I agree that these people should be lauded for their achievements, but nowadays fame comes at the expense of 24h/day scrutiny of everything they ever done or did or said, which just fuels the fire of all those Cardinal Richelieus who are hell-bent on persecuting what they perceive as threats and reactionaries. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

Yep, scientists at this level are far too busy and obsessed with their work to have any interest in celebrity. I‘m sure there are a few exceptions, but I suspect they would rather be left in “peace“. They already have enough undergrads and unemployed post docs bothering them without the public‘s attention!