Celebrity memoirs have become all the rage over the years, as they give the biggest names in Hollywood a rare chance to tell their stories in their own words. This year was no exception.
In 2020, stars including Jessica Simpson, Val Kilmer, Alex Trebek, Mariah Carey and Matthew McConaughey released tell-alls, spilling secrets about their personal and professional lives and everything in between.
Open Book allowed Simpson to show a side of herself that fans had never seen before — not even on Newlyweds, her ‘00s-era MTV reality show with then-husband Nick Lachey. In the book, she candidly wrote about her marriages to Lachey and current husband Eric Johnson as well as her high-profile relationships with John Mayer and Tony Romo. She also opened up about being sexually abused as a child and abusing alcohol later in life, among other little-known struggles.
“I believe in being completely open and honest,” the fashion designer exclusively told Us Weekly in February. “I hope [my children, Maxwell, Ace and Birdie] can learn from some of my mistakes – but more importantly, learn that no life is perfect, challenges give us tools and it’s learning from our mistakes that makes us stronger. There are some topics in the book I don’t think they are mature enough to digest yet, but in due time I will share everything with them.”
Carey, for her part, was also as frank as could be in her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, in which she detailed her failed marriages to Tommy Mottola and Nick Cannon in addition to her rise to becoming one of the bestselling music artists of all time. She did, however, opt to skip over several memories, including her rumored romance with Eminem and her brief engagement to businessman James Packer.
“If it was a relationship that mattered, it’s in the book. If not, it didn’t occur,” the pop diva told The Guardian in October.
As 2020 (finally) comes to an end, scroll through the gallery below to read 10 of the biggest bombshells from celebrity memoirs released this year.