Starr Dawkins Wants To Be A National Hero

Entrepreneur and entertainer Starr Dawkins wants to be Jamaica’s next heroine. 

Speaking to her Instagram followers this week, the So What artist enquired about the qualifications needed to join the only seven Jamaican citizens who have been accorded ‘National Hero’, including the sole woman, Queen Nanny of the Maroons. 

“How do I become a Jamaican national hero?” she asked. “What do I gotta do? How much stuff do I gotta do in Jamaica to do that? I think that I would be cool as a national hero. That would be fire.”

Affectionately called Starr, she rose to fame in 2017 as a vibrant social media personality whose vaginal care tips were so beloved by her online community, that they encouraged her to sell her secrets through her own brand. That became the Sweet Cookie Wash feminine product, now a multi-million dollar hygiene company with a line of products based in the United States.

She’s since added recording artist to her brand, working with Jahshii on 4Life and turning heads with her own releases like Sponsor and Memba Good. 

Raised between Portmore, St. Catherine, and Florida, Starr has included philanthropy in her story, giving away 250 tablets across Portmore and Kingston in 2021, an initiative which costed more than US$1,100 per a receipt shared to social media.

“I feel proud of myself,” Starr said. “I just feel like coming from Jamaica, coming to America, a lot of stuff wasn’t easy. They woulda tell you, ‘Oh, go to college. Do this’. I didn’t become a doctor or a lawyer or do whatever. I utilised the internet, I utilised hard work. I touched a million in my 20s, like, that’s crazy. I would love to be a national hero, and I give back all the time.”

Her probe continued, “How do I do it? Do I gotta fix a lot of roads? But you know what’s more important to me than fixing roads? Helping the kids.”

Which is exactly what she’ll be doing next Wednesday through Friday at Di Lot in Constant Spring, Kingston, through giveaways for children at her pop-up shop. 

The Order of National Hero is conferred upon a Jamaican citizen whose service to the country is of “a most distinguished nature”. It is the most senior Order in the list of honours and awards,  typically presented by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. 

While there have been public cries for figures like reggae legend Bob Marley and sprint icon Usain Bolt to be accorded the Order of National Hero, nominations can only be made by a specially selected committee of Parliament.

According to the National Honours and Awards Act (1969), this committee makes investigations to determine those, living or dead, whom the honour of National Hero may be conferred, results of which are reported to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister then advises the Governor-General, who in turn confers the Honour.