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Another banner year at the Celebrity Memoir Factory \u2014 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<\/a>,” Steven Phillips-Horst and Lily Marotta of “Celebrity Book Club”<\/a> and Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton of “Good Noticings” <\/a>have made it their job-slash-public service to sift through the year\u2019s fame diaries so we don\u2019t have to crack a single spine unless it\u2019s truly worth it. Of course, \u201cbest\u201d is subjective, given how porous the borders of both \u201ccelebrity\u201d and \u201cmemoir\u201d have become.<\/p>\n Celebrities and public figures released 290 new memoirs<\/u><\/a> in 2025, down nearly 160 from 2023\u2019s Peak Celeb Memoir era, according to Goodreads<\/u><\/a>. Brooke Shields, Anthony Hopkins and Charlie Sheen delivered the year\u2019s marquee memoirs, but the real scene-stealers came from the sidelines: Kevin Federline, Cameron Crowe, Hilaria Baldwin, Cheryl Hines (plus Olivia Nuzzi\u2019s bridge-burner sliding in just under the wire).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir” <\/a> \u201cKeith 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 <\/i>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.\u201d \u2014 Steven Phillips-Horst<\/p>\n Episode: “Keith McNally,” Pt. 1<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMatriarch: A Memoir” <\/a> Episode: “Tina Knowles <\/u>I<\/u>s the Matriarch”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n Read more:<\/b> Tina Knowles sets the record straight: ‘People have so many misconceptions about my family’<\/a><\/p>\n “Say Everything: A Memoir” <\/a> \u201cThe best of the year, packed with jaw-dropping moments that explore Ione\u2019s career-turning role in ‘Say Anything,’ her relationship with Red Hot Chili Peppers\u2019 Anthony Kiedis, her marriage to Beastie Boys\u2019 Adam Horovitz and why her story feels like a Forrest Gump-style journey through a \u201990s Hollywood fever-dream. It\u2019s 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\u2019re re-living a piece of the ’90s.\u201d \u2014 Chelsea Devantez<\/p>\n Episode: “Ione Skye\u2019s Memoir Say Everything (<\/u>W<\/u>ith Chelsea Davison)”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n “All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation” <\/a><\/p>\n By Elizabeth Gilbert Episode: “Elizabeth ‘Banana Republic’ Gilbert”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cFinding My Way: A Memoir” <\/a> \u201cSomehow, 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.\u201d \u2014S.P.H.<\/i><\/p>\n Episode: “Malala ‘B-List Nation’ Yousafzai”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cActress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success”<\/a> \u201cIf you loved Jeff Hiller in his Emmy-winning role in ‘Somebody Somewhere,’<\/a> 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.\u201d \u2014C.P.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cA 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.\u201d \u2014 C.D.<\/i><\/p>\n Episode: “10 Must-Know Moments in Celebrity Memoirs (With Jeff Hiller)”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n Read more:<\/b> ‘Somebody Somewhere’ showed Joel’s ‘naked and real’ truth \u2014 and Jeff Hiller’s too<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI Am Maria: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home” <\/a> \u201cMaria Shriver and poetry \u2014 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 \u2014 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.\u201d \u2014S.P.H.<\/i><\/p>\n Episode: “Maria ‘Which Kennedy Are You’ Shriver”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n “Uptown Girl: A Memoir” <\/a> \u201cThis has everything you want in a memoir and even more stuff you don\u2019t \u2014 which is what made it so surprising and <\/i>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\u2019s brother.\u201d \u2014 C.D.<\/p>\n Episode: “Christie Brinkley\u2019s Memoir Uptown Girl (With Nicole Boyd)”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n “Semi-Well Adjusted: Despite Literally Everything”<\/a> \u201cAlyson 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.\u201d \u2014 C.P.<\/p>\n Episode: “Alyson Stoner Is Semi-Well-Adjusted”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n Honorable mention: “West End Girl” by Lily Allen<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI simply must say that Lily Allen\u2019s latest album is actually a breakup memoir set to music, and if you listen from start to finish, it\u2019s 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.\u201d \u2014 C.D.<\/p>\n Episode: “Lily Allen\u2019s Memoir and West End Girl Breakdown”<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/i><\/p>\n
By Keith McNally
Gallery Books: 320 pages, $30<\/p>\n
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By Tina Knowles
One World: 432 pages, $35
\u201cHave you ever wondered how the heck Beyonc\u00e9 and Solange Knowles found their way to becoming the most talented people on planet Earth? It\u2019s 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.\u201d \u2014 Claire Parker<\/p>\n
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By Ione Skye
Gallery Books: 304 pages, $30<\/p>\n
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Riverhead Books: 400 pages, $35
\u201cSome people have been waiting for a new Rihanna album, and some people have been waiting for famous-white-woman-guru Liz Gilbert\u2019s grief memoir about her bad AF lesbian lover Rayya Elias, who passed away in 2018. If you\u2019re into reading about love addiction, speed balls, buying expensive motorcycle boots, reenacting a lesbian death ceremony and cancer \u2014 this one\u2019s for you.\u201d \u2014 Lily Marotta<\/p>\n
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By Malala Yousafzai\u00a0
Atria Books: 320 pages, $30<\/p>\n
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By Jeff Hiller
Simon & Schuster: 272 pages, $29<\/p>\n
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By Maria Shriver
The Open Field: 352 pages, $30<\/p>\n
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By Christie Brinkley
Harper Influence: 416 pages, $34<\/p>\n
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By Alyson Stoner
St. Martin’s Press: 320 pages, $30<\/p>\n
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