan Theatre. Family members and co-stars are usually placed near each other.Some stars are located outside businesses related to the individual the star honors. Examples include Ray Bradbury and John Waters, whose stars were placed outside Larry Edmunds Bookshop, which they frequented; Tim Burton, whose star was placed outside Hollywood Toys & Costumes, a business he credits as one of his childhood inspirations; and Alfred Hitchcock, whose star was placed outside Fox Hollywood, a theater that was showing his film Psycho at the time of the unveiling.
Locations are occasionally chosen for ironic or humorous reasons: Mike Myers's star was placed outside an adult store called the International Love Boutique, an association with his Austin Powers roles; Roger Moore's and Daniel Craig's are located at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard in recognition of their roles in James Bond 007 films; Ed O'Neill's was placed outside a shoe store in reference to his character's occupation on Married... with Children; Steve Guttenberg's was placed outside the Police Activities League in reference to his role in the Police Academy franchise; and The Dead End Kids' are located at the end of the Walk, where it "dead ends".
Honorees may request a location for their star, although the final decision is made by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Jay Leno, for example, requested his star be near Hollywood and Highland because he was twice picked up by police for vagrancy at that intersection. George Carlin requested his star be placed in front of the KDAY radio station, where he first gained national recognition. Lin-Manuel Miranda requested a site in front of the Pantages Theatre, where his musicals In The Heights and Hamilton had played. Michael Jackson refused to attend his star's unveiling unless it was located outside Grauman's Chinese; the Chamber acquiesced to his demand. Carol Burnett explained her choice in her memoir: while working as an usherette at Warner Brothers Theatre, she advised a couple arriving during the final few minutes of a showing to wait for the next showing, to avoid seeing and spoiling the ending. The theater manager fired her on the spot for "insubordination" and humiliated her by stripping the epaulets from her uniform. Twenty-six years later, at her request, Burnett's star was placed in front of the theater.
Other elements
In addition to stars, the Walk consists of several other elements. Hollywood and La Brea Gateway, also known as Four Ladies of Hollywood, is a gazebo sculpture meant to pay tribute to the multi-ethnic women of the entertainment industry. This structure consists of a square stainless steel Art Deco-style open-roof gazebo, the corners of which feature life-size caryatids of Dorothy Dandridge, Anna May Wong, Dolores del Río, and Mae West, each standing on a square base and wearing a glamourous gown. The gazebo's roof is rounded and supports a circular dome, the dome topped by a central spire with descending neon block letters spelling "Hollywood" on each side. Atop the spire is a small gilded weather vane-style sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in her billowing skirt pose from The Seven Year Itch.The gazebo, designed by Catherine Hardwicke, was installed at the Walk's western end in 1993 and dedicated on February 1, 1994. It has been described as "creative and wonderful" and also "depressingly awful". Hardwicke contends that critics missed the humor and symbolism of the piece.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame Mural is a mixed-media mural made to celebrate the Walk's 60th anniversary and the Chamber's 100th. The mural is meant to tell "a comprehensive story of the history of Walk of Fame from its creation to its persistence..." and also "captur the ages, the diversity and the beauty of the Walk of Fame and its recipients..." It was created by Ian Robertson-Salt, curated by Art Share LA, and unveiled on June 11, 2021.
Another Walk of Fame element is its time capsule. This capsule, which commemorates the Walk's 50th anniversary, was buried below a specially-designed star near Hollywood and Highland in 2017. The capsule contains more than fifty items, including a signed picture of Joanne Woodward, a piece of Elvis Presley's star, a replica of the Capitol Records building, Emmy award memorabilia, an assortment of DVDs, the script for Casablanca, playbills from The Pantages, news articles about the Walk of Fame, a note from Bob Barker, and more. It is scheduled to be opened in 2060.
Some stars are accompanied by plaques about the star or its recipient. For example, a plaque below Bob Hope's live performance star honors him as Hollywood's Citizen of the Century, a designation he was given when the star was re-dedicated for his 100th birthday; a plaque below Gene Autry's live performance star, his fifth star awarded, notes that he is the only individual honored in all five categories; and a plaque below Jennifer Lopez's star recognizes it as the 2,500th star unveiled. Additionally, all stars unveiled in 2010 have a 50th anniversary plaque below them.