“Fame is like a river,” wrote the English philosopher and essayist Francis Bacon in 1625, “that beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and solid.” 

The first part of Bacon’s idea seems to reflect a common prejudice that has arguably never been more relevant than today, even though it can at times be profoundly unfair or misleading. In the age of social media and influencers, more people than ever might be described as famous for being famous. Over time, this charge has been leveled at celebrities like Zsa Zsa Gábor (02/06/1917, Aquarius Snake), Paris Hilton (02/17/1981, Aquarius Rooster), or Hilton’s erstwhile assistant, Kim Kardashian (10/21/1980, Libra Monkey). In 2011, journalist Barbara Walters (09/25/1929, Libra Snake) famously confronted Kim Kardashian and her family with the assertion that, 

You [Kardashians and Jenners] are all often described as ‘famous for being famous’. You don’t really act, you don’t sing, you don’t dance. You don’t have any—forgive me—any talent.

Yet there is an increasing awareness that managing fame—and leveraging it for ethical or commercial impacts—is in itself a genuine talent, calling for all kinds of media savvy, self-promotion, leadership, and ethical flexibility and sophistication. Paris Hilton’s documentary, This is Paris (2020), for example, shone a light on abusive practices at boarding schools for troubled youth. The company Skims, founded by Kim Kardashian, topped the list of Time’s Most Influential Companies 2023. If such successful and hugely influential individuals lack “any talent”, then we probably need a new definition of what talent means. 

But what of the second part of the Bacon quote above—the idea that fame can “drown” people who might seem in some eyes to have greater substance?

Bennifer: then and now

On the face of things, 2024 is proving a highly challenging year for celebrity couple Jennifer Lopez (07/24/1969, Leo Rooster) and Ben Affleck (08/15/1972, Leo Rat). A quick recap. Lopez and Affleck reportedly first found romance together around the time of the film Gigli (2003). After getting engaged in 2002 and breaking up in 2004, they reunited around 2021 and were married in 2022. Sadly, this year they seem headed towards a second break-up, apparently living apart, with Affleck not attending Lopez’s 55th birthday celebration. 

Tabloid attention swirled around their first relationship in the early 2000s, with the pair announcing at one point that they were postponing their wedding to avoid having to hire three “decoy” brides to divert attention. This time around has hardly been different, with their reunion and subsequent apparent marital woes dominating headlines around the world. 

Further, Lopez’s part-film, part-documentary multimedia project, This is Me…Now (2024), which features Affleck, has apparently underwhelmed audiences and critics alike: “The movie has been widely panned as nonsensical, corny, belabored and just plain weird, while the documentary is so unflattering, it’s hard to believe [Lopez] greenlighted it.” Some media outlets have also drawn attention to the cringey scenes where Affleck seems genuinely shocked that Lopez shared their intimate letters with her team of songwriters. In another poignant moment, he acknowledges his discomfort with public exposure yet his need to accept this being a necessary accompaniment to a life with Lopez. In reconciling with her, he reflects that he told her:

Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media. [But then I realized,] it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re going to marry a boat captain, and [you’re like], “Well, I don’t like the water.” 

Lopez - the cuspy Rooster

Whether on social media or not, by any measure, Lopez is incredibly talented. In Walter’s terms above,

• she can act (career standouts spanning a quarter-century include the acclaimed films Out of Sight [1998], The Back-Up Plan (2010), and Hustlers [2019]), 
• she can sing (she has sold over 80 million albums and headlined the 2020 Super Bowl), 
• and she can dance (her dancing has been a cornerstone of her musical performances, including the live stadium show for her reality series ¡Q’Viva! The Chosen (2012), as well as her role as a pole dancer in Hustlers). 

To be a trailblazer in the public eye arguably represents a true fulfillment of Lopez’s destiny, having been born on the cusp of Cancer and Leo in a Chinese year of the Rooster. Representing flux and transition, cusp energy frequently manifests as highly impactful, rebellious, or attention-grabbing. The Cancer/Leo cusp can be one of the Western zodiac’s most intense, representing a stark shift from the dream-like interiority and sensitivity of Cancer to the brilliantly center-of-attention, leadership-oriented influence of Leo. 

Adding to this already heady blend is the hugely potent energy of the Rooster. The Rooster influence usually contributes a sixth sense for fashion, capturing and leading the pulse of current trends, combined with a deep capacity for resolution, diligence, and commitment. Historical figures sharing Lopez’s combined Cancer/Leo cusp and Rooster energy include similarly diligent and impactful individuals. There are the two pioneer aviators, Amelia Earhart (07/24/1897, Leo Rooster) and Alberto Santos-Dumont (07/20/1873, Cancer Rooster), both of whom have become cultural icons inspiring near-religious devotion in their respective homelands of the United States and Brazil. There is also the US author, Cormac McCarthy (07/20/1933, Cancer Rooster), who rejected conventional stylistic conventions and punctuation to write dense and often horrifying fiction, and whose Pulitzer prize-winning novel, The Road (2007), has become one of the most enduring representations of post–9/11 fear and desperation.

Ben’s Leo Rat Energy

Affleck is similarly a multi-faceted and accomplished artist. To many he may be best known as an actor, celebrated for powerful performances in films like The Way Back (2020), Gone Girl (2014), and The Town (2010). But he has also established an enviable reputation as a screenwriter and director, having won Oscars for Good Will Hunting (1998) (Best Original Screenplay), which he co-wrote with Matt Damon (10/08/1970, Libra Dog), and Argo (2013) (Best Film), which he produced, directed, and starred in. 

Born in mid-August, Affleck’s Western sign of Leo reflects the more contemplative energy that comes with an approaching cusp, while still clearly possessing the prideful determination and nobility that are most obviously associated with the Leo influence. Affleck’s Chinese sign of the Rat is traditionally seen as shrewd and fortunate, with a special aptitude for strategic or financial matters and written expression. Other celebrities born in the same week of Leo in a year of the Rat include T. E. Lawrence (08/16/1888), the real-life inspiration for the film Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Julia Child (08/15/1912, Leo Rat), the multi-award-winning chef credited with popularizing French cuisine in America. In a fascinating synergy, two further celebrities matching Affleck’s energy matrix include the similarly successful and respected actor/directors Robert Redford (08/18/1936, Leo Rat) and Sean Penn (08/17/1960, Leo Rat). 

What’s written in the stars for Bennifer?

The energy match between Lopez and Affleck creates prospects for a strong and supportive bond. The Leo/Leo connection suggests shared values and a strong sexual connection. The cusp influence of Cancer on Lopez’s personality may add some initial standoffishness, but offers great potential for improvement over time, not least by softening the potential for hard-headed conflict that can arise between two Leos, whose Fixed energy means they will rarely if ever back down in the event of disagreement. Meanwhile the combination of Rooster and Rat on the Chinese side is even more fortunate. This influence emphasizes social awareness and can be strongly collaborative, just as long as the more flamboyant and independent Rooster can provide the more intimate reassurances that the Rat needs to feel secure. 

The curious aspect of Lopez’s and Affleck’s difficulties at the moment are that they are both supposed to attract wonderful fortune this year; the Rat, and the Rooster especially, are among the top three signs to watch out for this Dragon year (along with the Monkey). Of course, good fortune can only do so much in our lives, and it can seem to work like waves—superb if we are in a position to catch the currents of good luck, but barely noticeable if we are not. There can also be a seemingly curious paradoxical or conflicting aspect to good fortune, especially in hindsight—with the most hard won lessons and apparently tortuous times that lead to profound personal growth occurring in years of supposed good zodiac fortune. Whilst this can be little comfort in the midst of such tumult—in retrospect, such years can therefore bear the marks of profound shifts and changes that set people on new, revelatory and even revolutionary life courses. 

Some might say that a project like Lopez’s This is Me…Now (2024) implies a somewhat uneasy relationship between her drive to manifest her personal growth on and through a public platform, and her love of a partner whose drive it is to hold sacred and protect that which is personal and intimate. It may also indicate a lack of faith in the artistic achievements and abilities that have elevated her to where she is. If 2024 proves a year of reckoning that clarifies what is truly best for Lopez and Affleck in their personal and professional endeavors, then whatever passing challenges they encounter, they may look back on this year as one of blessed fortune after all.