These days, stars are literally doing it all. Just having a hit movie or a best-selling CD is no longer enough to keep a celebrity on top; it’s all about brand-building and catapulting yourself into a one-person corporate empire. Interestingly, today's female celebs are blazing trails by transforming themselves into one-person corporate empires.

When you cross our celebrity-obsessed society with a consumer-driven economy, you get a powerful formula for lucrative one-woman global enterprises that indulge our senses and rake in hundreds of millions of dollars for the proprietor. So which divas topped SingleMindedWomen.com's list of trailblazing celebrity entrepreneurs? Let’s take a look.

Britney Spears

 

Oh snap! Britney's a hot mess, y'all. With recent hospital confinements and an ugly custody battle making daily headlines, the troubled superstar is having some tough times. Oddly, Brit's increasingly erratic behavior hasn't made a dent in her hugely successful brand; if anything, her notoriety has only escalated her worldwide celebrity status. Case in point: Britney Spears was the No. 1 search on Yahoo for six of the past seven years.

In addition to having sold over 77 million records globally, Britney has four lucrative perfume lines that are flying off department store shelves, and she pulls in fistfuls of cash (up to $400,000 a pop!) just to show up at trendy nightclubs in L.A., New York and Las Vegas.

Interestingly, Britney's impact on the flailing U.S. economy has been off the charts. She generates $110 million to $120 million annually for the American economy, according to Portfolio magazine. Here's the kicker: Britney isn't even actively working on any projects right now, yet she still rakes in $9 million a year from her various business interests and has a personal fortune of $125 million.

And don’t forget that her every move subsidizes the lives of the paparazzi, editors and reporters who make their livings working for celebrity tabloids and tv shows (talk about giving new meaning to the term "parasite"). Between January 2006 and July 2007, Britney was on the covers of Us Weekly, OK!, People, In Touch, Life & Style and Star a combined total of 175 times.

So even when she’s being hauled off to a hospital in a stretcher, 26-year-old Britney is making serious bank. So while some can sneer at her assorted personal problems, Britney is an undeniable money-making machine—and not just for herself but for other individuals and whole industries. Not bad for a little girl from the backwoods of Kentwood, La., eh?

Oprah Winfrey

 

Earth to everyone: Oprah really is God. This self-made billionaire owns her own wildly popular talk show, has donated $50 million to open an academy for girls in South Africa, has a successful self-named magazine and radio shows, and now, Oprah is set to launch her own TV network called (what else?) Oprah Winfrey Network. And don't forget her brand-new venture, a spectacular 5,500-square-foot shop called the Oprah Store in Chicago, where she peddles goods emblazoned with her trademark logo. Is there anything she can’t do??

 

Interestingly, Oprah, 54, has defied practically every rule for business success while exponentially expanding her global empire every year. Think about it: Oprah is a super-rich, single, childless black woman whose main audience comprises middle-class, married white women with kids.

Despite being a tireless business mogul, stay-at-home moms everywhere hang on Oprah’s every word, faithfully read every book she recommends and buys every product she touts.

 

The influence that Oprah has is so incredible that she completely transcends race and any other demographic categorization or limitation. When you tune into her show, you can’t help but be mesmerized by Oprah’s universal appeal as a friend, a sister, a mom and role model. And that, to me, is what makes hers such an inspirational success story. That—and her fabulous collection of designer shoes.

Jennifer Lopez

 

Don’t be fooled by the rocks that she's got, JLo proclaims in her hit single “Jenny from the Block.” This Bronx-born superstar has single-handedly redefined women’s body images and launched new enterprises for surgical butt implants, padded jeans and clothing styles showcasing the female derriere.

 

Before JLo hit the scene with her fabulous behind years ago, the fashion industry—nay, most people—didn’t really give much thought to the female posterior as a fashion asset. Now, personal trainers tout special exercises to pump up and firm our butts and designers focus on how their clothing spotlights this key area of our physiques.

In addition to this backward-is-forward revolution, Lopez, 38, has her own highly successful clothing line, several lucrative perfumes and a busy film career both acting in and producing her own movies. When you couple that with her jewelry line, hefty CD sales and her own restaurant, it’s clear that this Latina stunner is unstoppable.

 

Martha Stewart

 

Speaking of unstoppable, this 66-year-old one-woman conglomerate is an ex-con, people, and still plows ahead! With a string of best-selling cookbooks, home furnishings, dishware and her own TV show and multi-media company (complete with her own magazine, natch!), Stewart’s appeal to both consumers and corporate partners is endless.

She even has her own flower delivery service, called (what else?) MarthaStewartFlowers.com! And don’t forget that Martha—her eponymous company, that is—trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Now that’s off the charts.

 

Heidi Klum

 

Don’t hate her because she’s beautiful. This German-born supermodel proves that you can juggle a beautiful family, a hugely successful modeling career and a hit TV show, all while looking über-glamorous in skimpy lingerie.

At a time when most models are long retired, this 35-year-old leggy blonde continues to headline the iconic Victoria’s Secret fashion shows and hosts Project Runway, Bravo's hit reality TV show.

In addition, Klum is currently developing her own line of jewelry, shoes, perfume and sunglasses. Who knows what’s next on her entrepreneurial hit-list, but you can be sure it’ll be a runaway success.