Hollywood Moms Behind the Scenes: As Told By Their Children

Love them as we do, it’s just difficult to understand the mother who raised you until you yourself become an adult. Only then can you gain a perspective of what life was really like. In this curated book collection, the grown children of some of Hollywood’s most famous actresses share their childhood experiences, giving us a glimpse of Hollywood moms behind the scenes.

The illegitimate daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young tells of growing up amid the glamour of Hollywood, being sent to an orphanage, and reuniting with her mother under the guise of adoption. 

Uncommon Knowledge by Judy Lewis

Brooke is the daughter of agent turned film, television, and stage producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. This is a celebrated Hollywood memoir of a glittering family that went haywire.

Haywire by Brooke Hayward

A dual biography of two the most famous figures of Hollywood’s golden age, actress Fay Wray and screenwriter Robert Riskin, written by their daughter, acclaimed writer and producer Victoria Riskin.

Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir by Victoria Riskin

The shocking story of the night actress Lana Turner’s daughter, at age fourteen, murdered her celebrity mother’s mobster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato.

Detour: A Hollywood Story by Cheryl Crane

Christina Crawford’s harrowing chronicle sheds light on the guarded world of Hollywood and stripped away the façade of her adoptive mother, movie star Joan Crawford.

Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford

Carrie Fisher’s intimate and hilarious memoir recounting her life as the child of Hollywood royalty—Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. Fisher reveals what it was really like to grow up a product of “Hollywood in-breeding,” and to herself become an actress and cultural icon at the age of 19.

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

A son’s recollection of life with his mother Oscar, Tony, Emmy winner and Theatre Hall of Famer, Eileen Heckart. Heckart was one of the most respected character actresses in show business and worked with every major star of the past 50 years.

Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart by Luke Yankee 

Natalie Wood’s eldest daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner chronicles life with her famous mother and how Wood’s death devastated the family.

More Than Love: An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood by Natasha Gregson Wagner

Ann Sothern’s daughter Tisha Sterling recounts the challenges of growing up in the shadow of her famous movie star mother and what it was like to become an actress herself.

My Funny Valentine: A Tribute to My Mother, Ann Sothern by Tisha Sterling

A candid depiction of her mother actress Bette Davis as a self-centered, emotionally manipulative alcoholic by B.D. (Barbara Davis) Hyman.

My Mother's Keeper by B.D. Hyman

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