star-maker

noun

star-mak·er ˈstär-ˌmā-kər

variants or starmaker

plural star-makers or starmakers

: someone or something that creates a star

especially : a person or performance that makes or helps to make someone a star in the entertainment industry

As producer and/or director, Judd Apatow is nothing less than a starmaker, elevating the careers of Steve Carell ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin"), Kristen Wiig ("Bridesmaids") and many more into legit movie stardom. —

Matt Pais

Jay Leno said he's looking forward to being a star-maker for young comedians on his new prime-time show. —

Lynn Elber

… Miller has no regrets. Unlike those other roles, her part in "Sister Act" is a star-maker. —

Mark Kennedy

star-making

ˈstär-ˌmā-kiŋ

adjective

or less commonly starmaking

a star-making performance/role

Examples of star-maker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Rebel Ridge is just the polar opposite, a killer slow burn action film and a star-maker for Aaron Pierre. —

Paul Tassi, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024 The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, the horror version of Drag Race, began here on a rickety stage at a gay bar and has grown into a drag star-maker in its own right since being picked up by streamers like Amazon Prime and Shudder. —

Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 None of the performances feels like a potential star-maker like that of Chiara Aurelia and Olivia Holt in season 1. —

Joshua Alston, Variety, 5 June 2023 The man in charge of this band of merrymakers is Nigel Petersen — a thinly disguised Lorne Michaels — an inscrutable star-maker whose whims have shaped late-night comedy since the early 1980s. —

Ron Charles, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'star-maker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.