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Another banner year at the Celebrity Memoir Factory — a seemingly bottomless font of origin stories, trauma dumps and D-list confessions. Thankfully, a cottage industry of podcast sages has sprung up to parse the chaos for us. Chelsea Devantez of “Glamorous Trash,” Steven Phillips-Horst and Lily Marotta of “Celebrity Book Club” and Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton of “Good Noticings” have made it their job-slash-public service to sift through the year’s fame diaries so we don’t have to crack a single spine unless it’s truly worth it. Of course, “best” is subjective, given how porous the borders of both “celebrity” and “memoir” have become.
Celebrities and public figures released 290 new memoirs in 2025, down nearly 160 from 2023’s Peak Celeb Memoir era, according to Goodreads. Brooke Shields, Anthony Hopkins and Charlie Sheen delivered the year’s marquee memoirs, but the real scene-stealers came from the sidelines: Kevin Federline, Cameron Crowe, Hilaria Baldwin, Cheryl Hines (plus Olivia Nuzzi’s bridge-burner sliding in just under the wire).
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Next year promises memoirs from Liza Minnelli and Lena Dunham to Gavin Newsom and Draymond Green. Until then, these are the books our expert podcasting brain trust insists you add to your book stack.
“I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir”
By Keith McNally
Gallery Books: 320 pages, $30
“Keith McNally is a misanthrope in the vein of Anthony Bourdain, although perhaps less interested in food (ironic as he is a restaurateur). He spends his excellent memoir having affairs with the famous playwright Alan Bennett and an unnamed, big-in-the-’90s TV actress, hitchhiking to Afghanistan, and generally longing for the good old days. And guess what? They were good! A neo-traditionalist and pied piper for the New York downtown set, Keith and his nine lives most recently turned to Instagram after a stroke impaired his ability to speak. There is an interesting metaphor here for our world today: social media as the outlet for people who have suffered brain damage. Lucky for us, McNally remains sharp on the page, and he will make you wish more Brits (Tina Brown and Anna Wintour among them) would come over and show us how it’s done.” — Steven Phillips-Horst
Episode: “Keith McNally,” Pt. 1
“I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir” by Keith McNally.
(Gallery Books)
“Matriarch: A Memoir”
By Tina Knowles
One World: 432 pages, $35
“Have you ever wondered how the heck Beyoncé and Solange Knowles found their way to becoming the most talented people on planet Earth? It’s because they were raised and styled by Tina Knowles, whose unflinching memoir takes us from Texas to the top of the world. Her story is not just a rich tapestry of both her personal successes and failures but a beautiful exploration of her family’s story of being Black in America. She’s both an entrepreneurial and creative force, and this is an inside look at how her enduring pursuit of creative fulfillment helped establish the careers of today’s most beloved artists.” — Claire Parker
Episode: “Tina Knowles Is the Matriarch”
“Matriarch” by Tina Knowles
“Say Everything: A Memoir”
By Ione Skye
Gallery Books: 304 pages, $30
“The best of the year, packed with jaw-dropping moments that explore Ione’s career-turning role in ‘Say Anything,’ her relationship with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis, her marriage to Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz and why her story feels like a Forrest Gump-style journey through a ’90s Hollywood fever-dream. It’s everything you want in a celeb memoir: wild dishy reveals, beautiful vulnerability and a riveting tale of Hollywood and love that will make you feel like you’re re-living a piece of the ‘90s.” — Chelsea Devantez
Episode: “Ione Skye’s Memoir Say Everything (With Chelsea Davison)”
“Say Everything” by Ione Skye.
(Gallery Books)
“All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation”
By Elizabeth Gilbert
Riverhead Books: 400 pages, $35
“Some people have been waiting for a new Rihanna album, and some people have been waiting for famous-white-woman-guru Liz Gilbert’s grief memoir about her bad AF lesbian lover Rayya Elias, who passed away in 2018. If you’re into reading about love addiction, speed balls, buying expensive motorcycle boots, reenacting a lesbian death ceremony and cancer — this one’s for you.” — Lily Marotta
Episode: “Elizabeth ‘Banana Republic’ Gilbert”
“All the Way to the River” by Elizabeth Gilbert.
(Riverhead)
“Finding My Way: A Memoir”
By Malala Yousafzai
Atria Books: 320 pages, $30
“Somehow, another woman in the political sphere whose name starts with ‘M’ has written a book this year with ‘Finding’ and ‘Way’ in the title. 2025 was apparently the year compasses were distributed en masse to famous Democratic females. Malala’s brisk read is most notable for revealing how the first and only time Malala ripped a bong, it gave her delayed PTSD (from getting shot in the head by the Taliban years earlier). The rest of the book is filled with wild tales of her youthful indiscretions, like staying up until 1 a.m. chatting at a reasonable volume with her roommates or missing exams at Oxford to attend the G7 Summit.” —S.P.H.
Episode: “Malala ‘B-List Nation’ Yousafzai”
“Finding My Way: A Memoir” by Malala Yousafzai
(Atria)
“Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success”
By Jeff Hiller
Simon & Schuster: 272 pages, $29
“If you loved Jeff Hiller in his Emmy-winning role in ‘Somebody Somewhere,’ this memoir is exactly what you hoped it would be. Hilarious, insightful, grounded but always full of heart. These stories are the perfect companion for a beautiful long weekend spent reflecting and enjoying.” —C.P.
“A fellow celeb memoir devotee, Hiller knew exactly what makes a good memoir and delivered all the hits in his own book, including the exact ages at which other celebrities found their success. His memoir is even better knowing he went on to win an Emmy post-publication.” — C.D.
Episode: “10 Must-Know Moments in Celebrity Memoirs (With Jeff Hiller)”
“Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success” by Jeff Hiller.
(Simon & Schuster)
“I Am Maria: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home”
By Maria Shriver
The Open Field: 352 pages, $30
“Maria Shriver and poetry — two concepts kept apart far too long, now finally united for the low price of $29.95. Shriver processes the trauma of growing up as one of the more random Kennedys, marrying Arnold Schwarzenegger, becoming the first lady of California, then getting betrayed by the Governator after he not only porks their housekeeper but fathered a child with her — all through some terse, rather facile poems. An all-American tall tale. Listen to the audiobook, then recite your favorite passages aloud to work on your mid-Atlantic accent.” —S.P.H.
Episode: “Maria ‘Which Kennedy Are You’ Shriver”
“I Am Maria: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home” by Maria Shriver.
(The Open Field)
“Uptown Girl: A Memoir”
By Christie Brinkley
Harper Influence: 416 pages, $34
“This has everything you want in a memoir and even more stuff you don’t — which is what made it so surprising and surprisingly enjoyable! Supermodel Christie Brinkley unpacks her supermodel career, four marriages and many, many wild romances that would put Elizabeth Taylor to shame. We jump on a boat with Billy Joel, run into Whitney Houston, Elle MacPherson and Muhammad Ali, plus experience magical sand that saves her from a traumatic helicopter crash. Bonus: What it’s like to get negged by Sylvester Stallone’s brother.” — C.D.
Episode: “Christie Brinkley’s Memoir Uptown Girl (With Nicole Boyd)”
“Uptown Girl: A Memoir” by Christie Brinkley.
(Harper Influence)
“Semi-Well Adjusted: Despite Literally Everything”
By Alyson Stoner
St. Martin’s Press: 320 pages, $30
“Alyson Stoner takes a compassionate look at her upbringing and the ways that Hollywood fails its young stars in this brutally honest memoir about child stardom. From success as a dancer and a Disney kid and the lack of money and support that comes with that kind of fame to the truth about what happens to the family of a child star, Alyson legit tells all in this heartbreakingly frank exploration of growing up in the spotlight and the never-ending pursuit of the moment where it will have all been worth it.” — C.P.
Episode: “Alyson Stoner Is Semi-Well-Adjusted”
“Semi-Well-Adjusted: Despite Literally Everything: A Memoir” by Alyson Stoner.
(St. Martin’s Press)
Honorable mention: “West End Girl” by Lily Allen
“I simply must say that Lily Allen’s latest album is actually a breakup memoir set to music, and if you listen from start to finish, it’s the best tell-all of the year! ‘West End Girl’ is an active listening experience where one must sift through the many contradictions, confessions and piping hot, unfiltered tea. Come for the haunting bangers about her open marriage to ‘Stranger Things’ star David Harbour and their Architectural Digest video; stay for Dallas Major and Madeline.” — C.D.
Episode: “Lily Allen’s Memoir and West End Girl Breakdown”
Rudi, an L.A. native, is a freelance art and culture writer. She’s currently at work on her debut novel about a stuttering student journalist.
