With the release of a new book about burning Prince Harry’s barn, spareit’s time to dive deep into the fertile world of celebrity memoirs.bossi pants; cinema speculation), despicable everything (I will never eat lunch in this town again; vanity fair diaries), or an intimate portrait (Open; green light), these memoirs bring us closer to a seemingly different breed of celebrity.
The beauty of this genre is in the way it brings celebrities down to human level.Often like Debbie Harry face itAlan Coming In load, or Carrie Fisher dialist princessthe author not only examines himself, but also acts as a generous and intelligent observer of pop culture times and places, and of the characters he meets along the way. There is plenty of room.
Here are our 30 all-time favorites, listed in no particular order. Pass the popcorn.
1
number one is walkingby Steve Martin
2
The extraordinary life of an ordinary manby Paul Newman
3
day street books
face itby Debbie Harry
Four
Baggage: The Story of a Full Lifeby Alan Cumming
Five
day street books
girl in a bandKim Gordon
6
Saint Martin Griffin
Act 1: AutobiographyMoss Art
8
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
memorySinead O’Connor
9
cinema speculationQuentin Tarantino
Ten
best friend in the officeJenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey
11
vintage
Open: AutobiographyAndre Agassi
12
Da Capo Press
SatchmoLouis Armstrong
13
vintage
personal educational backgroundCatherine Graham
14
backbay books
lifeKeith Richards
15
bloomsbury usa
kitchen secret storyAnthony Bourdain
16
Reagan Arthur / Little Brown
bossy pantsTina Fey
17
i’m glad your mom diedJennette McCurdy
19
Picador USA
vanity fair diariesTina Brown
20
day street books
open bookJessica Simpson
twenty one
Three Rivers Press
Is everyone hanging out without me?Mindy Kaling
twenty two
scribner
Dear Mr. YouMary Louise Parker
twenty three
random house trade paperback
dear girlAli Wong
twenty four
one world
Born a CrimeTrevor Noah
twenty five
blue rider press
dialist princessCarrie Fisher
26
Harper Perennial
Removed nameFrank Langella
27
random house trade paperback
I will never eat lunch in this town againJulia Phillips
28
random house trade paperback
my life so farJane Fonda
29
we were dreamersby Simu Liu
30
green light. Matthew McConaughey
Adrian Westenfeld
book and fiction editor
Adrienne Westenfeld is Esquire’s Books and Fiction Editor, overseeing book reporting, editing fiction, and curating the Esquire Book Club.
