Many celebrities shy away from sharing the intimate details of their personal life but when it comes time to pen a memoir, there are some stars who are willing to tell all.
Over the course of 2022, numerous celebrities put pen to paper and were ready to share their story. This year, famous faces like Matthew Perry and Tom Felton released their memoirs — and ended up making some truly shocking revelations.
And the two actors weren’t alone in spilling the tea about their lives. Jamie Lynn Spears, Jennette McCurdy and Colton Haynes are just a few others who pulled the curtain back.
Read on to discover some of the celebrity memoirs you need to pick up this year…
Matthew Perry revealed all in his shocking memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” particularly opening up about his struggle with addiction which began after he was cast as Chandler Bing in “Friends” when he was 24. In the memoir, Mathew chronicled his decades-long journey, admitting that at one point he was down to 128 pounds and was taking 55 Vicodin a day. He added that over the years, he’d spent $7 to $9 million across 15 rehab stays while trying to get sober. Despite his efforts, Matthew’s attempts to stop drinking and doing other drugs failed him — until his heart ended up stopping for a full five minutes on an operating table. Thankfully, Matthew recovered and has been sober for the past few years.
“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again. I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people,” Matthew shared.
In January, Jamie Lynn Spears released her memoir “Things I Should Have Said” — and it caused a lot of drama within her family. In the book, Jamie Lynn discussed her relationship with her older sister Britney Spears through the years, touching upon her struggle with mental health. At one point, Jamie Lynn called Britney’s behavior “erratic, paranoid and spiraling.” While Jamie Lynn was in the middle of promoting the book, Britney called her out for using her for sales, saying that she was “disgusted” by her family.
Elsewhere in the book, Jamie Lynn also opened up about her time as a child star on Nickelodeon, her mental health journey, becoming a teen mom and how she was impacted by her daughter Maddie’s near-death experience.
3. Tom Felton
This year, Tom Felton gave fans a very personal look into his life in his memoir, “Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard.” Not only did Tom get extremely candid about his battle with addiction and multiple trips to rehab but he also opened up about his relationship with Emma Watson. In the book, Tom admitted that despite what he publicly said about their friendship, there were times when he did see her as more than a friend.
“Rumors started to abound that there was more to our relationship than we were letting on. I denied that I liked her in that way, but the truth was different,” he wrote. “My girlfriend at the time knew straight away that there was something unspoken between us. I remember using the familiar old line, ‘I love her like a sister.’ But there was more to it than that. I don’t think I was ever in love with Emma, but I loved and admired her as a person in a way that I could never explain to anybody else… we were kindred spirits, I know for certain I’ll always have Emma’s back and she’ll always have mine too.”
Jennette McCurdy released her memoir “I’m Glad My Mom Died” this year, chronicling her adolescence as a Nickelodeon star and her turbulent relationship with her mother. In the book, Jennette reflected on the intense physical and emotional abuse she faced from her mother, who passed away in 2013. Jennette explained that before her death, she was “enmeshed and codependent and very anxiously attached” to her mother.
She also opened up about her relationship with her “Cat & Sam” co-star Ariana Grande, admitting that she often found herself feeling “jealous” of the musician. She revealed that while she was forced to fulfill obligations to Nickelodeon, Ariana was often permitted to miss filming to “sing at award shows, record new songs, and do press for her upcoming album.”
5. Geena Davis
In October, Geena Davis released her own memoir, “Dying of Politeness: A Memoir,” which chronicled her “journey to badassery” — from child star to major celebrity. Following the release of the book, one particular story involving Bill Murray caught the attention of fans. Geena, who worked with Bill on the 1990 film “Quick Change,” claimed she had a pretty negative experience with the actor. Not only did she say that he made her uncomfortable during her audition in his hotel room, but he also allegedly verbally degraded her on set in front of hundreds of people. She says she hasn’t spoken to him since the release of the film.
“I figure it’s sort of rather universally known that he could be difficult to work with. And so I don’t feel like I’m busting him in a way that will necessarily shock him. I think he knows very well the way he can behave,” Geena told People about her decision to share her experience.
6. Constance Wu
Constance Wu made her return to social media this year with the announcement of her memoir, “Making a Scene.” While she admits the collection of personal essays “is not always the most flattering portrayal,” she’s proud of how honest she was able to be in the hopes of helping other people — including her candid reflections on the time she was raped.
“Why I wrote my book and why I’m here today [is] to reach out and help people talk about the uncomfortable stuff in order to understand it, reckon with it, and open pathways to healing. If we want to be seen, really seen…we need to let all of ourselves be seen, including the parts we’re scared or ashamed of — parts that, however, imperfect require care and attention. And we need to stop beating each other (and ourselves) up when we do,” Constance shared.
“Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness’ released his memoir “Over The Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love” in September, sharing his life story before he joined the show’s cast. Jonathan delved into why he made the decision to share his HIV positive status and also detailed his history of drug abuse – he became addicted to methamphetamine and went to rehab twice in his 20s – and how he was sexually molested as a child. As for why he wrote the book, Jonathan says he wants to help other people.
“I want people to realize you’re never too broken to be fixed,” Jonathan shared.
This year, “Selling Sunset” star Chrishell Stause opened up in her memoir “Under Construction: Because Living My Best Life Took a Little Work.” Not only did Chrishell get candid about her childhood in small-town Kentucky and how she made it big, but she also spilled the details of her love life and failed romances with her famous exes. After looking back, Chrishell says she’s now “a work in progress,” explaining that therapy and self-reflection has helped her make better decisions when it comes to love and life.
9. Viola Davis
In April, Viola Davis shared her memoir “Finding Me,” chronicling her journey from her poverty-stricken childhood to the stage in New York City — and how she found her purpose along the way. In one particularly profound moment in the book, Viola opened up about how Will Smith helped her reckon with how childhood trauma continued to affect her everyday life. When Will asked her a deep question, she says she realized she still felt like the “terrified, third-grade Black girl” who had constantly faced racist abuse.
“There I was, a working actress with steady gigs, Broadway credits, multiple industry awards, and a reputation of bringing professionalism and excellence to any project. Hell, Oprah knew who I was. Yet, sitting there conversing with Will Smith, I was still that little, terrified, third-grade Black girl,” Viola wrote of the life-changing realization.
10. Anne Heche
Before Anne Heche’s death earlier this year, she was working on a follow-up memoir to 2001’s “Call Me Crazy.” Shortly after she unexpectedly passed away, the book, titled “Call Me Anne,” was released. It contained touching personal stories as well as poems and prompts that helped the actress through tough times. In the stories, Anne opened up about her struggle with childhood sexual abuse, her faith, and relationships, including her romance with Ellen DeGeneres.
“I had never been with a woman before I dated Ellen. I did not, personally, identify as a lesbian. I simply fell in love! It was, to be clear, as odd to me as anyone else. There were no words to describe how I felt. Gay didn’t feel right, and neither did straight. Alien might be the best fit, I sometimes thought. What, why, and how I fell in love with a person instead of their gender, I would have loved to have answered if anyone had asked, but as I said earlier, no one ever did. I am happy that I was able to tell you in this book — once and for all,” Anne wrote.
11. Selma Blair
In May, Selma Blair released her book, “Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up,” sharing her life story from her childhood to her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis. In the candid account, Selma opened up about her battle with addiction, an alleged sexual assault and a shocking connection to Drew Barrymore. While the topics may have been hard to recount, Selma says that she wrote the memoir for her son, ‘and for people trying to find the deepest hole to crawl into until the pain passes.’ Looking back Selma says she’s in a “good place” now but sometimes can’t believe “all this happened” in her life and she’s “still here” and okay.
12. Kelly Ripa
Kelly Ripa looked back on her life in her recent memoir, “Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories,” sharing everything from pivotal career moments to the time she blacked out during sex. While there are a lot of lighthearted stories, Kelly admits the “hardest chapter to write” was the one about her time on “Live!” with co-host Regis Philbin. Kelly opened up about the early days of her time on the show, claiming Regis wasn’t immediately welcoming. While she believes she eventually grew on him, they still had their ups and downs. Overall, she shared that she “so enjoyed” all the moments they were able to spend together a “handful of times” off-set. She also called him “the world’s best storyteller,” noting that “if I could become a tenth as good” a storyteller as he was, she’d “be happy.”
13. Colton Haynes
Colton Haynes’ memoir “Miss Memory Lane” was released in May, where he shared the incredible highs and devastating lows of his career thus far. The actor got candid about his early career and coming to terms with his sexuality. Colton even revealed the truth about his departure from “Teen Wolf” and “Arrow.” In a profound portion of the book, Colton also opened up about his journey to sobriety after using drugs and alcohol to alleviate painful life moments and memories from his life including alleged sexual abuse as a child and his mother’s death. His final bender landed him in the hospital — and changed his life.
“After a week at Cedars, I still couldn’t walk,” he wrote. “A doctor told me that I’d taken a near-lethal dose of Xanax on my final bender, of which I had no recollection; it didn’t sound like something I would do, but I had to admit that I didn’t recognize the person I’d turned into. I had no idea what his intentions were.”
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