Celebrity culture is a fascinating thing, and while it’s easy to get your fill by following various gossip blogs, scrolling endlessly on social media, and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes about your favorite actors, musicians, and other public figures, there’s nothing quite like hearing about the celebrity experience from the people living it. Enter the celebrity memoir. A very specific genre of book and even kind of memoir, the best celeb memoirs not only give readers a peek behind the curtain—exposing the inner workings of Hollywood, Buckingham Palace, Washington, D.C., and beyond—but also offer up juicy, hilarious, and sometimes heartbreaking stories that even their most dedicated fans have never heard, painting a much more nuanced picture of a person previously only seen on a TV screen or magazine cover.
Read on for a list of 30 of the best celebrity memoirs ever written—including a National Book Award winner, many, many New York Times bestsellers, and even newly published, must-read titles. Pro tip: If you’re an audiobook fan, many celebs narrate their memoirs, making for an even more intimate and immersive reading experience.
Gilpin, who you may recognize from Netflix’s Glow, described this book as both her “opus” and “chaos.” But it’s the best kind of chaos: a wise, funny, exuberant exploration of the many different selves that the actor shuffles through every era, year, and day of her life as she carves out a fulfilling path for herself—an experience that’ll be all too relatable to so many women everywhere.
Michelle Obama gives her side of the story in this 2018 book, in which she charts a path from her humble beginnings in Chicago to the Ivy League and, eventually, the White House. Not only did the Obama-narrated Becoming audiobook win a Grammy, but the memoir also spawned a Netflix series—in case you just can’t get enough of the former FLOTUS’ story and refreshingly optimistic outlook.
Comedian Trevor Noah was born in South Africa to a Black mother and white father in 1984, a year before interracial relationships were decriminalized in the country—hence the title of his memoir. It goes into detail about his experiences growing up under apartheid and, along the way, also serves as an ode to his fiercely loving mother.
There are enough memoirs by the hilarious and badass women of Saturday Night Live to make up their own genre, complete with titles from Amy Poehler, Gilda Radner, Leslie Jones, and more, but Tina Fey’s entry in the category is one of the very best. Though less revealing than many of the other celeb memoirs on this list, Bossypants is still full of hard-won life lessons and, of course, plenty of the comedy queen’s signature dry humor.
More like “crying anywhere you choose to read this book.” Keep the tissues close by for this one, in which the Japanese Breakfast frontwoman unpacks her close, complicated relationship with her late mother, who showed love largely by cooking copious amounts of Korean food, which Zauner describes in beautiful, loving detail throughout the book.
Comedian Ali Wong penned this series of essays for her two daughters—who appeared in utero in her first two Netflix specials—but, luckily for the rest of us, it was published for everyone to read. Filled with her signature raunchy humor, Wong zigzags across a wide range of material, from intimate details of her sex life to the trip to Vietnam that helped her better understand her mother.
Finding Me sees Davis looking back on her journey from growing up in an unstable home to becoming one of the greatest actors of our time, highlighting the bravery and unstoppable ambition that it took to keep pushing forward despite the many setbacks she faced along the way. Fittingly, it was the audiobook recording of the memoir that earned Davis the Grammy she needed to achieve EGOT status in 2023.
A year before his tragic death, the former Friends star published a memoir detailing the emotional highs and lows of his life: from growing up as a child of divorce to a behind-the-scenes look at his time on the beloved sitcom, through to his years long struggles with addiction.
The Molly Shannon that we all know and love is full of silliness and light, but that seemingly boundless joy was hard-won by the comedian, who early in life lost her mother, sister, and cousin in a tragic car accident. As she tells it in this equally heartbreaking and hilarious memoir, her grieving father encouraged her free-wheeling personality and mischievous antics, allowing her to grow into the powerfully optimistic, joyous superstar she is today.
Behind the shocking title is the former Nickelodeon star’s description of a controlling, abusive mother who dominated McCurdy’s every thought and action for most of her life. The book is separated into two sections, “Before” and “After,” organized around McCurdy’s mother’s 2013 death, and while she recounts her story with heartbreaking detail, she sprinkles in bits of humor and ends on a hopeful note, looking back from a much happier and healthier place.
After more than 60 years in the public eye, there’s still plenty to learn about Sally Field. She opened up about a lot of it in this memoir, which tells the heartbreaking stories of the abuse she endured both in her childhood and throughout her career, breaks down her complicated relationship with her mother, and describes the powerful anchor that acting has always been for her.
After decades spent in the spotlight, it makes sense that Demi Moore’s memoir would be filled with charmingly nostalgic anecdotes and shocking bombshells in equal measure. And the Brat Pack member wasn’t afraid to go deep: She writes in detail about her childhood trauma and struggles with addiction and body image, while also offering up new insights into her well-publicized relationships with leading men like Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher.
Mindy Kaling has so far written three essay collections comprising reflections on her childhood, musings on love and friendship, and her thoughts on modern womanhood. You should definitely start with this 2011 book, her first memoir, which is equal parts hilarious, relatable, and heartfelt as it parses through Kaling’s relationship with her mother, her constantly changing body image, and more.
Smith’s 2010 memoir is the only entry on this list to earn a National Book Award—and, by our count, the only celebrity memoir to ever accomplish the feat, period. And for good reason: In it, the punk rocker documents her relationship with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the 1960s and ‘70s, offering a rare look into that period of artistic rebellion and the coming-of-age of two of the greatest artists of their time.
Tiffany Haddish made a massive splash with her scene-stealing role in 2017’s Girls Trip and, in the short time since, has racked up an Emmy and a Grammy, as well as countless other acting roles and hosting gigs. But far from an overnight success story, the comedian’s breakout came after more than a decade of hard work and, before that, a difficult childhood and early adulthood that included periods of homelessness—all of which she described in her powerful 2017 memoir.
Padma Lakshmi is known for her impeccable sense of taste, and this book documents just where she got it, from the headstrong matriarchs who taught her how to cook to the world travels that further expanded her palate. It’s filled with luscious descriptions of food that’ll leave your mouth watering and, even better, sprinkled with recipes so you can recreate some of Lakshmi’s favorite dishes in your own home.
350 pages may not seem like enough to capture a career that has spanned more than half a century, but Sir Elton John somehow made it happen, packing his long-awaited memoir with his entire life story, from childhood to his final farewell tour, including many sordid tales of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
EmRata first made a splash on the celebrity scene with her appearance in Robin Thicke’s controversial “Blurred Lines” video, in which she bared all—and subsequently pronounced her participation in the video a feminist act. Years later, in this thoughtful, incisive essay collection, she rethinks that statement, examining the insidious nature of the male gaze and modern beauty culture, the ways women are taught to conform (consciously or otherwise) to the patriarchy, and her own participation in perpetuating those ideas.
Megan Rapinoe may be best known for her feats on the soccer field—including her Olympic gold medal and two Women’s World Cup wins—but in this book, she celebrates the powerful moves she’s made off the field. That includes publicly coming out as gay to become a forceful voice for marriage equality, kneeling in solidarity with NFL star Colin Kaepernick’s protests for racial justice, suing the U.S. Soccer Federation over its gender pay gap, and so much more. Prepare to be majorly inspired.
While some celebrities gloss over the hardest parts of their public lives in their memoirs, preferring to focus on stories of triumph and external achievement, Jessica Simpson doesn’t shy away from delving deep. In Open Book, she candidly explores how she felt about many of the infamous moments of her career, from her “blonde moments” on Newlyweds to her headline-grabbing on-and-off relationship with John Mayer to the incessant tabloid coverage of her physical appearance. She also pulls back the curtain even further, opening up about her struggles with addiction and her complicated familial relationships. Trust us: You’ll want to keep the tissues handy for this one, especially if you’re listening to Simpson’s own emotional audiobook narration.
Exploring and coming to terms with your sexuality and gender identity can be difficult enough in private, and here, Page describes how that process was made even more challenging as it coincided with his growing career in the public eye. In the powerful 2023 memoir, the Juno star recounts the gender dysphoria he experienced starting in childhood, the pressure he felt to conform to Hollywood’s standard model of a young starlet, and, ultimately, the freedom that came with coming out as trans and living his truth.
Paris Hilton’s life may seem on the surface to be the stuff of real-life fairytales, but in this 2023 book, she exposes the much less glamorous truth underneath all the diamonds and “That’s hot”s. Among the heavier topics covered are Hilton’s experiences with ADHD, her treatment in the controversial “troubled teen industry,” and her journey to self-acceptance after living behind the facade of her public persona for years.
All three of Carrie Fisher’s memoirs are worth a read, but this one, her final work, paints an especially intimate portrait of the iconic actor. Released just a few weeks before her untimely 2016 death, it pulls heavily from the diaries Fisher kept from early in her career and sees her piecing together that roller-coaster-like era of her life—including the groundbreaking reveal that she’d had a brief affair with her Star Wars costar Harrison Ford while filming the first movie in the series.
Before Abbott Elementary became a runaway success, the show’s creator and star, Quinta Brunson, was a social media star and BuzzFeed content creator. She describes those experiences in this 2021 essay collection, which varies in tone from hilarious descriptions of her online and IRL escapades to more serious, thoughtful ruminations on mental health and modern-day America.
In the memoir genre, Britney Spears’ book was outsold in 2023 only by Prince Harry’s tell-all about his life in the royal family. In addition to being filled with truly wild stories from throughout his life, Spare was particularly shocking in how Harry so candidly pulled back the curtain on purported rifts and dysfunction among the normally tight-lipped British royals.
In addition to being a beloved actor, Stanley Tucci is also known as a world-class foodie. After putting out a couple of cookbooks, he took his food writing escapades even deeper, publishing this book, filled with the stories of significant foods and meals throughout his life, in 2021.
Minka Kelly’s breakout role—as the wealthy “golden girl” Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights—was a far cry from her own upbringing, as, in addition to being raised by a mother who struggled with addiction, she was also bullied at school and experienced abuse at the hands of her high school boyfriend. She opened up about it all in this 2023 memoir, which she’s described as a tribute to working-class single mothers like her own “who were dealt a bad hand.”
King of Queens star Leah Remini made headlines a decade ago when she publicly split from the Church of Scientology after many years as a loyal adherent. Here, she offers the whole story in eye-opening detail, spanning her first introductions to the church, her rise through the ranks, and, eventually, the questions that got her labeled a “Suppressive Person” and cut her off from her friends and family.
The subtitle of this book is “stories that are funny, complicated, and true,” and that’s exactly what Gabrielle Union provides. Her sharply written essay collection spans a variety of topics, including her experiences growing up Black in a predominantly white neighborhood and being a working woman in Hollywood and beyond.
Among the most anticipated celeb memoirs of all time, Spears’ 2023 book gave new insight into many of the ups and downs of her life so meticulously documented by the tabloids for the last two decades. In it, the pop star delves into her high-profile relationships, her experience of motherhood, and, of course, the long-running conservatorship that kept her under her father’s thumb for many years.
