An old expression states that the pen is mightier than the sword, and these celebrity memoirs proved just how much impact the written word can achieve.
From royals lifting the lid on the normally secretive palaces to Hollywood legends sharing never-before-told tales of famous feuds and passionate affairs, take a peek into how the other half lives with a hand-picked selection of bombshell tell-alls.
The most scandalous celebrity memoirs
Britney Spears - The Woman in Me
In October 2023, Britney Spears released her first book, The Woman In Me, and it quickly became one of the best-selling celebrity memoirs of all time, selling more than two million copies in the United States alone.
The book was hotly anticipated as it was considered the first time the iconic pop star had been able to tell her truth since her much-criticised conservatorship was lifted. She had been under the guardianship - overseen by her father, Jamie Spears - since 2007.
Britney got candid in the book, exposing the exploitation she felt from her family, including her father, who during the conservatorship controlled everything from her finances to her use of birth control.
Other shocking revelations included her claims of having an abortion after falling pregnant to Justin Timberlake's child and her struggles with postpartum depression.
Joan Collins - Behind the Shoulder Pads: Tales I Tell My Friends
Dame Joan Collins is a prolific author as well as a celebrated actress, known for her 1980s soap, Dynasty, and countless Golden Age Hollywood movies.
Joan has written many books in her career, including eight memoirs, six other non-fiction titles and six fiction books. However, her 2023 memoir was more candid than ever, as she shared several of her diary entries kept during her time hanging out with the biggest names in Hollywood.
In one moving account serialised in the Daily Mail, Joan shared how she decided to get an abortion after falling pregnant with Warren Beatty's baby.
"He took none of the responsibility for me becoming pregnant. That was the woman’s department. I tried to convince myself that we were doing the right thing as Warren consulted a piece of paper on which were written the directions. I was in my mid-20s. I had a thriving career. But a baby would change all that."
"I would have to stop working. Fox would cancel my contract. I might lose my figure. I might be a lousy mother. He and I were not suited to each other in the long run."
Jeanette McCurdy - I'm Glad My Mom Died
The title of this memoir alone lets you know you're in for an unconventional read...
An actress best known for popular children's shows iCarly and Sam & Cat, Jennette McCurdy wrote one of the most moving memoirs about her struggles as a former child actor, including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with the ultimate pushy stage mother.
Drew Barrymore - Little Girl Lost
Drew Barrymore has been famous since she burst onto the big screen aged seven, landing a starring role in Steven Spielberg's E.T.
Having major hits throughout her career, including Charlie's Angels and The Wedding Singer, Drew has lived most of her life under the Hollywood glare - and she exposed the dark side in the first of her two memoirs, Little Girl Lost.
In it, she revealed the first time she tried drugs, "When I was ten and a half I was sitting in the back seat of a car driven by a friend’s mother. She started smoking pot. I’d wanted to try marijuana for a long time, but I was afraid that if I asked, she’d say, 'No way, Drew. You’re too young.' However, she offered me some and I said, 'Sure, I’ll try it.'"
Leah Remini - Troublemaker
Leah Remini is best known for starring in the hit sitcom, King of Queens, for nine years - but she has also become a pivotal voice speaking out against the Scientology religion.
As a former member of the controversial religion, Leah's book, Troublemaker, made several shocking accusations against the religion, and some of its most famous members, including Tom Cruise.
In one passage, Leah claims to have been driving "on the way to the airport" with Tom Cruise's children "Bella and Connor Cruise".
She continued, "I had always wondered why they didn't have a relationship with their mom [Nicole Kidman], but I could never ask them, because there was always someone else around. Driving to the airport alone with them, I had my chance. 'Hey guys. How's your mom? Do you see her a lot?' I asked. 'Not if I have a choice,' Bella said. 'Our mom is a f—king SP.'" (SP is a Scientologist term for Suppressive Person).
Jada Pinkett Smith - Worthy
Jada Pinkett Smith released her memoir, Worthy, in 2023.
The Scream 2 star shared many candid confessions, including the depression which left her contemplating suicide.
She also shared that she and Will Smith had actually been separated for many years.
She wrote, "It was nobody’s fault. As much as I wanted him to love me, that would never happen if I didn’t love myself. And the same applied to him. Will and I had pictures in our mind of what a happily married couple was. And our pictures didn’t match" which led them to "separate in every way except legally."
Carrie Fisher - The Princess Diarist
The late Carrie Fisher might be best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies, but many long-standing fans of the star have known her best as a satirist and writer.
Growing up in unusual circumstances - having Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds as her mother, and her father, Eddie Fisher, being the man who famously left her for Elizabeth Taylor - Carrie has poured all of this into the most gripping collection of books.
One of her memoirs, The Princess Diarist, proved to be one of her most shocking as she claimed she and Star Wars co-star, Harrison Ford, carried out an affair while Harrison was married with two children at the time.
Paris Hilton - Paris: the Memoir
The original reality TV icon and ultimate noughties celebrity, Paris Hilton shocked the world by revealing a different side to her with her 2023 memoir, Paris: the Memoir.
From sharing that her dumb-blonde persona was indeed just an act, sharing troubling stories of sexual assault and opening up about her traumatic time in a CEDU boarding school program, Paris was lauded for her frank confessions.
After her book confronted the alleged sexual abuse at the Provo Canyon School in Utah, Paris has gone to the White House to campaign for reforms.
Pamela Anderson - Love, Pamela
Baywatch bombshell had a massive comeback moment in 2023, starring in both a Netflix documentary and releasing a memoir titled Love, Pamela.
Pamela's book was full of exciting tales of Hollywood excess, including the "naughtiness" she encountered at the Playboy Mansion and her tumultuous marriage to rocker Tommy Lee.
Tina Brown - The Vanity Fair Diaries
While she might not be regarded as a celebrity in the truest sense of the world, nobody has mingled with the A-Listers quite like Tina Brown.
Tina was the celebrated editor of Vanity Fair during what many consider the peak years of the glossy magazine, overseeing its cultural dominance during 1984 and 1992.
As such, the book is filled with thrilling tales of celebrity run-ins, wild stories of the carefree excess of the late 80s and 90s and how she conquered the world of publishing.
Elton John - Me
Refreshingly frank and full of surprising candour, Elton John's memoir covers his coming out, bad hair decades, near-death experiences, rehab and rebirth.
While there are plenty of scandalous highlights, one salacious story tells of a celeb spat with none other than Tina Turner.
"She rang me up at home, apparently with the express intention of telling me how awful I was and how I had to change before we could work together... The subsequent debate about whether or not I knew how to play ‘Proud Mary’ became quite heated quite quickly, before I brought it to a conclusion by telling Tina Turner to stick her f—ing song up her arse and storming off."
Sally Field - In Pieces
Oscar-winning actress Sally Field has been beloved for decades, starring in the likes of Mrs Doubtfire, Steel Magnolias and Forrest Gump. However, the legendary actress stunned fans with her frank revelations in her 2018 memoir, In Pieces.
Heartbreaking details included her claims of being molested by her stepfather and a secret battle with an eating disorder.
Jessica Simpson - Open Book
In 2021, actress, singer and business-woman Jessica Simpson released her memoir, Open Book, and she proved to be exactly that with some candid confessions.
Touching on battles with alcoholism, her difficulties comparing herself to pop peers like Christina Aguilera and her marriage to Nick Lachey, Jessica shared it all. However, she was praised widely for her unfiltered honesty about body issues.
"I was so ashamed of my body at this point that I wouldn't let Eric see me without a white T-shirt on. I had sex with it on and even showered with it on. I couldn't bear to look at myself."
The startling honesty continued, with the actress and singer writing to readers, "I hope you can be proud that your body created life. I was not strong enough. It touched all my insecurities, and I couldn't handle it... I can tell you that plastic surgery does not fix what's inside."
Holly Madison - Down the Rabbit Hole
Holly Madison is best known for being one of Hugh Hefner's former girlfriends, dating the infamous Playboy tycoon along with several other Playboy 'bunnies.' Holly and two of Hef's other girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt, all starred in the 00s reality show, The Girls Next Door, where they seemingly lived a perfect life of parties, money and excess at the Playboy Mansion.
However, Holly's 2015 book told a different story. The former bunny and reality star claimed her life was full of tough rules they had to live under, and moments where she considered committing suicide.
Barbra Streisand - My Name is Barbra
Perhaps one of the last living legends, Barbra Streisand has won nearly every award going and has been working in showbusiness for over six decades.
So when she revealed she was releasing her first-ever memoir, fans were expecting some juicy stories - and they weren't left wanting.
Barbra's book covers everything from flirting with the now King Charles, dalliances with iconic stars like Marlon Brando and Pierre Trudeau, being left disappointed by the likes of Gene Kelly and much more.
Kerry Washington - Thicker Than Water
The always glamorous Kerry Washington is lauded for her performances in the likes of Scandal, but her memoir shocked a lot of fans as Kerry bravely lifted the lid on some real-life scandals and battles of her own.
Addressing a painful eating disorder, the actress wrote, "Kerry in college was a hot mess... and bit of a wild child... But it's halfway through college that I started asking for help. In some ways I'm really grateful for Kerry in college because hitting bottom the way that she did, she opened the door for a lot more healing for me.
"I still have that messaging in my brain at times, that I'm not enough or that I should look better... But I also can choose other thought patterns now."
Jane Fonda - My Life So Far
It's not exactly a stretch to say Jane Fonda has packed a lot into her eighty-something years on the planet.
Be it controversial anti-war sentiments to political arrests, a few marriages along the way and hailing from an acting dynasty, her book - My Life So Far - was always going to be a page-turner for the curious.
However, the extent of Jane's candour might have taken people by surprise as she talked about her first husband, Roger Vadim.
She wrote, "One night, he brought home a beautiful red-haired woman and took her into our bed with me. She was a high-class call girl employed by the well-known Madame Claude. It never occurred to me to object. I took my cues from him and threw myself into the threesome with the skill and enthusiasm of the actress that I am. If this was what he wanted, this was what I would give him - in spades."
Tom Felton - Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
It's not unusual for child stars to go a little off the rails at some point in their career, and Harry Potter's Tom Felton wasn't fortunate enough to avoid that particular curse.
Known for playing Harry's nemesis and school bully, Draco Malfoy, Tom Felton discussed how the excesses got to him.
In his book, he wrote, "My lawyer, whom I’d barely ever met face to face, spoke with quiet honesty. ‘Tom,’ he said, ‘I don’t know you very well, but you seem like a nice guy. All I want to tell you is that this is the seventeenth intervention I’ve been to in my career. Eleven of them are now dead. Don’t be the twelfth.'"
Tina Turner - I, Tina
The late, great Tina Turner was a blueprint for many genre-defying artists who came after her, including Beyoncé, who regularly cites Tina as an inspiration.
But despite all of Tina's success, her first book, I, Tina, shared the shocking truth and hardships she experienced at the hands of her former husband, Ike Turner.
From horrific allegations of domestic abuse to her battles with depression, it was a harrowing but bold revelation from the powerhouse performer.
Shirley MacLaine - My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir
Shirley MacLaine is one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood's Golden Age and has a career spanning over 70 years.
The Sweet Charity star has written several books, some detailing her spiritual beliefs, but in 1995 she wrote a memoir detailing her memories of Hollywood - and one of the most shocking claims touched on her alleged feud with a former co-star.
Starring with Debra Winger in the classic tearjerker, Terms of Endearment, the pair played mother and daughter but there wasn't much love between them both. Shirley described one memorable exchange on set.
Debra allegedly said, "'These [placement marks] are yours.'... 'I heard you,' I said. 'I know marks when I see them.' 'Good,' [Winger] said. 'How's this for a mark?' She turned around, walked away from me, lifted her skirt slightly, looked over her shoulder, bent over, and farted in my face."
Will Smith - Will
Hollywood star Will Smith shared a new side to him with his 2021 memoir, Will, including heart-breaking tales of witnessing domestic violence.
"When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed. I saw her spit blood. That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am. Within everything that I have done since then-the awards and accolades, the spotlights and attention, the characters and the laughs-there has been a subtle string of apologies to my mother for my inaction that day. For failing her in the moment. For failing to stand up to my father. For being a coward."
Mackenze Phillips - High On Arrival
Star of Netflix's Orange is the New Black, Mackenzie Phillips' 2009 book was a true bombshell as the actress shared a shocking tale of incest and abuse.
Her father, John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, reportedly abused her.
"My father was not a man with boundaries," she writes in her book. "He was full of love, and he was sick with drugs. I woke up that night to find myself having sex with my own father."
"Dad was the great and terrible sun around which his children, wives, girlfriends, fellow musicians, and drug dealers orbited, relentlessly drawn to his fierce, inspiring, damaging light. The alternate solar system my dad drew me into had hilarious moments - like sliding down the banisters of my dad’s Malibu mansion with Donovan- and portentous scenes, like when I tried cocaine for the first time at the age of eleven."
Mariah Carey - The Meaning of Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey's 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, saw the iconic songbird sing a different tune, as she delved into a painful past of domestic violence, racism and a controlling first marriage.
One particularly poignant passage also saw Mariah write about a connection she felt to Princess Diana.
"She had that look - the dull terror of never being left alone burning behind her eyes. We were both like cornered animals in couture."
Brooke Shields - There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me
Model and actress Brooke Shields wrote an unflinching tell-all about her high-profile life, famous flings and her relationship with her stage mother in 2014.
Her relationship with her mother meant that she had the strangest reaction to losing her virginity to Lois & Clark co-star Dean Cain.
"I actually kind of tumbled off it and started running," she writes in her memoir, after sleeping with Cain. "I was buck-naked streaking down the hallway and running like I had just stolen someone's wallet."
"I didn't know where I began and where my mother ended. And that meant I didn't know how to fit Dean in."
Viola Davis - Finding Me
The always glamorous Viola Davis is a celebrated Emmy and Oscar winner, beloved for iconic roles in both television and film. And her illustrious career and stunning red-carpet appearances are even more inspiring after she revealed her tough, sparse upbringing.
In her memoir, Viola wrote about being "very skilled at filling up a bucket and pouring it into the toilet to flush it."
She also revealed her family would go "unwashed" and could never enter their kitchen because "the rats had taken over."
Shania Twain - From This Moment On
Shania Twain is the voice behind some of the most popular girl power anthems of all time, including Man! I Feel Like a Woman and That Don't Impress Me Much. She's sold millions of records and continued to dominate the industry for some four decades.
However, her 2011 book offered a different perspective on the chic, cheery country star, as she opened up on growing up in extreme poverty, witnessing and experiencing abuse, and the sad death of her parents at a young age, leaving her to raise her brothers.
Then there's the soap-opera-worthy twist of her husband cheating on her with her best friend... and how she healed her broken heart by marrying her former best friend's ex-husband!
Janice Dickinson - No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel
Self-proclaimed as the "first supermodel", Janice Dickinson has always been unabashed and fearless. Her 2002 memoir is a must-read for anyone wanting insight into her past as a model, struggles with drugs and many famous flings.
Some standout incidents include her falling off a runway and landing on Sophia Loren.
Anjelica Huston - Watch Me
Anjelica Huston is an accomplished actress and part of a Hollywood dynasty, so her memoir was certainly a must-read for celebrity obsessives.
The Addams Family star delivers a raw look at her life, including tumultuous relationships with Jack Nicholson and Ryan O’Neal which included infidelities and alleged violence.
Anjelica also addresses her arrest for drug possession.
Demi Moore - Inside Out
Ghost actress Demi Moore released her candid and challenging memoir, Inside Out, in 2019, and she wasn't afraid of letting herself be vulnerable.
From recounting her traumatic rape aged just 15 to her marriage (and divorce) to Ashton Kutcher, Demi opened up on everything. She also confronted her lowest point in January 2012, being hospitalised before going to rehab for addiction and an eating disorder.
Christina Crawford - Mommie Dearest
The mother of all Hollywood exposés - pun intended. Mommie Dearest wasn't written by a celebrity, but it has become one of the most famous books about famous lives.
Mommie Dearest was written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of Hollywood legend, Joan Crawford.
Christina's harrowing account claims her mother subjected her to mental and physical abuse, and the image painted of her mother was not one congruous to the glamour and serenity many held.
The book was made even more famous when it was made into a movie, starring Faye Dunaway.
Matthew Perry - Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing
Matthew Perry sadly passed away in October 2023, just a little over a year after he published his brave and unflinching memoir.
In his book, Matthew - beloved for his role on the sitcom Friends - painted a different image than that of his jovial character, Chandler Bing. Matthew addressed his addiction issues, writing "I have spent upward of $7 million trying to get sober... I have been to six thousand AA meetings. (Not an exaggeration, more an educated guess.) I've been to rehab fifteen times. I've been in a mental institution, gone to therapy twice a week for thirty years, been to death's door."
He also revealed a crush on co-star Jennifer Aniston, and dates with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz.
Prince Harry - Spare
The autobiography heard around the world...
Prince Harry kicked off 2023 with quite a bang, releasing his memoir in January. The book went against decades (if not longer) of royal tradition, and saw the Prince open up on growing up in the Royal Family.
Written as he continued to allegedly feud with his brother, Prince William, and father, King Charles, Harry's book included claims of William physically attacking him and painted a frosty image of the family.
Other shocking insights included his drug use following the death of his mother, Princess Diana, and an argument between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.
