Celebrity in the GTA IV Era

The Wave of Celebrity in the Grand Theft Auto IV Era is the term used to describe the sudden influx of celebrity and gossip media in the fictional Grand Theft Auto World

Pop and Tabloid Culture

GTA IV's media is sprinkled with references to its own fictional pop culture universe, which parodies the 2000s-era wave of reality television and "famous for being famous" celebrities. Many of the celebrities have turbulent friendships or loose associations with each other, much like their real life counterparts; For example, Brody Jenner and Kim Kardashian are half-siblings, and many other celebrities are socially linked together via New York's Covenant of the Sacred Heart Catholic school.

Heirs and Heiresses:

Cloe Parker: World-famous heiress to a near-trillion-dollar "produce import" fortune. At age 24, she has already been engaged twice, has an illegitimate baby as well as serious problems with alcohol and cocaine. She is engaged to Tyler Dixon, a petty criminal and backup dancer. She is best friends with Jill Von Crastenburg. Elements of her character are drawn from Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Britney Spears (marriage history).
Jill Von Crastenburg: Heiress to an investment banking dynasty that owns half of The Exchange. She is supposedly only 13, but already has a sex tape, cocaine habit and broke off a pedophilic relationship with 27-year-old baseball player Ernesto Asaltacunas. She is best friends with Cloe Parker. She is partially inspired by Nicole Richie, the Olsen twins and Miley Cyrus among others.
January Natasha Vasquez and Alfonso Vasquez Jr.: Children of alleged drug lord Alfonso Vasquez. January is a famous 22-year-old reality TV personality, famous for how incredibly stupid she is. Alfonso Jr. is somewhat less well-known, but is famous for daredevil behavior and frequenting nightclubs with his sister. He is also suspected by some to be gay. They are somewhat based on Kim and Rob Kardashian.
Tyler Dixon: Cloe Parker's fiance, a petty criminal and backup dancer. He is from a poor background of family violence, incest and drug abuse. He is a parody of Kevin Federline.
Kayla Paulo: 21 year old heiress to a Las Venturas casino fortune and star of her own reality show, described as extremely demanding and white trash. She was childhood friends with Jill Von Crastenburg. She is partially based on Kim Kardashian, while her father is a parody of Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson.
Lyle Cleethorpes V: 31 year old heir to a two century fortune, built on the slave trade and a monopoly of Liberty City real estate. He is a daredevil with a meth addiction, but is surprisingly skilled in business. He continues with real estate development and rumors exist that he still owns illegal Asian sweatshops. He is a parody of Josh Astor and David Mayer de Rothschild, with a few references to Donald and Ivanka Trump.

Self-Made:

Kerry McIntosh: A 23-year-old supermodel who is currently having the most reported-on breakdown in the country. In an emotional breakdown, she once ran naked down a highway. She has alcohol and cocaine problems that she went to rehab for, only to check out and crash her car into a fast-food restaurant while heavily intoxicated. She later chased a paparazzi away from her bathroom window with a kitchen knife. She is somewhat based on Kate Moss and Britney Spears (her breakdown).
Samantha Muldoon: A 26 year old pop singer with a penchant for adopting babies from third-world countries, having accumulated 13 or 14 of them by 2008. She was married to hedge fund manager Kirk Simplex for only 20 minutes, and once switched religions 3 times in 1 week. She is inspired by Angelina Jolie, Madonna and Britney Spears (her 3-day marriage).
Tony McTony: The creator of several social networking websites, a 29 year old black male. He is very short, which gives him inadequacy issues and causes him to be an over-compensating egomaniac. He has a concumbine-like flock of "spokeswhores" as well as 7 sons, and has a history of domestic violence. He is a more unique blend of Mark Zuckerburg, Sean "Diddy" Combs and other internet moguls, rap stars and athletes.
Ernesto Asaltacunas: A 27 year old Cuban baseball player at the center of a steroid scandal, parodying Jose Canseco. He also (illegally) had a relationship with Jill Von Crastenburg.
Poppy Mitchell: A beloved child/young adult actress famous for romantic comedies. She and her manager are struggling to keep her extremely active sex life under wraps. She once had casual sex with nightclub bouncer Luis Lopez (protagonist of TBoGT). She is a parody of Lindsey Lohan.
Clay "Pain Giver" Jackson: An aggressive and misogynistic gangster rapper, with a homosexual secret life that's quickly becoming exposed. Accusations of homosexuality are frequently thrown between rappers, but none have ever advanced to any serious scandal. Clay's persona seems to be based on Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, possibly because enemies of his were involved with the game's soundtrack.
Bruce Spade: Currently the biggest movie star in the country, who has an almost pompous concern for social issues like global warming and poverty. He is a parody of Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt among others, also named after Bruce Willis and David Spade.
Diva Starr: The best-selling singer of the decade, a 34 year old black female. She is notorious for her extreme ego, heavy verbal abuse of low-level workers, and lavish spending habits. She is called the most hated celebrity in America by Fizz!. She is a parody of Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Beyonce Knowles, Mariah Carey and others.

Carried over from GTA III Era:

Jack Howitzer: Once the biggest action star of the 1980s, he went to prison for shooting talk show host Billy Dexter and most of his show's crew in 1992. He had gone mentally insane and believed his movies were real. He is released from prison on parole in 2008, after serving 15 years, and is set to have his own reality show.
Love Fist: A typical 1980s hair metal band from Scotland, featuring lead singer Jezz Torrent. They've broken up and reunited at least once, and Jezz later got off drugs and converted to the Epsilon Cult. They perform at the Superstar Cafe in GTA IV, but cannot be viewed.
Madd Dogg and OG Loc: Madd Dogg, a famous ganster rapper since the late 80s, and OG Loc, a one-hit wonder in 1992, are rival rappers in GTA San Andreas who are depicted in easter eggs.
Lazlow: The famous lead DJ of V-Rock between 1986 and 1989, but lost most of his recognition since (according to pedestrians he talks to). He went on to be a talk show host of several shows between 1992 and 2001, until he lost his job in a bribery scandal. He returns to GTA IV with Integrity 2.0, a talk station that gets very little recognition with the in-game masses. Lazlow is a real-life talk show host and writer for the Grand Theft Auto series, voicing himself.

Politicians

The political atmosphere of the game has a very strong sense of post-9/11 hysteria. Surprisingly, there are no references or parodies whatsoever to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, which was arguably the largest media frenzy of 2008.

Joe Lawton: US president who created the Jingoism Act to combat terrorism, supposedly at the cost of some constitutional rights to privacy. His father was once president as well. Surprisingly little else is mentioned about him. He is a parody of George W. Bush.
Michael Graves: Right-wing candidate for Liberty State Governor. He is accused by John Hunter of pedophilia with his employees' children, and using $400,000 in campaign funds to buy a home in the Philippines where he also molests little boys.
John Hunter: Left-wing candidate for Liberty State Governor. He was once an actor, and is criticized by Graves for cutting funding to schools and trying to police the internet, also mocking him as a "fat, bald prick" and saying "that comb-over's not fooling anyone".
Thomas Stubbs III: A Liberty State House Representative, who comes from a wealthy yet turbulent Kennedy-like family of investment bankers. He is a major character in The Lost and Damned, where it's revealed that he cheats on his wife, ordered people killed including his own uncle, and successfully keeps it all under wraps.
Julio Ochoa: Mayor of Liberty City who favors lowering crime with gun control, which has not been effective. He secretly protects aging mob boss Jon Gravelli, in a combined effort to bring down crime from immigrated crime rings.
Bryce Dawkins: Deputy Mayor of Liberty City, a far-right winger who is hypocritically secretly gay and spends city funds on gifts for his boyfriend Bernie Crane. He does not appear in any game, but plays a notable role in GTA IV's plot.