cultural icons
Society's defining figures
Cultural icons are people, objects, images, or symbols that become widely recognized as representing a particular culture, era, or set of values.
The Eiffel Tower is a cultural icon of France; Marilyn Monroe is a cultural icon of 1950s American glamour.
Icons achieve this status through persistent visibility and the meanings people attach to them: Elvis became a cultural icon long before his death.
The term can apply to anything from historical figures to brand logos to fictional characters.
- iconsRepresentative small images
- cultural landmarkSignificant site representing shared heritage
- public figuresProminent societal personalities
- trendsettersThose who initiate popular styles
- Eiffel TowerIron lattice monument, Paris
Mahatma Gandhi · Frida Kahlo · celebrity · household name · global recognition · Audrey Hepburn · historical figures · tastemakers · Martin Luther King Jr. · Albert Einstein · timeless · Nelson Mandela · David Bowie · Muhammad Ali · memorabilia · Che Guevara · legends · larger than life
- Americanspresidents, senators, governors, generals, authors
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- Mexican IconsFrida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Salma Hayek, Guillermo del Toro, filmmakers
- Ontario Notables
- notable womenRosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Florence Nightingale, Susan B. Anthony
- world biographiesroyal biographies, sports biographies, world leaders, historical figures
cultural iconsunknowns
Undetermined quantities
nobodies · ordinary citizens · everyday people · faceless crowd · unsung heroes
cultural iconsflash in the pan
Short-lived success
trivialities · one-hit wonders · nobodies · has-beens · yesterday's news