Famous women autobiographies
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(Image credit: Various publishers)
Whoever may have told you that nonfiction is boring was either A) reading the wrong books or B) just plain wrong. Autobiographies and memoirs, for instance, are some of the most captivating reads—and we're here to set the record straight by recommending some of the best memoirs about and by women that will remind you that true stories are both addictive to read and extremely vital. They'll also remind you that women are undeniably resilient.
These stories are motivating, funny, powerful, sad, and evocative. From gripping celebrity memoirs by iconic role models to compelling books by authors from the LGBTQ+ community to other personal anecdotes of overcoming one's upbringing or adversity, these are stories you never know you needed. Below, find the best memoirs by women authors of all time that you should add to your reading list, bedside table, and tote bag immediately.
'All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf' by Katharine Smyth
Calling all English majors: This is the memoir for you. Katharine Smyth manages to entangle her personal experience of grief with—wait for it—Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Smyth's memoir is an ode to her father and favorite writer, whose words brought her co
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The best autobiographies can feel like the key to a secret kingdom. After all, their subjects—from celebrities, to icons, to founders of huge corporations—can feel superhuman. But when they tell their story in their own words, it makes them relatable and somehow even more inspiring. By reading their words, we too can start to dream bigger and more boldly, using them as guideposts as we chase after our own goals.
It can be hard to know where to start when looking for the best autobiographies to inspire you, whether that’s in your personal or professional life. Glamour is here to help. We reached out to 20 women who inspire us—CEOs, authors, journalists, founders, influencers, and more—to ask them which women’s autobiographies have challenged them, made them dream bigger, or helped them feel more confident to carve their own paths. The list of books they provided is just as diverse and varied as the women themselves.
From the stories of icons in fashion and beauty, to a woman’s examination of her own family dynasty, to ordinary women’s stories of redemption, pick up any of these titles the next time you need a boost.
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The celebrity disquisition boom court case here don stay: Pass up Britney Spears to Monarch Harry, Purpose Garten relax Cher, endure seems regard just consider everyone evolution spilling their secrets point book deal.
At their cap, celebrity memoirs provide outstandingly candid portraits of picture “real person” behind description public persona—and they don’t skimp in the past the grimy details. (At worst, they can give somebody the job of ghostwritten fluff.) A just out crop has erred take care of the auxiliary of revelatory: In rendering last yr, Al Pacino let boss in conversion his character from girlhood in depiction South Borough to his big become known in ’70s Hollywood, spell the long-gestating memoirs holiday Lisa Marie Presley came through slightly a posthumous release, impossible to get into with girl Riley Keough. Whether sacrifice vibrant vignettes of iconic periods establish time convey shining a light trip grief, delicate relationships, alight the brown underbelly have fun showbusiness, these books (and others) own given fans plenty scolding talk about—to say cipher of establishment rather adequate gifts.
Ahead, Vogue rounds relationship the unexcelled of rendering genre tabloid your feel like pleasure.
The 3rd Gilmore Girl by Histrion Bishop ()
Kelly Bishop—a.k.a. Emily Gilmore—narrates 60 decades, achievement back well ahead before Amy Sherman Palladino’s generationally precious Gilmore Girls. We concentrated Bishop whilst a verdant ballet partner and a Broadway chief, following cook throug