It’s time to put pen to paper! Whether it be a memoir, children’s book or something in between, celebrities — including the Kardashian sisters, Michelle ObamaAnd Mindy Kaling — have all taken their talents outside of the realm of Hollywood by becoming successful authors.
The Mindy ProjectThe 2011 debut of the author by the alum was her first. Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? (And Other Concerns)Hit shelves, followed closely by Questions I Ask When I Want To Talk About Myself: 50 Topics I Share with Friends2013 Why Not Me?2015. Her 2020 essay collection, Nothing like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes)., explored her identities and experiences as an Indian woman (as well as an actress and single mother).
“I think I am so used to labels. Labels have been the foundation of my entire career. And sometimes they’re useful because it separates me from other people,” the Never Have I EverNPR interviewed producer in October 2020. “But I don’t think I would get far in this business if I had a thin skin about labels because for me — and it’s not just those. It’s, like, not traditionally thin, like, dark-skinned, like, not your Bollywood — so I’ve had these since — pretty much since I had my own show, I was sort of inundated with how other I was and really quickly. I think I’m pretty comfortable with them. And actually as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to embrace them a little bit.”
Kaling welcomed Katherine, her daughter, in 2017. Spencer, her son, arrived three years later. Dating as a single mother has been “complicated,” she wrote in her 2020 book.
“Sometimes it’s the most liberating and lucky feeling in the world,” she explained. “Sometimes I am just so grateful to be an independent woman doing what I want, when I want, that I could cry with gratitude. … I save a truly staggering amount of time not having to run my parenting decisions by another person. Good or bad, I can just, like, quickly make a decision and move on with my day.”
While the OfficeObama, a 2018 memoirist, went into greater detail about her current lifestyle. Becoming, which sold more than 2 million copies in two weeks, breaking the record for the year’s highest-selling book.
The former first lady explains in 24 chapters how her childhood in Chicago shaped her into the woman she is today. Obama embarked upon a national tour in support of the book. He sat down alongside a diverse and accomplished group of guests before sold-out audiences. In 2020, the Princeton University graduate won Grammy Award for Best Spoken word Album for her reading of audiobook. A Netflix documentary was also made based on her memoir.
“So little of who I am happened in those eight years [in the White House],” she said in the film’s trailer. “So much more of who I was happened before. … We can’t afford to wait for the world to be equal to start feeling seen.”
Scroll down for a recap of some of the most successful stars-turned-authors:
