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Vanessa Bares All: Frank, Funny and Fearless
Brought to you by Penguin.
Discover the heartfelt, witty and inspiring first official autobiography from one of Britain's most beloved celebrities.
'Raw and revelatory' Sunday Times
'Showbiz memoir of the year' Daily Express
'A rip roaring and honest story that pulls absolutely no punches' Best
' A treasure trove of gems which even Elton John would be jealous of.' Daily Mirror
You think you already know all there is to know about Vanessa? You don't know the half of it.
Brace yourself for the achingly funny, deeply moving untold story: the behind-the-scenes lowdown on the parents who planned her wedding before she could walk, how she became the nation's second-most-famous fat person, life as the British Oprah, feuding with Madonna and Miss Piggy aboard the Big Breakfast bed, an excruciatingly public divorce, gruesome gastric band surgery, a sixteen-year skirmish with an ageing boybander and finding herself shockingly single at sixty-one.
She's spent thirty-five years in the public eye and now, for the first time, Vanessa seizes her chance to set the record straight in this warm, witty, intensely human story. She spares no one's blushes, including her own. How could someone so clever make such cataclysmic mistakes?
Vanessa's often wrong, but always relatable. She puts the 'Oh my goodness, I can never unread that paragraph!' into celebrity autobiography.
Discover the heartfelt, witty and inspiring first official autobiography from one of Britain's most beloved celebrities.
'Raw and revelatory' Sunday Times
'Showbiz memoir of the year' Daily Express
'A rip roaring and honest story that pulls absolutely no punches' Best
' A treasure trove of gems which even Elton John would be jealous of.' Daily Mirror
You think you already know all there is to know about Vanessa? You don't know the half of it.
Brace yourself for the achingly funny, deeply moving untold story: the behind-the-scenes lowdown on the parents who planned her wedding before she could walk, how she became the nation's second-most-famous fat person, life as the British Oprah, feuding with Madonna and Miss Piggy aboard the Big Breakfast bed, an excruciatingly public divorce, gruesome gastric band surgery, a sixteen-year skirmish with an ageing boybander and finding herself shockingly single at sixty-one.
She's spent thirty-five years in the public eye and now, for the first time, Vanessa seizes her chance to set the record straight in this warm, witty, intensely human story. She spares no one's blushes, including her own. How could someone so clever make such cataclysmic mistakes?
Vanessa's often wrong, but always relatable. She puts the 'Oh my goodness, I can never unread that paragraph!' into celebrity autobiography.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published October 24, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 13, 2025
I can't claim to be a fan of Vanessa, in fact I find her a bit irritating but her book fits the "Celebrity on the cover" prompt for the 52 book challenge. I spotted it in the library and thought I'd give it a go.
It was an easy read and it is funny in places. It's also sad - despite the fact that Vanessa has had many successful periods in her life, it has been dominated by her relationship with food and her weight.
And her poor choice in partners. It's easy to see that she does not like to be alone but staying with someone because of that for YEARS is just madness. Acting for herself rather than having an agent probably led to some bad choices during her career too.
She's definitely OTT (over the top) on so many fronts but clearly adores her daughters and grandchildren and, as described on the cover is a tour de force.
It was an easy read and it is funny in places. It's also sad - despite the fact that Vanessa has had many successful periods in her life, it has been dominated by her relationship with food and her weight.
And her poor choice in partners. It's easy to see that she does not like to be alone but staying with someone because of that for YEARS is just madness. Acting for herself rather than having an agent probably led to some bad choices during her career too.
She's definitely OTT (over the top) on so many fronts but clearly adores her daughters and grandchildren and, as described on the cover is a tour de force.
January 18, 2026
More articulate/eloquent than I expected and a very frank autobiography. I binged it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews