@Christopher
No offense taken. I think people are over reacting to something I said which was rather matter-of-fact, and not intended to be more than what it was. I'm not trying to put her down, or discredit her in any way. She is a fricking good cardist, and I'm sure she's a damn good magician- though admittedly I've never actually seen her do magic. She has every right to count herself among the professionals.
My statement was questioning what qualifies someone as "famous". I for one hate using the "f" word because unless you're a rock star (I use that term subjectively) then your fame could be considered relative. Take our own Chris Kenner for example. Brace yourselves fan boys because what I'm about to say could be considered blasphemy but I select Chris to outline this example because his is a name we all know and respect here. Mr. Kenner who is an amazing talent, outstanding performer, a creative powerhouse, and right hand to one of the most successful names in magic since Houdini is a virtual unknown to anyone outside of our fraternity. Is Chris famous? Well to us magicians- yes. But unless we had his promotional material in front of us (we and us referring to the general populous who may be attending his show) we may not recognize his name. However his boss (Copperfield) we would.
So seeing as fame is a fairly relative subject, about as much so as "normal", or "popular" to which one can argue to what standard? I'm going to draw stark comparisons to things I recognize from my own experience. I consider, for myself, the definition of "fame" to be when the general populous of the community that exist inside or outside of the specified industry (American, European, etc) know and recognize the individual for the body of their work. Some examples that you could use for this is just about any A list celebrity like Tom Hanks, John Wayne, Jane Fonda or musical rock stars like KISS, John Bon Jovi, Jimmy Hendrix, etc.
Since magic is, and always has been, a novelty act it is substantially harder for us to excel into true fame that extends beyond our immediate area of influence. There have been wonderful magicians though who have managed to do it. Names like Blackstone, Houdini, Criss Angel, Copperfield, Penn & Teller, and in the Asian markets Cyril are just a few shining examples. So going back to my original statement Ekatatrina I'm not sure I would categorize in the same caliber as some of the other names that she was listed with. Penn, Teller, and Cryil being three of them. I'm not saying she's bad mind you. I'm just saying she's not playing the game on their level. ...Yet.
Now allow me to turn the table, as it were, if you don't mind. And of course Christopher you know I mean no insult. I respect you for your contributions here, and your insight. Going back to Ekatatrina you remark that her fame is justified because she's done, and please let me quote you here, "Seeing as she's done many paid live performances, has a video out, done several TV spots, and is a frequent contributor to several online forums." Well to be fair I could say the same for myself. I've done thousands of live shows, many of which were paid (including national tours), I've got an e-book out, I've done a few TV spots, and I try to contribute to a few online forums when and were I can. However I wouldn't begin to consider myself famous. I may be known in some circles but I would NEVER put my name anywhere close to Penn, Teller, or even Sankey for that matter.
Now having said all that are there other names in that group I could extend the same sentiments about? Sure I could have, I just used her name because it's what I typed out. Barry, Stewart, and Sankey being three good examples. Two of the three I've never heard of before this post, and I'm not exactly living under a rock; and the other (Sankey) again very talented very popular (to us magicians) but not in the same grouping as Penn, Teller and others.
So are we trying to compile a list of proper famous magicians? I don't know. Are we? The OP didn't really set specifications as to what she considered to be "famous", and I believe that by now the two posts that has challenged my opinion on the subject plus yours that baits clarification in my defense only serves to over analyze an otherwise innocent and fun subject.
So I think we should just use this thread as an opportunity to continue listing magicians who have twitter accounts, and leave my rambling thoughts as a side note there in. I don't want to derail this thread and send it headlong into a debate of credentials for XYZ magician.