The memoir has become a new rite of passage for Hollywood stars, who have turned to the medium as a way to tell their stories in their own words, often for the first time ever. One of the most anticipated memoirs this year is Sylvester Stallone‘s “The Steps,” in which the beloved actor looks back on the long road to “Rocky,” tracing his difficult childhood, years as a struggling actor and eventual breakthrough as the writer and star of the 1976 classic. For those in the industry (or curious onlookers), meanwhile, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek‘s “Behind the Castle Walls” offers a fascinating look inside the gilded halls of one of Hollywood’s biggest companies — and his firsthand account of being ousted and replaced by Bob Iger.
Other notable memoirs out this year include “Roll the Calls” by Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel, Jaclyn Smith’s “I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie,” in which she revisits her five-season run on “Charlie’s Angels” and Hayden Panettiere’s “A Reckoning,” published just shortly before her actor’s tragic death. Check out more of the best celebrity memoirs and biographies below: Stallone looks back on the long road to “Rocky” in “The Steps,” tracing his difficult childhood, years as a struggling actor and eventual breakthrough as the writer and star of the 1976 classic. Framed largely around the years between his arrival in New York in 1969 and Rocky’s triumph at the 1977 Oscars, the memoir also reflects on the persistence and ambition that shaped the rest of his decades-long Hollywood career.
Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel opens up about his rise through the entertainment business in “Roll the Calls,” a candid account of building Endeavor and navigating decades of high-stakes deals, rivalries and relationships. The memoir also gets personal, covering Emanuel’s childhood struggles with ADHD and dyslexia, his marriage and family life and plenty of behind-the-scenes encounters with some of Hollywood’s biggest names. The former Disney CEO recounts his nearly 30 years at the company in “Behind the Castle Walls,” including his climb from home-video marketing executive to the top job in 2020.
Chapek also gives his account of leading Disney through the pandemic, navigating political controversies and ultimately being ousted in 2022 as Bob Iger returned as CEO. Smith revisits her five-season run as Kelly Garrett on “Charlie’s Angels” in “I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie,” while also looking back on the career and life that followed the hit series. Smith writes about the making of the ’70s television phenomenon, her friendships with co-stars including Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd, and her later work as an actress and businesswoman.
Applegate recounts a five-decade career — and the difficult experiences that unfolded away from the camera — in “You With the Sad Eyes.” The “Married… With Children” and “Dead to Me” star writes about growing up in a turbulent household, navigating fame from a young age, struggles with body image and her life after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021. Panettiere traces her life from child star to the height of her fame on “Heroes” and “Nashville” in “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” The memoir details the pressures she faced growing up in Hollywood alongside her highly publicized struggles with addiction, postpartum depression, relationships and the 2023 death of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere. Comedian Taylor Tomlinson brings the candor of her stand-up to the page in “Actually, Nevermind,” a collection of personal essays centered on all the things she has changed her mind about.
The former “After Midnight” host writes about religion, grief, relationships, therapy, body image, mental health and her career in comedy while reflecting on how her worldview has shifted with age. More than a decade after “Not That Kind of Girl,” Dunham returns to memoir with “Famesick,” reflecting on the complicated relationship between fame, ambition and her physical and mental health. The “Girls” creator revisits her rapid rise in Hollywood, years spent navigating chronic illness and the intense public scrutiny that accompanied much of her twenties and thirties.
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