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Emmy Winning Stars Who Are Also Authors

Every Emmy award winning actor can claim star-studded success on screen, but few can also consider themselves successful authors. These books show how some stars can make us cry, laugh, smile, and snicker on the screen as well as in a book.
I, Rhoda
By Valerie Harper

Four-time Emmy award-winner and cancer survivor Valerie Harper’s first memoir is heartwarming, intimate, and inspirational. Best known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and on Rhoda, Valerie shares tales from her childhood in New Jersey and upstate New York, to the beginnings of her acting career, and offers charming anecdotes about Betty White, Lucille Ball, and Mary Tyler Moore, to name a few.

Listen to Valerie reading from I, Rhoda:

Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story
By Carol Burnett

Carol Burnett, best known for her starring role on the Emmy Award winning The Carol Burnett Show, is a seven time Emmy Award winner herself. Taking home her first Emmy in 1962 for Outstanding Performance In A Variety or Musical Program for Garry Moore Show and her most recent win was in 1997 for her guest appearance on NBC’s Mad About You. In her third New York Times bestselling memoir, Carrie and Me, Carol shares her candid and intimate story of her relationship with her daughter, Carrie Hamilton.

Listen to Carol reading from Carrie and Me:

What’s So Funny?: My Hilarious Life
By Tim Conway
What's So Funny?
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

Four-time Emmy award winning actor Tim Conway’s memoir What’s So Funny? is just that: funny. From growing up in small town Ohio during the Great Depression, to his tour of duty in the Army, to hilarious moments at The Carol Burnett Show, Tim’s rag-to-riches story will warm hearts and garner more than a few laughs.

What’s So Funny? will be published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, in October 2013. For more information, click here.

Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Great Disaster
By Kristen Johnston

Kristen Johnston’s performance on 3rd Rock From the Sun earned her two Emmy awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In her raw and infectiously humorous memoir, fans will see a full portrait of Kristen’s life – and laugh with her along her road to recovery. For more information on Guts, click here.

Listen to Kristen reading from Guts:

What If… A Lifetime of Questions, Speculations, Reasonable Guesses, and a Few Things I Know for Sure
By Shirley MacLaine
What If
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

Shirley MacLaine won the Primetime Emmy in 1976 for an Outstanding Special – Comedy-Variety or Music for her special Gypsy in My Soul. Since then, Shirley has been nominated for numerous other awards. In her new memoir, Shirley considers many profound “what ifs,” ranging from spiritual and secular questions, to earth-bound and intergalactic, personal and universal. As Shirley explores these questions, readers capture her at her witty and irresistible best.

What If… will be published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, in November 2013. For more information or to pre-order the book, please click here.

Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir
By Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

Best known for her hit song “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” few people might know that Cyndi Lauper won an Emmy in 1995 for her guest role on Mad About You as Marianne Lugasso. In her memoir, Cyndi describes her journey to international superstar, from her childhood in Queens and various odd-jobs before her stardom finally hit, to her recent activist years.

You can read an excerpt of her book here.

A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages
By Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

Famous for her Broadway performances, Kristin Chenoweth wowed audiences in her supporting role as Olive Snook on ABC’s hit series Pushing Daisies, for which she won an Emmy in 2009. She was also nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in A Comedy Series for her role as April Rholes on Glee in 2010 and 2011. To boot, Kristin’s also a New York Times bestselling author. Her memoir is perky and energetic – just like her.

You can hear Kristin discuss her memoir here.

Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life
By Steve Martin

Steve Martin won an Emmy at the extremely impressive age of twenty – while he was writing for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1969. Aside from his comic and acting fame, Steve has penned memoirs and novels – all of which have been bestsellers. Born Standing Up is Steve’s account of his fascinating experience in stand-up comedy, a manual for any aspiring comedians, and an incredibly riveting read.

You can listen to Steve Martin read an excerpt here:

The Tucci Cookbook
By Stanley Tucci

On top of being a two-time Emmy award winner and Academy Award nominee, Stanley Tucci is also a dedicated home chef. The Tucci Cookbook is a tribute to his family and his beloved Italian traditions, featuring nearly 200 recipes, countless wine pairings, gorgeous photographs, and previously untold stories from Stanley’s family’s kitchen. Buon appetito!

Watch Cooking at Home with Stanley:

The Tucci Cookbook: Cooking at home with Stanley by Simon & Schuster Books on YouTube

The books including in this list are published by Simon & Schuster, a CBS Corporation. More information on any of the above listed titles may be found athttp://www.simonandschuster.com 

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