Lauren Bacall, the late actress and star, once claimed, “Stardom isn’t a profession, it’s an accident.” This statement is applicable to her particular story as it was never the intention of Betty Joan Perske from the Bronx to become Miss Bacall of the silver screen. However, her placement in the constellation of actors who have achieved stardom was far from accidental. This issue of Cinephile seeks to extract stars from deeply imbued ideology of a billiondollar, worldwide industry and pinpoint the various ways in which the constructs of stardom shape our perception of culture and vice versa. The topics explored in Cinephile 11.2 address both historically significant and contemporary figures; star systems in America and internationally; and the impact of technology in reconfiguring star images.