29 Celebrity Memoirs I've Read (and My Honest Reviews)

i grew up pretty clueless about most pop culture, but in my adulthood, i’ve loved catching up with the shows, movies, music, and other trends i missed over the years as well as what’s popular now, and then learning more about the key people in the midst of it all. when celebs release memoirs and spill the tea (or some heavily filtered, still very one-sided, definitely strategic and not always totally honest version of it), i am HERE FOR IT, especially when it comes to actors, musicians, and bachelor nation stars. JUDGE ME IF YOU MUST.

would love your recs of great celeb memoirs, too — drop them in the comments below! i CLEARLY need more five star reads in the mix here!

ps— all links are amazon affiliate links, so any purchases made once clicked will put a few pennies in my pocket. thanks in advance for your support!

here are 29 celebrity memoirs i’ve read:

FIVE STARS:

  • i’m glad my mom died by jennette mccurdy // read in 2023 • finally got around to reading this one and… wow. it’s not a fun read but it feels like an important one, vulnerable and honest and frankly pretty uncomfortable to experience. proud of her for sharing her story and speaking of her family the way she did, shedding light on her reality and the trauma she endured. it reminded me of educated, or the sound of gravel. searing and strong and a story worth reading.

FOUR STARS:

  • the truths we hold: an american journey by kamala harris // read in 2020 • Loved learning more about her, her work, her family, her activism, her life. Loved diving deeper into topics and issues and learning new things that will help me continue to grow in empathy and awareness. Loved her thoughtfulness, dedication to justice, and commitment the causes that need help.
    I’m excited to see what Harris does as VP, and thrilled to see a woman rise to a new level of leadership in our nation for the first time. 🙌🏼

  • over the top: a raw journey to self-love by jonathan van ness // read in 2020 • This isn’t the book I expected from JVN, but I loved it more than I anticipated. It’s a side of him that isn’t usually shown on Queer Eye (a show I ADORE)— deeper, more raw, messy, complex, and layered with pain and struggle. His story is redemptive and real, and I’m so glad he shared it. (ps— his Getting Curious podcast is also a gem— thoughtful and interesting!)

  • becoming by michelle obama // read in 2019 • It took me a little bit to get through this one (because I got distracted, not because the book wasn’t great) but it was SO good. It’s such a rich, graceful, honest, and beautifully told memoir and made me love her even more. So worth a read, regardless of your political affiliation!

  • born a crime: stories from a south african childhood by trevor noah // read in 2017 • i really enjoyed this one -- it's a fascinatingly well-told story of life growing up in such a diverse, unique, and challenging south african post-apartheid culture... i learned so much, flew through this one, and felt all sorts of feelings while doing so. i haven't ever listened to any of noah's comedy, but i've heard this is an awesome book to listen to on audio since he reads it himself and delivers it so well!

  • year of yes: how to dance it out, stand in the sun, and be your own person by shonda rhimes // read in 2015 • I'm a major fan of Shonda Rhimes, even when I'm cursing at my TV because she's killed off another one of my favorite characters or twisted the plot in a way that is just SO WRONG. She's a brilliant and wicked and wonderfully talented mastermind, and I adored her writing style (like I thought I would). It's funny and exactly like I imagine getting coffee with her in person would be. I resonated with much of her story, of being an introvert afraid to step out of a comfort zone and do scary things, and so appreciated her transparency as she spent a year saying yes to all those terrifying things, to a fantastic end.

  • yes please by amy poehler // read in 2015 • After binge watching all of Parks and Recreation on Netflix over the last few months, I knew I wanted to read Amy Poehler's book. I was not disappointed! I found it to be hilarious at points, surprisingly poignant at others, and refreshingly transparent and real throughout. I loved the insights into her life and career and loved her even more than I already did as a result.

  • talking as fast as i can by lauren graham // read in • I only recently watched Gilmore Girls for the first time, so I didn't have the same longtime nostalgia as many fans, but I watched (and mostly hated) the revival and was curious to read more of Graham's thoughts on it all. I also LOVED Parenthood and was curious to read her thoughts on that show too, and she didn't disappoint! I've read a handful of celebrity memoirs in recent years and this one was the most fun and the most like what I really wanted out of a book like this. If you've seen and liked her shows, you'll like this one!

THREE STARS:

  • going there by katie couric // read in 2023 • i listened to this one on audio (which was enjoyable) and found that as someone who never really grew up watching the news or having a whole lot of context for news anchors as personalities/celebrities, it was interesting to learn more about couric’s career trajectory, how her work affected her personal life, the challenges she faced as a female in a male-dominated field, and her stories about others in the field who have had public scandals.

  • the woman in me by britney spears // read in 2023 • i didn’t grow up with britney’s music (sheltered christian kids, where you at?! 🙋🏼‍♀️) but it’s impossible to not know her hits and the headlines that have marked her story over the years. i knew loosely about the abusive dynamics with her parents and the intensity of her conservatorship, but truly, reading this made me so sad for what she has endured at the hands of people who should have loved, cared, and supported her. the trauma and grief throughout her life is deep, and i cannot imagine how hard it had to have been to be so trapped in your own life with so little control because of the manipulation of your parents and other powerful people. i’m glad she told her story — this feels like a book where the goal was just to get the things out there after so long of holding them back, and while the writing style is a bit elementary and the chapters felt a bit hollow at times or gaps almost lost me, i didn’t expect brilliance in that regard. (tbh, with celeb memoirs and ghostwriters and such, i rarely do!) all told, i liked it, and i empathize more deeply with her after reading it, and i’m glad she’s free to live life on her own terms now.

  • have i told you this already?: stories i don’t want to forget to remember by lauren graham // read in 2022• i’m a sucker for a celeb memoir, especially a lighthearted, short, easy, breezy one, and this was all of those things! listening to it on @librofm (shared my affiliate link in my stories— my fave audiobook app that supports indie bookstores!) while lauren graham read it herself was perfect — i sped it up and it gave me that gilmore girls vibe i love. it wasn’t anything especially surprising or new, but it was a fun listen! thanks @randomhouse for the free book, too!!

  • miss me with that: hot takes, helpful tidbits, and a few hard truths by rachel lindsay // read in 2022 • thanks to @randomhouse for this one! i wanted way more #bachelornation tea from this one (listen, i’m here for the drama and behind the scenes secrets always!!!), but still really enjoyed and appreciated rachel’s insights, stories, and essays. she doesn’t hold back in this one and speaks her truth and shines light on some hard and ugly things, and i appreciate her willingness to do so despite the pushback she’s sure to get. she’s been a favorite of mine for a while for how she’s stood strong in her convictions, been outspoken about issues of race and held others accountable when at fault, and really just blazed her own trail and left her mark in a reality tv world that hasn’t been kind or inclusive to people of color. and listen, i support her decision to distance herself from the Bachelor world (she owes them nothing and has given SO MUCH of herself) — there’s much that needs to change in the ABC/BN world and i hope others to come will follow in her lead to fight for it.

  • sisters first: stories from our wild and wonderful life by jenna bush hager and barbara pierce bush // read in 2020 • Everything about life in the White House fascinates me. I loved reading The Residence from the perspective of the staff, but this was a fun one to get the perspective of the first daughters. I loved their sisterly bond, their stories from their family and vacations and growing up around politics, and I especially loved seeing more glimpses of both George H.W. and W. I can’t imagine having both a grandfather and father be president... wild. George W. Bush was president for so much of my childhood (from 9-17) but I honestly know very little about him, so this was a really interesting peek behind the curtain. I have a lot of respect for both Jenna and Barbara and how they’ve lived their lives, especially with so much public scrutiny and attention. A fun memoir!

  • open book by jessica simpson // read in 2020 • What a juicy memoir this was! I didn’t grow up listening to/watching Jessica in anything but I still found this to be a really interesting and fun read with some great dirt on John Mayer and some actually decent writing, too. She’s got more to her than I ever gave her credit for!

  • karamo: my story of embracing purpose, healing, and hope by karamo brown // read in 2019 • My love for Queer Eye is REAL so I was stoked to get Karamo’s book from the library this week! It was a great afternoon read and told his story from the beginning until now, giving context to the kindhearted and wise “culture expert” we see on the show. I think Karamo is better on screen than he comes across on the page, but I enjoyed getting to know more about him and hear his story— there’s so much i didn’t know and appreciated him so vulnerably sharing with the world. We need more role models like him, especially with his unique perspective as a gay man of color coming from immigrant parents who is a father and a public figure.

  • wildflower by drew barrymore // read in 2016 • i don't know what it is about these memoirs full of scattered essays, but they just aren't my favorite. these might be the last of that style i read for a while. i know drew from the popular movies everybody knows her from, and i liked the look into her childhood and family roots and how that has played into her career and her own family. i always find family dynamics fascinating, so that was my favorite theme of this one. she cussed more than i expected (if the f word bugs you, be aware it appears pretty often) and i was pleasantly surprised to hear more about some of her famous friendships (adam sandler and cameron diaz) and to see they are actually genuine! i like little glimpses into reality behind all the glossy celebrity.

  • sounds like me: my life (so far) in song by sara bareilles // read in 2016 • i love sara's music and saw her in concert at my college a few years ago, so i already knew i liked her... and this was a fun look at more of her story and the background behind her music and her launch into fame. it's clear she's more of a singer/songwriter/performer than a writer, as this doesn't have any particular fantastic writing finesse to it. not a bad thing, necessarily-- it sounds like what i imagine interviews and conversations with her would sound like, but it's not a fantastic piece of literature by any means. there were stories of her relationships with her managers and record labels that i had never known, so that was an interesting look behind the scenes of the music industry, especially because it became the story behind her hit "love song" which i'm sure is now going to be stuck in your head. sorry.

  • bossypants by tina fey // read in 2016 • I listened to this one on audiobook in my car driving to and from work, and it was perfect for that. The chapters were mostly short, and this style of humorous writing worked well for short twenty minute bursts of listening. I laughed out loud a few times, and loved that it was Tina Fey herself reading it. I think that added a lot to it that I wouldn't have gotten just from reading the book itself. Overall, it wasn't wildly hilarious or a must-read at all, but it was fun!

  • why not me? by mindy kaling // read in 2016 • I read Kaling's first book and gave it the same 3/5 star rating... I just don't find them that funny. Maybe it's my poor sense of humor (quite likely, since many other people find her hilarious) buuuuut this one just didn't really grab me or make me laugh or anything. It was an okay read, but not one I'd recommend unless you're obsessed with her or think everything is funny, I guess!

  • is everyone hanging out without me? (and other concerns) by mindy kaling // read in 2015 • Okay, so I should probably start this by saying I don't think I've ever actually seen Mindy Kaling in anything...I've never seen The Office or The Mindy Project, so I really don't know much about her except what snippets and commercials and stuff I've seen. But...I loved Amy Poehler's book, and I saw this at the library and thought it would be similarly amusing and fun to read, so I read it. I really just didn't enjoy it, though. I think if I already knew and loved Mindy, it would have been better. It wasn't bad by any means, it just wasn't really that exciting and it wasn't very funny and it didn't really seem to say a whole lot... I guess it wasn't ever meant to be serious literature though so maybe I should just take it for what it is and move on! Okay, moving on.

TWO STARS:

  • the stories we tell: every piece of your story matters by joanna gaines // there wasn’t a whole lot to this one in my opinion, but if you’re a diehard magnolia/jo fan, you’ll probably love it!

  • greenlights by matthew mcconaughey // read in 2020 • Thanks to @randomhouse for this one! Alright, alright, alright... This book was... a trip. Like, literally, I felt like I was on some weird drug-induced trip with Matthew??? So many of his thoughts felt like random big words and atmospheric phrases strung together in a way only a person under the influence of something could comprehend... it was bizarre. There were snippets of sanity and some interesting thoughts throughout, but mostly, I was baffled and confused and unsure what was really going on.

  • single state of mind by andi dorfman // read in 2020 • I’m a sucker for Bachelor-related memoirs, sorry bout it 🤷🏼‍♀️ This one was essentially a deep dive into Andi’s sex/dating life in NYC mixed with a lot of shade thrown at her ex and I didn’t find it very interesting or worth a read honestly... I mostly just wanted to know who the men were that she mentioned.

  • my life on the road by gloria steinem // read in 2020 • Listened to half of this one on audio and finished it up with my used copy, and while there were some interesting stories about Gloria’s life on the road over the years as a journalist and speaker and activist, I was mostly pretty unenthused about this one.

  • seriously… i’m kidding by ellen degeneres // read in 2019 • For some reason, I’ve read so many books by comedians whose shows I don’t even watch... (Tina, Amy, Mindy, now Ellen) and then i wonder why I don’t really click with their humor or their stories... 🙄 I do think Ellen is funny, but I kept thinking her humor translates better on screen than on paper, and I skimmed through this one. Happy to be passing this one on to a friend I think will love it more!

  • scrappy little nobody by anna kendrick // read in 2017 • This wasn't my favorite of celebrity memoirs (and I've read a handful now!) -- it wasn't as engaging as others I've read, as funny as I expected from her, or as interesting a look at her life as I thought I'd find. I'd probably pass this one up, if I were you.

  • i said yes: my story of heartbreak, redemption, and true love by emily maynard johnson // read in 2016 • If you like watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows, this is a SUPER fast and easy read and it definitely made me like Emily more than I did before. She tells her story of love, the shows, and faith, but it's nothing super deep (I never really pegged her as a super deep person, to be honest) or really surprising either. It's a light, breezy memoir, and I did learn more about the behind-the-scenes elements of the show, which was probably interesting part of this book.

ONE STAR:

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