Notorious: Portraits of Stars from Hollywood, Culture, Fashion, and Tech – Gossipy Celebrity Profiles by Pulitzer Prize Winner Maureen Dowd

by Maureen Dowd

A sly and chatty collection of the revered Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist’s most notorious celebrity profiles.

Shining a white-hot spotlight on America’s famous, from Hollywood legends to Broadway stars to media moguls, Notorious is a captivating assortment of Maureen Dowd’s most compelling style features and profiles. Using her signature wit and incisive commentary as a scalpel, Dowd dissects influential cultural elites,

Leading Hollywood women from Uma Thurman to Jane Fonda to Greta Gerwig. Silver screen foxes such as Paul Newman, Idris Elba, and Ralph Fiennes. Funny people like Tina Fey, Mel Brooks, and Larry David. Fashionistas from Andre Leon Talley to Ann Roth to Tom Ford. And hubristic media and tech titans like Elon Musk, Bob Iger, and Peter Thiel Notorious is the perfect antidote to our current political malaise and an intimate, gossipy romp through the culture of celebrity from a legend in American journalism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, History, Essays, Cultural, Book Club

400 pages, Hardcover

Published March 11, 2025

About the author

Maureen Dowd is a Washington D.C.-based columnist for The New York Times. She has worked for the Times since 1983, when she joined as a metropolitan reporter. In 1999, she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her series of columns on the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Dowd's columns are distinguished by an acerbic, often polemical writing style. Her columns often display a critical attitude towards powerful figures such as President George W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and Pope Benedict XVI.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, which was read by Ms. Dowd, and I almost stopped reading because of that fact. Her voice took some getting used to. I can see where she would want to be the reader, given that she was in the room during these interviews and would best know the inflections with which some of the words were spoken by her subjects, but it was still a bit of a slog.
One of the most interesting parts about this book was seeing how well some of the interviews aged, as some of them were quite old (well, at least a few I think took place in the 20th century). Peter Thiel's interview doesn't age well as he tries to justify his support for Trump in the 2016 elections, bloviating about how no one takes the Supreme Court seriously, it doesn't matter, the Court will never overturn Roe V. Wade, gay rights aren't in peril, blah, blah, blah. You can tell that he's one of these people who takes himself VERY seriously, and he fancies himself the smartest person in the room at all times. This interview easily disproves that, though. He also calls Hillary Clinton a "very weak" candidate. Hillary Clinton. First Lady Clinton (of both Arkansas and the United States); Senator Clinton of the State of New York; Secretary of State Clinton. Yes, that Hillary Clinton. He thinks she was weaker than Bankrupt Businessman Donald Trump. I mean...I can't even. But oh, yes, Peter Thiel is so smart. Please. Dowd also interviews gossip columnist Cindy Adams, who I have heard of, but she's really an East Coaster. And not a particularly interesting or nice one, as far as I could tell from this interview. The best interviews for me were the ones with actors and actresses. Unfortunately the book ended with Thiel and Adams, so that wasn't a fun way to finish.

[sara]

22% DNF. this book sucks. i didn’t realize it was a collection of NYT promotional profiles; i thought it’d be more biographical and, frankly… much more interesting. wish i had never read the ralph fiennes article where he defends jk rowling… but whatever. he’s an old man. what did i expect.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I'm not normally interested in the lives of celebrities, there are a few exceptions described in this book, such as Paul Newman, Kate Winslet, and Sean Penn. I read this book primarily because I very much enjoy Maureen Dowd's columns in the NY Times. She is witty and brings her sharp wit to the political arena. I had hoped to enjoy the same wit in this book, but it was largely missing.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea the majority of these celebrity profiles by Maureen Dowd were decades (in some cases more than 3 decades) old and way out of date. Since I keep up with the celebrity world I knew that many of her profilees had died, had divorced and married newer partners, had more children than she mentioned, etc. So it was all a bit boring for me. I think the only chapter I really liked was the one about Tom Ford who has always seemed somewhat mysterious to me.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

Celebrity news has changed radically over the past fifty or sixty years. Once such news was carefully parceled out by studios and agents to gossip columnists. As the sixties and seventies embraced an openness about celebrities (and the culture in general), news stories were more willing to reveal personal details (relationships, drug use, finances) that in the past had been seen as bad publicity. Lengthy profiles in magazines such as “Rolling Stone” or “Vanity Fair” provided revelations that could derail or uproot careers. But with the internet and the demise of the influence of newspapers and magazines, other changes have occurred, according to Maureen Dowd in “Notorious,” her 2025 book collection of profiles: “…in this age, when the rich, the famous and even anyone fame-adjacent, have their own publishing platforms and give it all away up front free…Their every lived moment is in your face on Instagram and they have little use for the press.” So, Dowd’s collection of celebrity profiles represents a sort of dying journalistic art form.
The profiles, which date from 1986 (Paul Newman) to 2024 (Diane Von Furstenberg) tend to be dated; it’s often clear the profiled are doing the interview to promote a then current book or movie. They cover notables from the worlds of entertainment (Pacino, Fiennes, Elba), fashion (Tom Ford, Ann Roth) and commerce (Musk, Barry Diller, Bob Iger). Since Dowd’s weekly columns focus on Washington politics, it’s not surprising that one figure looms over many of these weekend celebrity profiles, Trump. The Elon Musk piece is from 2017, when his focus was warning of the dangers of AI not the bloated payroll of the federal government.
Those profiled generally come off warmer and fuzzier than their public personas (especially Ryan Murphy). The exception is Kevin Costner, who comes across as, well, full of himself.
It might have been helpful if Dowd had added a 2025 update on each celebrity, but she does have a useful overview in her 2025 introduction. “Notorious” is enjoyable reading and recommended even though the subjects are more notable than notorious.

[Serena Jampel · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do Idris Elba, Paul Newman, Elon Musk, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Tina Fey all have in common? They were interviewed by Maureen Dowd. Dowd is an incredibly talented portraitist, and gave some excellent depth to many of the most glittery of Hollywood's stars. I though Uma Thurman's post-Weinstein takes were particularly edgy and interesting. The gimmick that Dowd invented of asking these prominent folks to "confirm or deny" wild rumors about them is a genius move, and led to some hilarious moments in these various profiles. I will say, I had to check multiple times when this book was published (and was shocked to learn THIS YEAR) because many of the profiles are severely outdated. Her Musk, Peter Thiel, etc actively cheapen the riotous experience of reading this book because of their descent into utter evil that the book does not acknowledge at all. I honestly wish that the publisher just hadn't included them. I guess it's somewhat interesting to look at these profiles in retrospect, but imho it makes the book feel dated. To that end, including the Paul Newman profile along with some of Dowd's other early work also makes the book feel a bit out of touch, which is probably the worst thing you can say about a celebrity profile. This move would have worked if the book intended to be more autobiographical and include more of Dowd's writing process, but again, as a raw collection of profiles it read as temporally scattered and without any sort of urgency. That being said, I loved Dowd's prose and the way she drew out hidden sides to her subjects. Listening to this was like 13 hours of the juiciest, most unexpected gossip sprinkled with tiny moments of profundity. I'd recommend picking this up and reading the ones that feel relevant to you, letting Dowd guide you through the celebrity funhouse.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notorious is a compilation of interviews Maureen Dowd conducted with celebrities over the past thirty years. Whether you like the book, probably depends on how familiar you are with their careers, your tolerance for dated material and tolerance for repeated questions about the trials of being famous. For example, want to read a 1987 interview with Eddie Murphy focusing on his wish to be taken seriously as an actor? Do you want to read an interview with Paul Newman where he does little more than confirm the myths about his marriage and life later refuted by family members after his death?

There are some worthwhile interviews here. Uma Thermon's chilling recounting of her experience with Harvy Weinstien and interviews with Candice Bergan and (surprisingly) Sean Penn are insightful. But one more thought piece on Marilyn Monroe? No.

Reading this book I couldn't help but wonder if the publisher didn't print it thinking that they'd better get it out before the sell by date. For some of these pieces that time was long past.

[Andrew Rothstein · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read Maureen Dowd's New York Times column off and on for many years. I am not always a fan, but once in a while, she writes something clever and interesting. Her perspective, aside from progressive politics, is literary. She thinks of politics in theatrical and literary terms. She finds the lives of celebrities interesting. She is clearly attracted to older celebrities.

That is the basis of this book. Dowd selected and wrote short profiles about people she thought it would be interesting to talk with.

Maybe interesting for her but not for me.

The pieces are superficial. Many are decades old. They barely qualify as sketches.

I don't know if Dowd needed something to do during the pandemic and a place to put material from her archives. Maybe she put some hard work into the book, but it feels lazy and formulaic. She likes to comment on people's clothing, whether they appear to have aged, and if they have "had work" done. Her curiosity about their appearance may have something to do with the back cover picture of Dowd. It is also decades old.

[Hailey Crowel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of Dowd's interviews with various famous people over the past 30 years. Some feel like lovely time capsules (e.g., Paul Newman around the time of Color of Money) of the person at a specific moment in time. Where this book fails for me is the lack of reflection, save for the short introduction. While the time capsules work for a movie star, they absolutely do not work for famous figures who have made their way into politics (e.g., Elon Musk, Peter Thiel). These essays in particular have aged terribly (e.g., Thiel felt confident Trump wouldn't repeal Roe v. Wade) and therefore would have benefited from some post-essay analysis. I suppose if she did that, then Dowd would need to do it for every person. But then maybe she could have just stuck to a cohesive set of people for this work (such as famous people in the arts - film, fashion, music).

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings....These are recycled pieces that appeared in print elsewhere, sometimes decades ago. Some really old pieces felt tired and anachronistic (Kevin Costner, Elon Musk) while others felt like interesting historical pieces (Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, Patti Smith). I especially enjoyed the shorts on Mel Brooks, Jane Fonda, Marilyn Monroe (aw - so short!), Tom Ford, Patti Smith, Newman and a few others. With Marilyn, it's fascination and mystique. With some of the others, it's because they came across as interesting and good people not overly impressed with their own star power. A fine quality about this book is the ease with which you can skip over some and focus on the pieces and people you like, and that's what I did

[Writemoves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am an avid reader of Miss Dowd's political columns in the New York Times. She is one of the top five political columnists in my life. I skimmed through much of this book as I am not really that interested in Hollywood or celebrities. I did enjoy the portraits of Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Larry David, Bob Iger and Peter Thiel. Some of the profiles, for example, of Paul Newman and Robert Redford were dated.

I will say that Maureen Dowd rarely tipped her hand as to how she felt personally about many of the celebrities. There wasn't much in the way of gossip in the book. It was not like a National Enquirer expose. The author was polite, and this book was basically a series of conversations, not interviews with those in the book.

Most profiles were short, an easy book to read and finish…

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dowd presents pieces that are part interview and part commentary on celebrities from a variety of fields. All of the pieces are entertaining, but it seems that they are being reprinted from other sources and some of them are quite old (all are dated). Having just read The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston, which is similar by format, it seems Dowd should have followed Preston's lead by appending each profile with an update. The Elon Musk of 2017 is quite different from the one in 2025. Some celebrities have passed on, but even they lived and accomplished more in their remaining years that are not accounted for here. It's hard to recommend. Review from e-galley.

[Renee Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting and also not. Much depends on how much you care about the people profiled. It would have been helpful if dates of each interview had been included at the onset of each profile/portrait. Contextual clues were almost always there but, not always immediate. Also, I hate to even say this because we can't control our voices, but Maureen's doesn't fall into the category you would call pleasant. Her "take" on the interviews didn't add as much as you might think, so if you are interested I recommend reading hardcopy. How amazing, though, to be her and have had exposure to so many interesting and influential people!!

[Richard Jespers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times, Dowd wittily comments on Leading Men and Women, Funny People, the Creative Class, Fashion Savants, and finally Writers, Moguls, and Visionaries. Most of her interviews are dated from the 2010s and 2020s; however, one about Paul Newman dates back to 1986, and a couple from the 1990s (Al Pacino and Kevin Costner). Many of the interviews end with a “Confirm or Deny” section in which Dowd fires off questions, and the guest confirms or denies the veracity of said statement. I enjoyed each and every one of the interviews, even ones about people I thought I disliked intensely (lead actor from Curb Your Enthusiasm as well as notorious owner of the Tesla corporation and recent go-fast breaker of all things governmental). Worth a quick read, as I gave it. Equal to eating a large bag of chips in one go. Burp!

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is colored by my pre-conceived opinions of the interviewees, some of whom did not interest me at all, some I did not like for their public image, some were unfamiliar to me but didn't care to become familiar, and some interviews were decades old, yet others were interesting reads for the wit and interesting revelations about what made the subjects "notorious." I enjoyed the "confirm or deny" questions at the end of each interview. Ms. Dowd's long career as a razor sharp columnist was on show in this collection.

[Bob Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a quick and, for the most part, a fun read. Its weakness is that several of the profiles are more than thirty years old and have not aged well. And, in a decades-long collection like this, it does become tiresome to read yet another description of what an interviewee was wearing or what the author and her subject ate at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. That said, several of the profiles are both revealing and entertaining. In particular, I enjoyed the interviews with Patti Smith and Ann Roth.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointment! Many of the vignettes are several years old & reflect the author’s politics. Every interview, with the exception of the one regarding Kate Winslet, promotes Democratic viewpoints. The problem with that is, because the interviews are not current (such as one discussing Melania’s behavior when Barron was 10), the reader can see the book for what it is: a gimmick to use old Hollywood stories to generate money for Dowd. The author is also rude & condescending when she interviews her subjects, making the reader cringe when reading them.

Don’t waste your time or money!

[Paul Dinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Maureen Dowd book is always a wonderous occassion, one wishes there were more. This book is a series of interviews with famous people from all over. Her eye as always sees all and goes past the facade often to give us the story we didn't know. If the book has a flaw it is that the interviews happen before or long before the next so there is no sense of chronology. My favorite was the interview with Patty Smith. Though she didn't hate the Gilda Radnor version of her on Saturday Night Live, she didn't like the implication that she was a drug addict and alcoholic, neither were true.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always need a dictionary close by when reading Maureen Dowd's works. This was no exception. No great revelations since the articles were all a few years old - although it was an interesting time to be reading the story about Elon Musk. Bet his opinion of Donald Trump would be quite different in a second interview!! (Must admit though, I couldn't get through the Musk interview. Too much AI gloom and doom.)

[Betsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book - about half - on a plane and realized I was very bored. There was nothing much I wanted to know from continuing. I enjoyed a few of the tidbits about the female stars, but had almost no interest in the men. Maureen Dowd's writing is as crisp as ever, with the well placed vocabulary word in each essay. But the subject matter is dreary. Too bad she didn't do the same thing with political figures. That might have been worth reading.

[Anthony Mella · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not exactly a nourishing, home cooked meal. More like a burger and fries at a questionable fast food joint that leaves you full of regrets. More of a fun tabloid read than a groundbreaking investigation on any of the subjects lives. The chapters on Musk and Thiel have definitely aged like milk and had me reaching for the proverbial antacid, and I immediately doubted the description of Dowd as "sharp and incisive". I had no idea they gave the Pulitzer Prize to gossip columnists.

[Rick · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a boring book about boring people. There are very few people who are in this article that relevant. Maureen Dowd wants us to think these people are interesting and she is enthralled in them. That's her job obviously as someone who writes columns but her enthrallment with people who she offers no substance for makes this a hard read. Basically they are boring people and she writes about them in a way that makes them more boring not less.

Pass on this!

[Alexander Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Short biographical sketches of celebrities. These are the elites of Hollywood and fashion talking about themselves. Many of them are actors who play other people for a living. I didn't get the feeling that any of them were on the level. A lot of them are sharing their political beliefs. A lot are virtue signaling. To be fair, the brief format of the book is not enough to get to bottom of any of these enigmatic people. If only I could muster some curiosity.

[Danny Reich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listened to the book Dowd”s reading is better than ambien. No inflection and downright dull. She has met many famous people in her career however her biographical writing is no comparison to her political insights. Maybe it’s the people she picked or her lackluster writing. A true disappointment from a writer who’s political writings I find quite insightful

A hard pass

[Marymistler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated

The book is very well written, which I expected. However, it was dated in terms of personalities. We read so much about noted figures that it failed to really engage me.

The book is well written, which I assumed would be the case. I found myself uninterested in several figures with so much past publicity.

[Cristiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

The problem with this book is not (only) that the material is outdated, as other readers pointed out, but that Dowd uses a conversational gossip style that I personally find appalling. I abandoned the book after reading two portraits.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed that many of the interviews included in this book are more than 25yrs old. So much has happened since then. I wasn't really interested in reading many of them, so I didn't finish the book.

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though I've viewed Dowd as one of the NYT's most talented writers I try avoid her work. Some of her articles have just been true whoppers.

But maybe a light hearted review of her celebrity interviews, some of them decades old? Nope - still insufferable.

[Leew49 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Celebrity profiles by one of my favorite NEW YORK TIMES columnists. Not all were interesting, but I most enjoyed her coverage of Uma Thurman, Idris Elba, Ralph Fiennes, Patti Smith, Mel Brooks, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel. Personalities from science and politics were strangely missing.

[Ann Moynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some very interesting articles on some interesting people. Unfortunately, too much of the writing was done 10, 20 even 30 years ago, and so is not of great interest in this moment. Why has this book just come out in 2025 when so much of the content is so dated?