There are a lot of different ways that you can try and see celebrities in LA. I like to find events that I can go to where I can see some of my favorite stars without having to bother them when they are enjoying some time off. The trick in seeing celebrities in LA is knowing where to find them. Sure you can drive up and down Hollywood Boulevard and hope that you might see a celebrity but the chances of that happening are very low. In this post, I will be sharing my top five ideas for how to meet celebrities in Los Angeles.
This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on a link and buy something, I will earn a small commission from the advertiser at no additional cost to you.
TV Show Tapings
The Los Angeles area is home to a lot of different movie studios where some of your favorite television shows tape. You can get free tickets to the shows that use a live studio audience. This includes shows like the Fuller House, The Big Bang Theory, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Dancing With the Stars. You will see actors and actresses and might even get the chance to meet them.
Some celebrities that I have seen at TV Show Tapings include Drew Barrymore & Colin Farrell (The Ellen DeGeneres Show), John Stamos & Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House), the entire cast of season 18 of Dancing With the Stars, and Daniel Radcliffe on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
While there is never a guarantee that you will get to meet the celebrities you do have a good chance when you attend sitcom tapings. It is extremely rare to get to meet the celebrities on talk shows because of the setup but tapings for sitcom shows are a different situation. Sometimes the actors may not approach the fans in the viewing area due to time-related issues or other circumstances but a lot of fans luck out in these situations. You do get to see the actors whether or not you get to meet them and that in and of itself is pretty cool.
I did get to hug Andrea Barber at the most recent Fuller House taping that I attended. The three main girls all took a group photo with everyone waiting to get into the taping.
Be warned that most of the tv show tapings will have long lines that you need to wait in. In some cases, you could be waiting for hours. Also, a lot of the shows give out more tickets than the number of available seats to try and make sure there is a full house so in some cases fans get turned away. I love TV show tapings because it gives me an opportunity to see some of my favorite celebrities and the chance to see an episode of a show before it airs.
Book Signings
Because Los Angeles is home to many celebrities there are a lot of opportunities to meet celebrities at book signings. Actors and actresses as well as athletes and singers write books and have book signings to promote their new releases. This is a great way for fans to meet celebrities because you get the chance to talk with them, you can get an autographed book and in some cases, you can get a picture with them.
So far through attending book signings, I have met Mario Lopez, Neil Patrick Harris, and Candace Cameron Bure. I have met those three celebrities at book signings held at Barnes and Noble locations throughout the LA area like The Grove or Americana at Brand.
I have always loved to read and I love getting the chance to meet some of my favorite celebrities in an atmosphere where I can have a moment to spend some time with them. The book signings do not take place daily but there is typically at least one signing per month and sometimes multiple signings. It just depends on when the books are released and the availability of the authors. A great way to find out about the book signings is to follow Barnes and Noble at The Grove on social media since the majority of the signings take place there.
Movie Premieres
A great way to see & sometimes meet celebrities is on the red carpet for movie premieres. This last month I have been able to attend four red carpet premieres thanks to links I have shared in my private Facebook group. You can find out how to join that here.
Some red carpets do not even have a fan viewing area and the ones that do have a fan area can cause you to wait for hours in order to get a front-row spot in order to be close enough to try and get pictures and autographs. Movie premieres are held in various locations in the LA area like the TCL Chinese Theatre, the Microsoft Theatre, and the El Capitan theatre just to name a few. I always share tickets to movie premieres in my private Facebook group.
Movie Screenings with Q&A’s
Various movie theatres in the Los Angeles area will host screenings of old & new movies. In some cases, select members of the cast and crew come to do a q&a after the movie. This is a great way to see some of your favorite stars and hear what they have to say about working on that movie. Plus you could potentially get to meet them. Some of the celebrities that I have seen at movie screenings include Ryan Gosling (The Lost River), Jennifer Aniston (Cake), Amy Adams (Big Eyes), and Oprah (Selma). I have also seen stars from reunion movie screenings like Lacey Chabert (Gretchen Wieners) at the Mean Girls 10th Anniversary screening at the New Beverly Cinema.
This is another great way to see celebrities without invading their personal life. These events are great because they typically provide behind-the-scenes information and are normally open to questions from the audience. There is rarely an extra charge for these events so it is a great bonus to your movie experience. The movie screenings that I have attended have ranged from free to $18 and in most cases sell out so it is advised to purchase your tickets as soon as possible.
Award Shows
LA is home to a lot of different awards shows like the Oscars, the Emmy’s, the Golden Globes and the Grammy’s just to name a few. While it is very rare that you will get to meet celebrities if you attend the event or even go to the red carpet you can still see them if you can get access to the event. In 2019 I was a seat filler at the Emmy’s which was an incredible experience! You can read more about award shows than fans can attend here.
However, for shows like the VMAs (Video Music Awards), the People’s Choice Awards, and the TV Land Awards fans can get free tickets to attend. Or for shows like the Radio Disney Music Awards or the Teen Choice Awards, fans can purchase tickets to attend.
In 2013 I was very blessed to get to be in the bleachers on the red carpet at the Oscars. This is a free experience that you can win by entering a lottery through the Oscars website in the late fall. It was an incredible experience for me and even though I did not get to meet any celebrities I got to see every single one that walked the red carpet.
In 2014 I served as a seat filler at the People’s Choice Award which is open to fans through a company called Gotham casting. I saw celebrities like Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Ellen DeGeneres at the show. This past year I got free tickets to attend the TV Land Awards show through a website called 1iota. I saw celebrities like Jason Segel and Betty White.
My last tips for how to meet celebrities in Los Angeles. Whether you live in the Los Angeles area or are visiting from out of town chances are there is some kind of an event happening where you can have the opportunity to see and potentially even meet some of your favorite celebrities. Always have your camera or camera phone fully charged before going to any type of event and if you are looking for autographs make sure to have a sharpie and something for them to sign.
As a bonus, you can check out my post on 5 Budget-Friendly Places Where Celebrities Eat in LA.
