Inside scoop: The best celebrity memoirs
From touching memories to gripping moments, these personal stories deserve your attention
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Picking up an engaging book gives you the chance to escape real life for a while or, in the case of the best celebrity memoirs, experience someone else’s. While similar to autobiographies in that they offer a first-person account of the protagonist’s life, memoirs offer a more flexible format and often focus on specific periods or moments in a person’s life. Memoirs can also employ multiple narrative devices and often feel more personal, like hearing a friend tell their story.
From funny and poignant to sentimental and heart-wrenching, these tales by bonafide superstars (as well as some unknown names with inspiring lives well worth making time for) are the best memoirs to add to your reading list now.
Britney Spears: The Woman In Me
Over the course of her career, Britney Spears has been shrouded in narratives constructed for her. From media scrutiny and sexist industry standards to losing custody of her children and being placed under a conservatorship, the pop star has led a tumultuous life and she finally takes control of her own story with this book.
Barbra Streisand: My Name is Barbra
Showbiz icon Barbra Streisand filters her wit and charm into the pages of this highly anticipated memoir. Spanning her journey from growing up in Brooklyn to achieving stratospheric success as a singer and entertainer, this one is engrossing and delightful and will make for a great Christmas present too.
Madonna: A Rebel Life
Pulitzer Prize finalist Mary Gabriel chronicles Madonna’s rise and subsequent enduring popularity in this tome. Beginning with the singer’s Michigan roots, the book follows her rise to stardom, her political advocacy, and the undeniable star quality that made her the household name we know today.
Dolly Parton: Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones
Filled with honest stories and a lot of glitz, Dolly Parton’s memoir focuses on the country icon’s massive impact on music and fashion. A compendium of glamorous photographs woven together with Parton’s personal essays on the heels, wigs, and clothes synonymous with her image, this book is as stylish as the content within.
Munroe Bergdorf: Transitional
Pioneering model and trans rights activist Monroe Bergdorf’s tale of resilience in the face of constant prejudice is as inspirational as it comes. From a difficult upbringing plagued by homophobic abuse to being hired and fired as L’Oréal’s first transgender model all while speaking up for important causes, Transitional will be a difficult one to put down.
Greta Garbo: Ideal Beauty: The Life and Times of Greta Garbo
Lois Banner dives deep into the archives to construct the off-screen story of Greta Garbo. Delving into the Hollywood star’s intriguing life, from her impoverished childhood to her early retirement from Hollywood, the book looks at Garbo through a feminist lens to dissect how she carved a space for herself in the industry.
Matthew Perry: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir
Matthew Perry starred in one of the most popular sitcoms of a generation, was beloved by millions, and faced immense struggles with addiction. In light of the beloved actor’s recent passing, this poignant memoir, told with Perry’s trademark wit and humour, is honest and moving.
Pamela Anderson: Love, Pamela
A brilliant example of memoirs breaking through traditional narrative constraints, Pamela Anderson’s reframing of her own narrative tells the actor and activist’s story through prose interspersed with original poetry. The searing tale unfolds her life growing up as a small-town girl, being plagued by the tabloids and finally coming into herself.
Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor: Erotic Vagrancy
Roger Lewis’ 650-page behemoth details the lavish life of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The twin biography is brimming with anecdotes of the couple’s on-off relationship, their decadent lifestyle, and chaotic opulence, making for a mesmerising read.
Lamya H: Hijab Butch Blues
A queer muslim’s coming-of-age story, Hijab Butch Blues juxtaposes the coming-out experience with stories from the Quran. Born in South Asia, Lamya H grew up in the Middle East before moving to the United States. This tender tale houses vulnerabilities and innocence in a heartwarming narrative.
Viet Thanh Nguyen: A Man of Two Faces
Viet Thanh Nguyen unfolds the duality of his Vietnamese and American identity in context of larger themes of immigration and colonisation in this complex and illuminating book. Written with a sardonic vulnerability, Thanh Nguyen places his personal experiences within larger community conversations.
Shane McCrae: Pulling the Chariot of the Sun
American poet Shane McCrae’s account of being kidnapped as a young boy by his white supremacist grandparents makes for a gripping story. Written as a diary, the book recounts the narrator’s early memories and the stories he was told by others growing up.
Michael Laudor: The Best Minds
The Best Minds is Jonathan Rosen’s gripping retelling of the story of childhood friend Michael Laudor – a man destined for greatness and academic success before becoming caught in the maladies of schizophrenia and psychosis that ultimately led to his devastation. A tender coming-of-age story that talks of a touching childhood bond, ambition, and the sad state of mental health illness awareness in society.
Michelle Zauner: Crying in H Mart
Michelle Zauner may be better known as indie music artist Japanese Breakfast but she wields her pen with deft humour and vulnerability in this candid memoir. Crying in H Mart recounts her life growing up in Oregon as an Asian-American, her relationship with her mother, and the bonds formed over food.
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