Anyone who has glanced at a bestseller list lately can tell you that we are in the midst of (yet another?) celebrity memoir boom. From Megan Rapinoe to Jessica Simpson, it seems like just about everyone is spilling their secrets via book deal, meaning ’tis the season for pages upon pages of Hollywood gossip, rock-and-roll road drama, and the darker sides of show business.
At their best, celebrity memoirs provide unusually candid portraits of the “real person” behind the public persona—and don’t skimp on the dirty details. At worst, they can be ghostwritten fluff.
Ahead, Vogue rounds up the best of the genre for your reading (and holiday gifting) purposes.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
“This bestselling memoir is hardly lighthearted fare, revolving as it does around child star McCurdy’s years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her fame-obsessed mother, but the rush to purchase it was no empty fanfare; it really is that good.” —Emma Specter, Vogue culture writer
Finding Me by Viola Davis
“A Rhode Island childhood marked by trauma and abuse gives way to an adulthood in the spotlight as one of the most recognizable actresses in Hollywood, and Davis relays the topsy-turviness of her life’s circumstances with a compelling mix of emotional honesty and grace.” —E.S.
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
“Not to stereotype straight white men over 30, but all the ones I know happen to love Dave Grohl, making this memoir—which focuses on the Nirvana and Foo Fighter musician’s years on the road—an absolutely smashing birthday or holiday gift when another coffee mug just won’t do.” —E.S.
The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
“The Office stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey may have been rivals on the show, but in real life, their sweet and silly bestie-dom is contagious, making this recollection of working on one of history’s most popular sitcoms a genuine pleasure to read.” —E.S.
The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown
“Perhaps more of a memoir of brushes with celebrity than actual celebrity memoir, Tina Brown’s Vanity Fair Diaries is nonetheless a phenomenal read, for the journalism nerd or anyone else who is interested in the inner workings of glossy magazine-making in its heyday. The book recounts the British editor’s years as the editor in chief of the storied magazine, the feathers she unapologetically ruffled in pursuit of a more lively publication (the rates she paid Martin Amis for a single story would make a 2020s editor swoon!), the glamor of the gig, the grind of being a working mother. Brown kept meticulous notes when she occupied this role, and it shows; this is a book in which the delicious dirt is in the details.” —Chloe Schama, Vogue senior editor
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
“Whether you’re a fan of food, legacy media gossip, or writer Ruth Reichl herself, you’ll find plenty to dine out on in this account of Reichl’s time serving as the editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. Reichl freely admits that the glamorous world of New York publishing was a new one to her at the start of her Gourmet tenure, but I think it’s safe to say we could use a little more of her independence, irreverence and commitment to genuine creativity in the industry. (Bonus: her descriptions of meals are effortlessly mouth-watering, so make sure to eat with a delicious snack at the ready.)” —E.S.
Open Book by Jessica Simpson
“I went into Open Book expecting a light, fun read from one of my favorite reality stars (remember Newlyweds?) of all time—instead, I was blown away by an honest, funny, and touching memoir, which is so rarely the case with celebrity ‘tell-alls.’ Simpson candidly discusses her recovery journey after years of struggling with drugs and alcohol abuse; she also examines the darker side of her early-fame days as a singer, when she was constantly—and at times, brutally—compared to her counterparts like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera. It was my favorite book of 2020, and I recommend it to any pop culture fan, Simpson fans or not.” —Christian Allaire, Vogue.com fashion and style writer
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
“Mindy Kaling holds a rarefied position in Hollywood these days, but the writer, actress and director’s bestselling 2011 memoir proves that her ascent to the top wasn’t always an easy one. In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Kaling recounts her growth from the shy, bookish child of immigrants to off-Broadway sensation to the youngest writer on the staff of the hit NBC sitcom The Office; what’s most notable about the memoir, though, is the way Kaling’s singular voice shines through, lending even the wildest of L.A. tales a crucial degree of relatability.” —E.S.
Open by Andre Agassi
“We’ve all read (or carefully avoided) the triumphal sports-star memoir: The thousands of solitary hours spent in pursuit of excellence while stoically avoiding everything else, leading up to that magical breakthrough when everything was deemed to be Worth It. This isn’t that memoir: Agassi, arguably the best player of his generation and certainly the flashiest and most-visible, is remarkably frank here about how much he seemed to loathe the entire experience, which was foisted on him by a kind of ur-Tennis Dad. Thankfully, we also get the other side of that: A late- career resurgence, followed by a blissful second marriage and a philanthropic turn that’s both heartfelt and, for the underprivileged children it focuses on, life-changing. For the king of neon and acid-washed jeans who became even more famous for saying ‘image is everything,’ this book is a tragic opera with a happy ending.” —Corey Seymour, Vogue senior editor
One Life by Megan Rapinoe
“Olympic medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe shows a whole new side of herself in this memoir, in which she recounts coming out as gay in 2011—well before ‘inclusivity in sports’ was widely discussed, let alone prioritized—as well as her experience of taking a knee alongside former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to protest racial injustice and police brutality. For those who prefer their celebrity memoirs with a side of romance, Rapinoe also dishes on her courtship with now-wife, WNBA champion Sue Bird.” —E.S.
Life by Keith Richards
“You might not think of Keith Richards as an elegant truth-teller, but his Life is a bracing tonic—straightforward but exciting, glamorous but heartfelt. I’m not a regular rock memoir reader, but this is a book that transcends whatever you might think the genre entails. Just go along with the music and don’t think too hard about it.” —Chloe Schama
Becoming by Michelle Obama
“For months after reading this, I had to stop myself from thinking of Michelle as my friend. After spending a week (or, let’s be honest, an entire weekend under a blanket) reading a celebrity’s memoir, you feel as though you’ve spent time with them. It makes them more accessible and reminds you that at the end of the day, everyone is still human. I’m coming to grips with the fact that Michelle Obama is not actually my friend Michelle, but Becoming is still one of the best books I’ve read.” —Grace Atwood, founder of TheStripe.com
Bossypants by Tina Fey
“If you haven’t read Fey’s 2011 memoir yet, you’re sleeping at the wheel. It follows her journey to stardom and is filled with amazing behind-the-scenes stories from her time on Saturday Night Live. Candid, self-deprecating, funny (duh): the perfect before-bed read.” —C.A.
This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps
“A pitch-perfect example of the genre, Philipps serves up a funny and unflinching look at being a woman in Hollywood. She dives into her days as a Barbie spokes-kid and, bravely, her abortion as a teen, before moving on to her best friendship with Michelle Williams, details of James Franco’s douchey-ness on Freaks and Geeks, and struggles in her marriage. The best celebrity memoirs are as unsparingly honest as Philipps’ is.” —Michelle Ruiz, Vogue.com contributing editor
Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
“The world rightfully knows Obama as a brilliant orator. But even before he was president (or even state senator), he wrote the hell out of this 1995 memoir (later re-released to great fanfare) about his upbringing in Hawaii and Kansas; his solitary, scholarly Columbia years; and his distant relationship with his dad. Now I spend my days waiting for his presidential memoir-in-the-works.” —M.R.
Just the Funny Parts by Nell Scovell
“The second female Letterman writer and creator of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Scovell brings all the humor of Bossypants but with the added bite of coming up in the mighty sexist man’s world of TV. Scovell names names and calls it like she sees it.” —M.R.
Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang
“This memoir by the celebrity chef behind New York’s Baohaus inspired the ABC show of the same name—but the book version is far less fuzzy. Huang gives an unapologetically real look at his upbringing in a hardworking and often strict Chinese-American family. And his sumptuous descriptions of food make you really, really hungry.” —M.R.
You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again by Julia Phillips
“Not sure she’s a straight-up A-list celeb, but Phillips made the A-list celebs. The Hollywood producer’s story is so full of wild pleasures and OMG moments that it’s easy to overlook the sheer brilliance that’s on offer.” —Lauren Mechling, Vogue contributor and author of How Could She
I.M. by Isaac Mizrahi
“Mizrahi is well-known as a man of many talents, so adding ‘writer’ to the list isn’t a stretch. Still, the quality of his memoir, I.M., is notable. He talks schmattas and sex with typical sass, but what makes this book memorable is that Mizrahi’s coming-of-age and coming-to-terms tale is bigger than fashion. —Laird Borelli-Persson, Vogue archive editor
The Beautiful Ones by Prince
“The musical genius and creativity of Prince were cut short all too soon, but I’ve enjoyed celebrating his life by reading the memoir he began before his death. Part one takes us through his childhood into his storied career in his own words, and the rest of the book is a biography framed by editor Dan Piepenbring, who collaborated with Prince in his final months. The result is an incredible tribute to an icon.” —Abbe Wright, creative development lead at Penguin Random House
Dear Mr. You by Mary Louise Parker
“Parker’s 2015 memoir has really stayed with me. Written as a series of letters to men she’s encountered, imagined, or loved, it’s a formal experiment, a wonderful portrait of an established artist claiming new territory. She’s not really in the tell-all business, but what she’s written reveals plenty.” —Julia Felsenthal, Vogue contributor
Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
“Ellen pokes fun at everything about her life and finds the funny in everyday moments. It’s like talking to a good friend over coffee…who has a really wild, hilarious, and moving life story. It makes me smile just seeing it on my bookshelf.” —Zibby Owens, host of the Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcast
Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut by Jill Kargman
“As a fellow native New Yorker and NYC mom, Kargman’s dishing on ‘the city’ has always been hilarious and spot-on, even before her show Odd Mom Out came out. The essays in this book are so Jill: Honest, irreverent, slightly dark. full of curse words—yet imminently likable and, in fact, addictive.” —Z.O.
Dear Girls by Ali Wong
“The minute Wong’s Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra ended, I started it again from the beginning, and this book made me want to do the same. Written as letters to her daughters, she passes on wisdom about dating, family, her cultural upbringing, and being a mom in her raucous, delightfully absurd way. Wong is a national treasure.” —A.W.
The Dirt by Motley Crue
“I never thought that one of my favorite books of all time would have a cover featuring a lady in a G-string whose disembodied form we see dancing inside a whiskey bottle. But at least you’ve been warned: What you see is what you get in this group memoir from the glam metal band. The sheer magnitude of debauchery at their peak in the 1980s is too compelling to look away.” —Maris Kreizman, host of The Maris Review podcast
In Pieces by Sally Field
“Sally Field took her sweet time with In Pieces, her first memoir, written over seven years without the assistance of a ghostwriter. To call Field’s writing vulnerable doesn’t give enough credit to the way she recounts with crippling honesty the highs and lows of her personal and professional lives. She’s always been beloved as a performer, but In Pieces shows there’s so much more to admire about Field than the trophies on her mantle.” —Keaton Bell, Condé Nast entertainment associate
Horror Stories by Liz Phair
“The first of a planned two-part set (the second of which will be titled Fairy Tales), Horror Stories is less of a traditional memoir and more of a series of vignettes that tackle some of the ‘small indignities that we all suffer daily, the silent insults to our system, the callous gestures that we make toward one another.’ Most of us won’t suffer the indignities of an anesthesiologist asking for our autograph during labor (we’re not all Gen X rock stars, after all), but we can wince at the, yes, horror, and relate to the rest of Phair’s not-so-tall tales.” —Danny Feekes, managing editor at Goodreads
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
“When Noah was born under apartheid in South Africa, his parents’ interracial union was, literally, a crime, punishable by five years in prison. That’s just the beginning of The Daily Show host’s remarkable story. At turns harrowing and hilarious, it’s perhaps best consumed via audiobook, read by the author.” —M.R.
Touched by the Sun: My Friendship With Jackie by Carly Simon
“Simon’s first book, Boys in the Trees, is what all celebrity memoirs should aspire to be, toggling between childhood struggles, musical stardom, and a highly publicized marriage to James Taylor with plenty of wit and revelations sprinkled throughout. Touched by the Sun is more scaled back, focusing on the iconic singer-songwriter’s unlikely but enduring friendship with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Detailing the lunches, movie dates, and nights out on the town that the two women shared before Onassis’s death in 1994, Simon highlights the woman beneath the public persona.” —K.B.
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
“It’s over 10 years later, and I’m still crushed by Sam Seaborne’s departure from The West Wing, so I couldn’t resist Lowe’s memoir. It’s packed with plenty of sordid stories from his wild days as part of the Brat Pack, but also has so many great behind-the-scenes memories from some of my favorite TV shows and movies. While it probably won’t win a Pulitzer, any fan of ’80s rom-coms will still find this delightful!” —Becca Freeman, co-host of the Bad on Paper podcast
Just Kids by Patti Smith
“Smith’s National Book Award–winning memoir is a portrait of a place and time—New York, Summer of Love—and a love letter to a bygone era that produced two iconoclasts: poet and musician Smith, and late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The story follows the duo’s trials and tribulations as they traverse Brooklyn, Coney Island, and Times Square, before settling at the infamous Chelsea Hotel. Smith has said that she didn’t write the book to be cathartic, but to fulfill a vow she made to Mapplethorpe on his deathbed. Ultimately, it’s the reader who reaps the rewards of that request.” —D.F.
Wildflower by Drew Barrymore
“If you’re a completist, start with Drew’s first memoir, the propulsive Little Girl Lost (out of print but easy to find secondhand), which she wrote when she was 14. It recounts a young Barrymore’s stratospheric rise and quick drug-fueled descent, while Wildflower finds an older, more assured Barrymore looking back at a larger-than-life existence, one in which she emancipated from her parents, forged out on her own, and paved her distinctive path. As Drew writes, “I wanted to rescue myself. And I did.” —D.F.
My Life So Far by Jane Fonda
“I’ve been reading this in fits and starts for about a decade, and I’ve still yet to encounter another life story so dutifully (and beautifully) re-examined. It’s easy to take Fonda’s cool self-assuredness—even in handcuffs!—for granted these days, but before Firebrand Jane there was “plain Jane,” woefully uncomfortable in her skin and desperate for outside validation. To chart her path from then until now (and to think of all that’s still to come) is something I wouldn’t mind doing for another 10 years.” —Marley Marius, Vogue features editor
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
“All three of Fisher’s memoirs reflect her trademark cool demeanor and self-deprecating nature, but her final release is my favorite. The beating heart of the book is the story of teenage Fisher’s secret three-month-long affair with Harrison Ford, then 33 and married with two kids. Fisher was hopelessly, naively in love with him, and Ford took advantage of the situation. You won’t find much behind-the-scenes Star Wars intel, but you will find an honest, painful account of Fisher’s experience as a young woman in love and at the mercy of so many patriarchal forces.” —Cristina Arreola, books journalist
Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty by Diane Keaton
“This book of essays from the legendary actress covers everything from Hollywood to motherhood with her signature style and humor. She has a new book out in 2020, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.” —Kate Childs, CAA Books Executive
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