While early American filmmakers refused to reveal the names of their players, fearing the actors would request more money, German filmgoers created celebrities.
The first celebrity actress was Henny Porten, who first appeared in the movie Lohengrin (1907), directed by Oskar Messter.
She was known only as the Messter Girl until 1909, when she played the romantic lead in Das Liebesgliick der Blinden (The Love of the Blind Girl) to such fanfare that Messter was requested to reveal her name to the public. Soon thereafter, Porten asked for a raise.