35 Of The Best Autobiographies To Get Stuck Into, From Britney Spears' To Julia Fox's

One of the most outspoken pop icons of our time, Julia Fox reveals all in this authentic memoir detailing her life so far. From a troubled childhood which forced her to grow up early to toxic relationships and addictions that temporarily controlled her life to finally making it out on the other side.

Quite literally the biggest name in drag queen stardom, RuPaul bares all in his autobiography which tells his lived experience of going from poverty to discovering the power of performance and self-acceptance.

Through navigating difficul relationships with his parents to moulding his identity in the drag scenes of Atlanta and New York and his marriage with his husband Georges LeBar, no detail is left out.

One of the most highly anticipated autobiographies in contemporary times, Britney Spears' The Woman In Me is all about the musician taking control of her own narrative, after being denied of it, for so long. From the highs and lows of her career to her conservatorship, Spears brings for an insightiful and emotional read.

Having grown up in rural Wales above her family’s Chinese takeaway shop, Angela Hui looks at the bitter reality of racism in the UK while showcasing the importance of food and culture in this memoir. If you love Takeaway as much as we do, be sure to check out the Migration Museum in Lewisham, which currently has an immersive recreation of the family business for an exhibition which was co-curated by Hui.

Nickelodeon child star Jenette McCurdy wrote this heartbreaking memoir centred around the difficult relationship she had with her abusive mother, who died of cancer in 2013. Divided into the before and aftermath of her death, the narrative dives into the story of McCurdy’s career, including a disturbing producer she worked with, her struggle with mental health, and the turbulent grieving process she experienced. It’s definitely not a light read by any means, but one that will stick with you forever.

By exploring famous artists’ lives, scientific research, and Laing's own lived experiences with solitude, this international bestseller takes a poignant look at what it means to feel alone. Ultimately, she reframes loneliness as a way to connect, which makes this surprisingly comforting. While this masterpiece was written in 2016, it is an even more powerful read post-lockdown. If you’re still struggling mentally from the aftermath of COVID, this is definitely one for you…

Zauner, the singer behind indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast, writes this thoughtful memoir about identity and loss. She was one of the very few Asian Americans at her school in Oregon, and as she grew older, she began to feel less and less connected to her Korean heritage – until she turned 25 and her mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Ultimately, it was this grief that led her to embrace her family’s culture in a way she never had before.

From the author who edited The Good Immigrant, Shukla's Brown Baby is a memoir everyone needs on their bookshelf. Hilarious at times, heartbreaking at others, and informative from the outset and throughout, this book remains hopeful while discussing a breadth of potentially heavy topics like love, grief, and fatherhood.

The inspiration behind the Olivier Award nominated musical of the same name, Fun Home is a truly phenomenal graphic memoir that looks at the strained relationship between the author and her gay father, who passed away just two weeks after she came out to him. Bechdel handles tragedy with care, painting a thoroughly three dimensional portrait of her complicated father, while managing to inject humour into what could have easily been a solely bleak story.

Boakye reflects on his experience as both a Black student and a Black teacher in Britain, analysing racism in the education system and offering an exploration into how we can work to dismantle white supremacy in classrooms and beyond.

Abbi Jacobson, Broad City co-creator and the mastermind behind A League of Their Own, was going through a break-up when she decided to take a road trip across the US by herself. Her journey (both literally and figuratively) is captured with this collection of essays and musings. Join her on the ride and get inspired to channel Abbi and savour solitude.

Satrapi invites us into her childhood growing up amidst the Iranian Revolution up to her early adult years in Austria with this critically acclaimed graphic memoir. Persepolis is a must-read for everyone, especially for those of us in the West. We also highly recommend the animated film of the same name that was adapted from this book.

Everyone knows her name, but Malala's 2013 autobiography details the events in her life up to and after she was shot in the head by the Taliban in her home country of Pakistan. From blogging anonymously for the BBC under a pseudonym to campaign for girls education, through to the last thing she remembers before a gunman stormed her school bus and shot her, the autobiography is inspirational, riveting and hopeful.

One of the bestselling memoirs of recent times, Michelle Obama's book is a page-turner. The former First Lady recounts her upbringing in Chicago, her successful career as a lawyer, meeting her husband Barack Obama, moving into the White House and 'breaking royal protocol' with the Queen with equal doses of humility and pride.

On the bookshelves of many young women up and down the UK, the Times columnist recounts her own personal experiences while weaving them into discussions about womanhood and feminism. From abortion to weddings to pubic hair, there are no stones left unturned.

Haig starts Reasons To Stay Alive with the worst moment of his life: the mental health breakdown in his early twenties that almost drove him to suicide. With hindsight, the author writes of all the reasons he's so glad he is still alive, which he wasn't able to consider or appreciate when in the depths of crippling depression.

A result of the many hours of interviews between the civil rights leader and journalist Alex Haley, this must-read book documents Malcolm's childhood, including the murder of his father at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, his rise in the Nation of Islam and the differences in his activism compared to Martin Luther King. The autobiography was published in 1965, months after the giant of the civil rights movement was shot dead.

The co-founder and creator of Nike explains how he became the architect of one of the most coveted, recognisable and - still - very profitable consumer brands in this honest memoir.

The long-awaited memoir of the 44th president of the United States was released at the end of 2020 chronicling the life and times of the first Black president of the United States.

Four years after her powerful victim impact statement against convicted sex offender and Stanford university swimmer Brock Turner went viral, Chanel Miller waived her right to anonymity to tell her story of being a sexual assault survivor. Credited with changing the conversation about rapes on college campuses, Miller's brave memoir became a bestseller.