Living Like Your Favorite Celeb. . . Who Would You Choose?

I was mildly amused by an article in the Sunday New York Times' Style section about a 35-year-old writer/performer/artist's attempts to live according to the word of Oprah for an entire year. Through her blog, Living Oprah, Robyn Okrant chronicles her exploits as she adheres to Oprah's recommendations (on what books, shoes, etc. to buy, how to de-stress, how to adopt a cat, to eat more slowly) dispensed either by Oprah herself on her TV show or through one of the reigning queen of all media's many other outlets (magazine, web site, etc.) (Okrant, by the way, has a literary agent and hopes this effort will spawn a book deal, the Times reported.)

Okrant's endeavor got me to thinking. If I were to model my life after someone, or choose someone whose recommendations I would utilize to guide my life, who would I choose? I couldn't come up with an answer.

For example, I aspire to be as witty as the character of Lorelai Gilmore from the Gilmore Girls, but Lorelai, sadly, wasn't real. Her fast-moving, smart banter was crafted, with a great deal of thought I'm sure, by the show's creative geniuses in the writers' room. No one talks like Lorelai in real life.

I have a few pop culture critics (from Entertainment Weekly, the Boston Globe, the New York Times) whose work I follow and whose tastes oftentimes mirror my own, but I can't see myself only watching, reading or listening to only those items that they like. I'd go mad.

There are a handful of pundits/columnists who make incredibly insightful observations and connections about politics, the cultural scene that might not have crossed my mind, but there's not a single one with whom I'd cast my lot 24/7, intellectually speaking.

And seeing as though the only kinds of TV talk shows I watch are political/news talk shows, there isn't an advice guru a la Oprah whose work resonates intensely with me. But maybe that's just me being me. (I'm not saying that Okrant doesn't have her own, idiosyncratic tastes; I'm sure she doesn't agree with everything Oprah says. Is there a person on the planet who agrees with everything ANYONE says?)

That being said, if YOU had to choose, is there a person or celebrity (because a celeb is distinctly different from a down-to-earth, garden variety person) whose advice and/or recommendations you'd be willing to abide by for a year? Would you ever consider adhering to anyone's recommendations for a year?

(My mother is likely thinking it'd be great for me to act on her every recommendation for a year. Sorry Mom.)

Image credit: New York Times/Sally Ryan.