Star was founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1974. Originally an unstapled, inexpensive, supermarket tabloid printed on newsprint, Star was hugely successful.

At the beginning of 2004, Star gained new life by switching to a more traditional magazine format, with a higher grade of paper. Its page layout remains tabloid-derived, with sections including "Worst of the Week," which points out the most amusing celebrity fashion disasters of the previous week, and "Knifestyles of the Rich and Famous" section, which illustrates suspected incidences of plastic surgery with before-and-after photos.