What does it take to "re-image" a celeb? The steps are carefully orchestrated, says Boston-based image consultant Evangelia Souris of Optimum International Center for Image Management. "Celebrities need to think of themselves as commodities.
And if they're not liked, they won't sell." With Souris' help, we map out the steps stars can take toward a positive public image. Who's there: Miss USA Tara Conner.
"Celebrities aren't saints, but the public respects a show of humility," Souris says. Who should be there: Britney Spears. Sure, she apologized in December for her panty-free party spree, but Souris says it isn't flying.
"She's playing the cute card too much, and before the public is ready to accept that she's changed, she needs to make a public appearance to say, 'I need to re-assess.'" Also, Lindsay Lohan, who never apologized after being publicly admonished for lack of professionalism on two movie sets. Who's there: Jessica Simpson, whose low-profile phase almost ended with a performance Dec.
3 at the Kennedy Center Honors. But the weak performance was axed from the televised program and therefore from the public eye. "She needs to lay low a little longer," Souris says.
Who should be there: Kevin Federline and Paris Hilton. Hilton surfaced Sunday in Australia visiting sick children in a hospital, but it's way too soon for her to be seen as anything but a rich party girl, Souris says. Who's there: Michael Richards, who "really needs to play it super-safe right now.
" Who should be there: Kate Moss. Reports of her getting married suggest a shift to a more responsible lifestyle for the model, whose career survived reports 18 months ago of hard partying and drug use. But being back in the arms of repeat drug offender Pete Doherty will bring public eyes right back to those dark days.
Who's there: Whitney Houston, Tara Reid and Tom Cruise. "Appearances are low-key yet high-profile," Souris says. "We see them smiling, but they're not opening their mouths to say anything controversial.
" Who should be there: Jennifer Lopez, who re-emerged from her Bennifer days with Ben Affleck as part of a couple with Marc Anthony but hasn't yet stepped out to expose a new solo image. "That will hurt her career in the end," Souris says. "Everyone loved the old J.
Lo!" Who's there: Jennifer Aniston, who has supported St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for many years and made a TV ad for the organization in November.
"Those spots really made an impact," Souris says. Who should be there: Cruise, who needs to choose something personal besides Scientology, Souris says. "It needs to be something that has more mass appeal.
" Who's there: Jerry Springer, whose appearance on "Dancing With the Stars" profiled a whole new facet to his trashy TV talk show host persona. "We never envisioned him like this," Souris says. Who should be there: Aniston, whose next project should be "more of a priority than us seeing her with another man.
" Who's there: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the couple. They "carefully planned their reappearance to ensure the public would accept the new image," Souris says. Also, Affleck, who finally shed the Bennifer weight from his days with Lopez with a new family-man image with wife Jennifer Garner and daughter Violet and professional recognition at the Venice Film Festival.
Who should be there: Nicole Kidman, whose marriage to Keith Urban shows a softer, gentler actress. But a new, more accessible public image may have been derailed when Urban checked into rehab. "It's a wait-and-see situation," Souris says.
"If he does well, we should start seeing a lot more of her.
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