The word “selfie” dates back to 2002 as a term adopted by millennials to describe the act of taking photos of oneself. Yet, the idea behind capturing self-portraits has had a lasting staying power in generations prior to the dawn of the social media age. So in honor of National Selfie Day, below are some of our favorite influential selfies from the Oscars selfie that is the epitome of celebrity fun to the first recorded “selfie” in 1839.
If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014
No one can forget the infamous Oscars selfie. Just look at the collective star power in this one selfie alone: Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’O, Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, the event’s host Ellen Degeneres, Bradley Cooper, and Peter Nyong’O. The selfie was included as part of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Photographs Ever Taken series, and was heralded as a “moment made for the celebrity-saturated Internet age.” The selfie, posted on Ellen’s Twitter page, continues to be the most retweeted tweet on the platform to date.
In the dark ages, before social media was even a thing, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, took the first space selfie in 1966. Aldrin commanded the Gemini 12 spaceflight, and solidified the tradition of capturing of a space selfie to mark successful space missions for astronauts to come.
This selfie of former Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning Schmidt, with former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and then President of the United States, Barack Obama, made headlines for a number of reasons. The first being that three world powers came together to take a selfie, arguably making it the most famous political selfie to date, and the first selfie ever taken by Thorning Schmidt. The second being the event that the selfie was taken at, which was the memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela. And the third, Michelle Obama’s face. In photos taken following the capturing of the selfie, Michelle goes on to check Barack, who sits quietly for the remainder of the proceedings.
When you think of the selfie, you may inevitably think of the reality star Kim Kardashian. And it’s difficult not to! The star has cemented her fame in history with selfies that routinely “break the Internet.” These photos feature glimpses into her glamorous life, show off her looks, and are sometimes her way of making a statement. She is both popular and notorious for these pictures, to the point that she published a book titled Selfish, which comprises of selfies. It was difficult to pick one of Kim Kardashian’s quintessential selfies for this list because there are literally so many. But it feels appropriate to show the societal impact of her selfie influence with Madame Tussad’s wax likeness of her taking a selfie. Kim Kardashian may not have created the selfie, but she is certainly synonymous with it.
The first photo that running candidate, Joe Biden, ever posted on the Vice President official Instagram account was none other than a selfie with President Obama. The selfie solidified the bromance that would extend the length of Obama’s 8 year presidency and be the obsession of many in the social media world.
The most liked selfie on Instagram to date is this selfie between Selena Gomez and then boyfriend, Abel Tesafaye, known to most as “The Weeknd.” The selfie garnered 8.2 million likes and 206,000 comments. This makes sense, considering Gomez has the most followers on the platform, second only to that of Instagram itself.
PIC BY A WILD MONKEY / DAVID SLATER / CATERS NEWS – (PICTURED: One of the photos that the monkey took with Davids camera. 1 of 2: This photo was the original photo the monkey took) – The photographer behind the famous monkey selfie picture is threatening to take legal action against Wikimedia after they refused to remove his picture because ‘the monkey took it’. David Slater, from Coleford, Gloucestershire, was taking photos of macaques on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in 2011 when the animals began to investigate his equipment. A black crested macaque appeared to be checking out its appearance in the lens and it wasn’t long before it hijacked the camera and began snapping away. SEE CATERS COPY.
Selfies are not unique to just humans. This photo went viral after a celebes crested macaque took nature photographer David Slater’s camera to capture a selfie in 2008.
Inventors of the #selfie at it again. #ThelmaAndLouise pic.twitter.com/1yvbF8j4fF
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) June 19, 2014
It was during the movie Thelma And Louise that the first modern interpretation of the selfie was born, according to the actress that co-starred in the film Susan Sarandon. These pioneer characters used a polaroid camera to capture themselves before embarking on the adventure that makes up the plot of the movie. The best part? Susan Sarandon, who portrayed Louise in the film, and Geena Davis, who was Thelma, reunited to take an updated selfie, which is seen above.
For all you history buffs, this may be the first recorded “selfie.” Robert Cornelius took this self-portrait in 1839, 150 years before the age of Instagram.
Selfies aren’t just for Instagram feeds; they also hold a place in political protests. Zakia Belkhiri, a Muslim woman from Belgium, took a selfie in front of protesters waving signs reading “no headscarves,” “no mosques,” and “stop Islam,” in protest of the Muslim Expo celebrating Muslim culture. For Belkhiri, the selfie is an emblem of defiance and the act of taking a selfie has been increasingly used as a tool by activists.
By: Rachel Ladeby