If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.
Some people’s lives are so extraordinary, it would be a sin not to have their stories memorialized on the page. And when those stories have a real-life Hollywood ending, even better.
Some of the most captivating celebrity memoirs have come out within the last couple of years, shooting to the top of dozens of best-seller lists for their candid and honest accounts. Matthew McConaughey’s “Greenlights,” in which the Academy Award-winning actor recounts the raucous stories from his far-from-average life, became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller when it came out last October, and still enjoys a spot in the Top Ten, 44 weeks later.
More recently, Brandi Carlile’s memoir “Broken Horses” was heralded by reviewers as the best music memoir of all time, and climbed to the top of the bestseller list after its release, shortly after Seth Rogen’s “Yearbook” became an instant Amazon best-seller in May.
Here are most captivating, and top-selling, celebrity memoirs to read this year.
Popular on Variety
‘Yearbook’ by Seth Rogen
From the beloved comedian known for his iconic roles on “Superbad” and “Freaks and Geeks” comes the New York Times Bestseller, “Yearbook.” In the hilarious page-turner, Rogen recounts his wildest and funniest stories, from doing stand-up as a teenager to making awkward conversation with A-listers at star-studded Hollywood parties.
‘Unfinished’ by Priyanka Chopra Jonas
From her childhood in India, growing up as a teenager in the states and then moving back to her home country as a beauty pageant, Jonas’s rise to fame has been far from ordinary. In her best-selling memoir, the actress reflects on her challenges and triumphs as she doggedly pursued her calling, while sharing honest stories about her father’s death, her marriage with Nick Jonas and her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
‘Broken Horses’ by Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile’s insightful autobiography has been heralded as one of the best music memoirs ever written since it came out earlier this year. In “Broken Horses” the Grammy-winning musician tell the stories from her life that helped shape the raw music that continues to resonate with millions of fans around the word. She shares her experience of coming out as gay in her very small, religious town and finding salvation through the music of heroes that have become collaborators, like Elton John and Dolly Parton. In a Variety review, Chris Willman wrote, “The best-written, most engaging rock autobiography since her childhood hero, Elton John, published ‘Me.'”
‘Make it Nice’ by Dorinda Medley
As Dorinda famously said when the housewives came for a visit at her storied Berkshires estate and made a mess: “Make it nice!” Now, the iconic “Real Housewives of New York” star has written her own memoir, whose title is based off her memeable tag-line, all about her always-entertaining, not-always-glamorous journey to her current reality show life we all know and love.
‘All In’ by Billie Jean King
In the real-life first memoir, the record-breaking tennis player recounts her journey towards becoming one of the best athletes in the world, enjoying six years as the top-ranked woman in the world, twenty Wimbledon championships and 39 grand-slams to her name. In this spirited account, she describes the myriad challenges she faced as a woman in the male-dominated sport and the watershed moment when she defeated Bobby Riggs as portrayed in the 2017 film “Battle of the Sexes.”
‘The Beauty of Living Twice’ by Sharon Stone
Stone gets brutally honest in this New York Times Bestseller as she opens up about her near-death experience after suffering a massive stroke and losing her career, family and fortune in the process. In the candid pages, she chronicles her efforts to rebuild her life and regain her health, while also taking readers back to a childhood of trauma before making her way in an industry filled with their own types of demons
‘Greenlights’ by Matthew McConaughey
A #1 New York Times Bestseller, McConaughey’s memoir and self-proclaimed “approach book” is filled with raucous stories and one-of-a-kind bits of wisdom from the actor’s less-than-average life. His approach to living life is captured in the book’s motto: catching greenlights, or learning how to deal with, and even thrive amidst life’s challenges.
‘Just As I Am’ by Cicely Tyson
Tyson died at 96 just months after her memoir was released at the beginning of the year. In the 400-page chronicle, co-written by Michelle Burford, the iconic actress recounts her very full life, from being brought up by immigrant parents in Harlem throughout the 1920s, getting pregnant at 17 and eventually making her way to Hollywood as a model and actress. Weaved through all her stories is Tyson’s strength and resilience as she finds success against a backdrop of racism and sexism, serving to inspiring to countless Black creatives that came after her, and also one of the many reasons former President Barack Obama awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
‘Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood’ by Danny Trejo
Trejo’s remarkable story became an instant best-seller since hitting the shelves earlier this year. The captivating memoir tells the actor’s remarkable story of growing up in an abusive and drug-addicted home and landing in some of the country’s most notorious state prisons before going onto become a recognizable face in some of Hollywood’s biggest shows and movies.
‘Letters to America’ by Willie Nelson
Following his best-selling memoir “It’s a Long Story” comes “Letters to America,” in which the beloved country musician and activist writes a series of letters to important figures in his life, such as his hero Gene Autry, his closest family members and his guitar “Trigger.”