I do not know if the concept of stardom originated in Hollywood, but I know that it is a relatively new concept. The profession of entertainer has existed since time immemorial, but in most societies entertainers were not held in particularly high esteem. Today, Hollywood "stars," who are, after all, entertainers by profession, are the most admired members of society, more than the rulers and certainly more than the intellectuals. This new attitude did not appear spontaneously; it was successfully cultivated, but by whom, and for what reason?.
I have not studied the history of the movie industry, but I can speculate based on what I do know. When the movies began, it was clear that the new form of entertainment would be very different from theater. Theatrical performances were localized and involved real people. In movies, the audiences saw not real people but images on the screen. Thus, the audiences who watched the actors perform did not experience the actors" physical presence. Conversely, the actors did not experience the physical presence of their audiences. If in the days of the theater, the audiences consisted either of people in the actors" home town or people of other towns with whom they could go for a drink after the performance, movie audiences consisted of people unknown by the actors who were everywhere and thus literally represented "the world" - they were "everybody." A "star" is someone who is recognized and admired by "everybody," and people of a certain type have this as a psychological need. The forefathers of the movie industry capitalized on this need. The promise of stardom was an advertisement for actors to come to Hollywood and participate in the developing movie industry, and it worked. On the other side, the audiences were worked over to start worshipping stars. This was not hard. The movies could be shown all over the world in a context that seemed magical - people materializing on the screen.