16 of the Best Celebrity Memoir Audiobooks, Read by Their Authors

Tina Fey is candid and funny about growing up, her years at Saturday Night Live and life as a working mother. Her delivery and comic timing make it one of the best comedy memoirs on audio, and it won the Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year. Read my review.

Trevor Noah grew up mixed-race in apartheid-era South Africa, and he tells the story in a series of essays. His impressions, especially of his mother, are a highlight, and the book is as funny as it is moving. Read my review.

The Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update co-anchor looks back on growing up on Staten Island, his Harvard years and his path to SNL. It’s dry and self-deprecating, with a few serious moments in between the jokes.

Part memoir, part parenting advice, built around the lessons Jamie Foxx learned from his grandmother and his two daughters. His humor and charm come through in the audio, and his daughter Corinne joins him. It’s under six hours.

Part memoir, part philosophy, with stories from his Texas upbringing and Hollywood career and a trip across the country in an Airstream trailer. It feels like a conversation with an old friend, in that warm Texas drawl.

Jennette McCurdy looks back on her years as a child actor and the controlling mother who managed her career and her life. It’s honest and dark, with a sharp sense of humor that keeps it from being too heavy. It deals with abuse and eating disorders, so it isn’t for every mood.

Viola Davis narrates her journey from a poor childhood in Rhode Island to the stage and screen. It’s raw and inspiring, and her narration won a Grammy.

Leah Remini spent three decades in the Church of Scientology before leaving. She writes about her acting career and what happened when she began asking questions, and the audio carries her blunt, outspoken style.

Jessica Simpson is open about her marriage, her fame, her body image and her struggles with alcohol. It’s a long listen, but she reads it with a candor that makes it feel like a chat.

Elliot Page reads his own memoir, which looks at growing up, a career in Hollywood and coming to terms with his identity. It is candid and personal, and hearing it in his voice adds to that.

Mariah Carey writes about her childhood, her family, her marriage to Tommy Mottola and her music career. Her songwriting runs through the story, and hearing her tell it in her own voice makes it feel more personal.

Dave Grohl tells stories from his life in music, from Nirvana and the Foo Fighters to jamming with Iggy Pop and drumming with Tom Petty. It’s warm, funny and full of love for music and family. This is the expanded edition.

Carrie Fisher looks back on filming the first Star Wars movie at 19, drawing on the diaries she kept at the time. Her daughter Billie Lourd joins her on the audio.

Bourdain’s classic look behind restaurant kitchen doors is blunt, funny and not shy about salty language. If you like food or the restaurant world, it’s essential. He reads it himself, and Irvine Welsh reads the introduction.

Patrick Stewart, best known as Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, reads his own memoir about his early years, his career on stage and screen and his time on Star Trek. At nearly 19 hours it is a long listen, and it holds a 4.8 from nearly 2,800 ratings.

Barbra Streisand reads her own memoir, from her childhood in Brooklyn to her rise as a global star. It is huge, at more than 48 hours, but it holds a 4.7 from more than 4,400 ratings, and it is all in her own voice.