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No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel
No Lifeguard on Duty is the ultimate memoir of sex, drugs, rock & roll, and redemption from modeling icon Janice Dickinson. From her supermodel glory days with Gia Carangi and Christie Brinkley to nights with Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Sylvester Stallone; from a dizzying drug and alcohol habit to three failed marriages; from cavorting around the globe to struggling to make it in Los Angeles as a working mom on America’s Next Top Model and The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Janice tells all.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2002
137 people are currently reading
2055 people want to read
About the author
Janice Dickinson
9 books31 followersJanice Doreen Dickinson is an American supermodel, fashion photographer, actress, author and agent.
She has recently opened her own modeling agency, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, after judging for four cycles on America's Next Top Model.
She has recently opened her own modeling agency, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, after judging for four cycles on America's Next Top Model.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
February 22, 2008
I bought this book because I can’t stop watching Janice Dickinson’s show, “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency,” on the Oxygen Channel. Also, I love stories about beautiful women. I read this book in less than 24-hours.
From her deeply troubled her relationship with her parents (her father beat her and her pill-popping Mother and sexually abused her older sister), to her many problematic romantic relationships (she’s been married three times, and, it seems, slept with half the heterosexual men in the fashion and entertainment industries) to her early struggle to succeed as a model and her battles with drugs and alcohol, Dickinson’s life has been packed with drama.
No Lifeguard on Duty charts her journey to the top (during a time when doors were slammed in her face, b/c she was “too exotic” as a brunette when models were blond and blue-eyed), and the problems she encountered both along the way and after she attained success. It’s fairly typical celeb-bio stuff. The thing that makes it interesting is Dickinson’s complete candor. It’s no wonder so many of the people she encounters seem so enchanted with her. She ignored Calvin Klein's comment, "models aren't supposed to think." She has no fear of speaking her mind. Her reflections on the past are littered with profanity, pointed observations about herself and others and even humor.
Her ability to look back on her mistakes with fairly clear eyes lends her memoir a certain depth. While it’s not too deep, it still has many of the features of a typical Hollywood autobiography – name-dropping, detailed depictions of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. But at least you can tell that Dickinson really is trying to examine her life and change it for the better. And that is truly refreshing.
From her deeply troubled her relationship with her parents (her father beat her and her pill-popping Mother and sexually abused her older sister), to her many problematic romantic relationships (she’s been married three times, and, it seems, slept with half the heterosexual men in the fashion and entertainment industries) to her early struggle to succeed as a model and her battles with drugs and alcohol, Dickinson’s life has been packed with drama.
No Lifeguard on Duty charts her journey to the top (during a time when doors were slammed in her face, b/c she was “too exotic” as a brunette when models were blond and blue-eyed), and the problems she encountered both along the way and after she attained success. It’s fairly typical celeb-bio stuff. The thing that makes it interesting is Dickinson’s complete candor. It’s no wonder so many of the people she encounters seem so enchanted with her. She ignored Calvin Klein's comment, "models aren't supposed to think." She has no fear of speaking her mind. Her reflections on the past are littered with profanity, pointed observations about herself and others and even humor.
Her ability to look back on her mistakes with fairly clear eyes lends her memoir a certain depth. While it’s not too deep, it still has many of the features of a typical Hollywood autobiography – name-dropping, detailed depictions of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. But at least you can tell that Dickinson really is trying to examine her life and change it for the better. And that is truly refreshing.
June 26, 2016
Finish this book in 2 days and all the sleepless nights were worth it.
It's not only about the glamorous life of a supermodel, it's about finding yourself and how to love yourself. Yes, of course I love the jawdropping stories about celebrities but what makes me love Janice is that she's being super bluntly honest and that she worked her ass off to reconcile with herself. I find it both entertaining and educating.
Trust me, this memoir is not shallow at all.
It's not only about the glamorous life of a supermodel, it's about finding yourself and how to love yourself. Yes, of course I love the jawdropping stories about celebrities but what makes me love Janice is that she's being super bluntly honest and that she worked her ass off to reconcile with herself. I find it both entertaining and educating.
Trust me, this memoir is not shallow at all.
March 9, 2010
I already had a pretty substantial 'thing' for Janice Dickinson before picking this up (ANTM has never been the same without her); I love her take-no-prisoners attitude and wicked sense of humour, and think she'd be the ultimate best friend, and this book definitely did not disappoint.
Starting with her appalling home life, through her getting the door slammed in her face early modelling days, right through to life at the top and the inevitable crash that comes with the party lifestyle, Janice is extremely candid about everything that has happened to her, the choices she's made and the people she's known. Packed with more than enough gossip to keep the most voracious smut-hound satisfied, Janice writes the way she speaks, raucously funny and loud (it seems odd to say that about someone's writing, but I could almost imagine her cackling next to me at some points of the book). Additionally, she is as brutally honest about herself as she is about the people around her which only left me admiring her even more.
I see now that she's since written some other books, and I'll definitely be checking those out.
Starting with her appalling home life, through her getting the door slammed in her face early modelling days, right through to life at the top and the inevitable crash that comes with the party lifestyle, Janice is extremely candid about everything that has happened to her, the choices she's made and the people she's known. Packed with more than enough gossip to keep the most voracious smut-hound satisfied, Janice writes the way she speaks, raucously funny and loud (it seems odd to say that about someone's writing, but I could almost imagine her cackling next to me at some points of the book). Additionally, she is as brutally honest about herself as she is about the people around her which only left me admiring her even more.
I see now that she's since written some other books, and I'll definitely be checking those out.
June 19, 2015
Janice has a bit of a potty-mouth and traces of a chip on her shoulder, but this is nevertheless a lively tale of fame and excess in the 1970s-1980s modeling world. Her transformation into a sober middle-aged mother seemed a bit rushed to me, though obviously I wish her well (as I would anyone trying to get their lives together). Plenty of celebrity gossip to go around, but a bit short on self-reflection. Still, worth a read if you've ever been fascinated by glossy magazines and idealized the life of a model.
August 30, 2011
I have to admit I picked this book up expecting it to just be an easy trashy read. The very first chapter, which addresses the horrific abuse Janice suffered from her Father, made me realise this story was going to have much more depth than I expected.
Don't get me wrong there's still plenty of easy trashing reading here as Janice dishes the dirt on her outrageous diva behaviour, drug and alcohol fuelled antics and the sex she's had with a long list of rich and famous men. But what I really liked about this book is that throughout it all Janice owns up to her weaknesses and takes an honest look at how and why she made some of the choices she did, particularly with regards to her childhood.
It might be a book that looks at a life of fame, beauty and excess, but at its core this book is about a woman learning to love and accept who she is despite her mistakes and despite the abuse she suffered. I like the balance of trashy humour yet brutal honesty and introspection and I'd recommend this book if that combination appeals to you.
Don't get me wrong there's still plenty of easy trashing reading here as Janice dishes the dirt on her outrageous diva behaviour, drug and alcohol fuelled antics and the sex she's had with a long list of rich and famous men. But what I really liked about this book is that throughout it all Janice owns up to her weaknesses and takes an honest look at how and why she made some of the choices she did, particularly with regards to her childhood.
It might be a book that looks at a life of fame, beauty and excess, but at its core this book is about a woman learning to love and accept who she is despite her mistakes and despite the abuse she suffered. I like the balance of trashy humour yet brutal honesty and introspection and I'd recommend this book if that combination appeals to you.
April 23, 2011
I didn't know anything about Janice before reading this book so maybe I wasn't the target audience. Based on the reviews that I read on goodreads though I thought I would like it more. The first part of the book was more like 3 stars for me because I admired her strength of getting through a difficult childhood, but then when she became famous it started to lose my interest. Too much name dropping for me. I don't know any of the photographers so I didn't really care what she had to say about them. The inside scoop on some of the actors were interesting. Most of all though, I just grew to dislike her so much that I didn't care any more. She wasn't funny or interesting, "people". Just a train wreck. And if she mentioned her alligator smile one more time I think I was going to scream.
May 27, 2012
I've always been fairly indifferent when it came to Janice Dickinson, my only real knowledge of her coming from her time as a judge on American's Next Top Model. I didn't love her, I didn't hate her...I didn't really care either way. But this book just made me love her. The writing is engaging and heartbreaking and frustrating. You find yourself watching her downward spiraling and just keep hoping that eventually she'll get it together. Her stories are hilarious, and the gossip-loving side of me loves all the stories about the famous men she slept with. Overall, it is a very well written book about someone who lead a pretty extraordinary life.
October 11, 2008
i can't believe i hadn't already added this. anyone can make fun of me, but i stick by this book--i think it is fantastic!
July 10, 2011
Janice knows how to dish the dirt! I appreciate her candor and humor because she had quite the one-two punch upbringing (as she starts the book out with that) and always refers back to her dad, the "rat bastard," throughout the rest of the book. She does not hold back with her feelings and with her life with celebrities (Bruce Willis, Sly, Cosby, Christie Brinkley to name a few) and all the famous fashion photogs of her day. This is what a celeb trashy bio should be.
March 14, 2011
I love this woman! At times I wanted to shake her and tell her to stop messing up her life, but I loved the fact that she knew that anyway. Coming through a nightmare childhood, Janice is strong, to-the-point and completely honest throughout this book. I'm not usually one for biographies, especially of a model - but I wouldn't have missed this one for the world.
July 5, 2021
this book is 100% grade-A gossip garbage and i ate it up with a massive spoon. it's got everything, sex, drugs, studio 54, more sex, more drugs. i gave it two stars because the writing is truly sooooo terrible and this book is truly soooooooo stupid but i have to come clean and say that i loved every second of it and if you're looking for something sexy and salacious it will deliver tenfold.
March 29, 2011
Let's just say now I know more about Liam Neeson's junk than I want to, and you'll never look at Sly Stallone the same way again. Celeb Trash Book Club scores another winner. Everything a celebrity tell-all should be.
July 10, 2024
Read this after falling down an America’s next top model rabbit hole. I had fun!!!
August 4, 2014
Ohhhh, Janice. I find it hard to feel badly for ultra-rich people living the hedonistic lifestyle. I get it, more money, more problems, but really...you're one of the world's most beautiful models, sleep around with every A-lister in the book, spend money like it's going out of style, yet complain about it all every step of the way?? The name-dropping was definitely entertaining and I give her credit for cleaning up her act. She was also surprisingly candid (who knows what sordid details she left out!) and I found myself laughing out loud at points. I can't say I would recommend it, but if you're looking for a quick-page turner, or giving your brain a break from real reading, this is it.
June 13, 2020
Honesty can come out trashy or it can release insightfully. Janice Dickinson does both with splendor. This book came out before I graduated from high school ( 11th grade). I read this at an excellent time. Janice confronts her dilemmas after so many years of running and she finds peace. Everyone needs peace whether they've had turmoil or long leisure. Too much excitement gets wearisome for many people. She loves to hoot and holler but it doesn't diminish her duties as a mother.
Janice Dickinson escapes anything boring.
Janice Dickinson escapes anything boring.
November 18, 2009
LOVED IT. KEPT ME READING. SHE NAMES DROP ALOT OF CELEBRITY PEOPLE SHE'S ENCOUNTERED IN HER CAREER. ALSO EXPLAINS WHY SHE IS LIKE SHE IS. OUTSPOKEN AND HARD. ALOT ABOUT HER MODELING, HER SEXIPADES & DRUGS/ALCOHOL.
May 24, 2012
The only reason I'm giving this 2 stars instead of 1 is for the simple fact that I couldn't out it down. I read her downward spiral with glee. If everyone behaved like raving A-holes just because something bad happened to you in the past, we'd be wading in a sea of jerks.
January 25, 2016
Janice has always been fascinating to me and this book really explains a lot. Janice shares a lot of herself and you can see why she is the way she is. I actually have a lot of respect for her and everything she has been through. I recommend you give this one a shot!
February 21, 2016
Candid and full of gossip
How can anyone not like Janice Dickinson. She is sometimes brutally honest, very funny and candid. I've loved the little stories on Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone and Mick jagger to name a few. Very good light read.
How can anyone not like Janice Dickinson. She is sometimes brutally honest, very funny and candid. I've loved the little stories on Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone and Mick jagger to name a few. Very good light read.
January 24, 2008
I like Janice Dickinson but I did not enjoy reading this book. Too explicit and detailed but still interesting.
November 6, 2008
Don't judge me, it was surprisingly good
December 27, 2009
I'm a fan of Janice so naturally I liked it. Interesting autobiography, but oh Janice, your antics never cease to amaze me.
August 24, 2016
Four stars for being a really entertaining fuck-and-tell book.
November 13, 2017
Wow.
I don't watch Janice Dickinson's reality show; I wasn't even aware that she had one. The last time I saw her on television was years back when she was freaking out/going through benzo withdrawal on Celebrity Rehab, and I remember thinking that if she didn't stop with the plastic surgery she was going to end up looking like one of those messed up Muppets from The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth. I watched for all of five minutes maybe, just a blip on the radar, television background noise while I was otherwise busy being domestic.
Of course I know who she is, because I'm infatuated with everything seventies. Besides the fact that I was spawned at the beginning of the 'Me' decade, some really cool stuff came out of that era. Ziggy Stardust. Evil Knievel. The birth of the Godfather saga, and countless other great films. The Sex Pistols, The New York Dolls, The Ramones, CBGB's. Studio-fricken-54. Helmut Newton and Chris Von Wagenheim's provocative photography in the pages of Vogue magazine. Oh, and the birth of the Supermodel. Janice was one of the first in an era where the most sought-after models were "All American" blue-eyed blondes. She wasn't as popular in the States as she was in Europe, but she was a workhorse with staying power.
Being that I am infatuated with the 70's and I had to take a break from all the death and dismemberment I've been reading about as of late, I bought a copy of her book, thinking it would be quick, light on-the-potty reading, full of fun gossipy tidbits about my favorite decade and all the beautiful people who were there. And it is gossipy and fun, but it was more than that. It's also about surviving her godawful childhood: the sexually and physically abusive father, the drug-addicted, absentee mother and her subsequent battle to overcome her own self-loathing, told in a brutally frank, no-bullshit voice. As I read, I started to like her. Once I finished reading I had a complete reversal of opinion on Janice Dickinson. I know other women like her and I am completely in love with them: fiery, smart-mouthed, quick-witted, no-bullshit chicks. In other words, she's the kind of woman I'd be happy to hang out with. And yeah, I felt bad about that Muppet comparison. It was bitchy.
I'm only classifying this as a "craptastic guilty pleasure" because I can't exactly file it away next to To Kill a Mockingbird. She's not Harper Lee and this is not great literature. And because of Sylvester Stallone (BAM HAM SLAM, good lord, Janice). But, I'm impressed. She's a survivor and one tough cookie. Plus, the whole trailblazing thing just makes me admire her even more. Every "exotic" looking woman out there striking a pose and earning the cash for it should bow down to Janice.
I don't watch Janice Dickinson's reality show; I wasn't even aware that she had one. The last time I saw her on television was years back when she was freaking out/going through benzo withdrawal on Celebrity Rehab, and I remember thinking that if she didn't stop with the plastic surgery she was going to end up looking like one of those messed up Muppets from The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth. I watched for all of five minutes maybe, just a blip on the radar, television background noise while I was otherwise busy being domestic.
Of course I know who she is, because I'm infatuated with everything seventies. Besides the fact that I was spawned at the beginning of the 'Me' decade, some really cool stuff came out of that era. Ziggy Stardust. Evil Knievel. The birth of the Godfather saga, and countless other great films. The Sex Pistols, The New York Dolls, The Ramones, CBGB's. Studio-fricken-54. Helmut Newton and Chris Von Wagenheim's provocative photography in the pages of Vogue magazine. Oh, and the birth of the Supermodel. Janice was one of the first in an era where the most sought-after models were "All American" blue-eyed blondes. She wasn't as popular in the States as she was in Europe, but she was a workhorse with staying power.
Being that I am infatuated with the 70's and I had to take a break from all the death and dismemberment I've been reading about as of late, I bought a copy of her book, thinking it would be quick, light on-the-potty reading, full of fun gossipy tidbits about my favorite decade and all the beautiful people who were there. And it is gossipy and fun, but it was more than that. It's also about surviving her godawful childhood: the sexually and physically abusive father, the drug-addicted, absentee mother and her subsequent battle to overcome her own self-loathing, told in a brutally frank, no-bullshit voice. As I read, I started to like her. Once I finished reading I had a complete reversal of opinion on Janice Dickinson. I know other women like her and I am completely in love with them: fiery, smart-mouthed, quick-witted, no-bullshit chicks. In other words, she's the kind of woman I'd be happy to hang out with. And yeah, I felt bad about that Muppet comparison. It was bitchy.
I'm only classifying this as a "craptastic guilty pleasure" because I can't exactly file it away next to To Kill a Mockingbird. She's not Harper Lee and this is not great literature. And because of Sylvester Stallone (BAM HAM SLAM, good lord, Janice). But, I'm impressed. She's a survivor and one tough cookie. Plus, the whole trailblazing thing just makes me admire her even more. Every "exotic" looking woman out there striking a pose and earning the cash for it should bow down to Janice.
June 21, 2020
Woah! Okay, yes I know who Janice Dickinson is, but I have never actually seen her on tv shows or watched anything she has been on, I was just browsing through the online library selections in the biography section and thought her book "No Lifeguard On Duty" may be an interesting and gossipy light read. It turned out to be a whole lot more.
Starting from her dreadful childhood spent constantly on guard keeping her revolting father's hands off her - something her unfortunate older sister didn't manage - through her teenage years and the start of her modelling career - after that the whole sex, drugs and partying, and believe me there is plenty of all that, and I mean PLENTY. Marriages, divorces, children, one night stands with many a famous name, and watching fellow models self destruct and destroy themselves. I'm amazed that Janice herself survived by the amount of coke she snorted. She doesn't sugar coat her habits and her addictions or her life and tells it like it was.
The book shows how long it took for Janice to stop thinking of herself as how her father described her - someone useless, worthless and unloveable and realise she was a strong woman. I'm not 100% convinced she has reached that point completely looking at how much plastic surgery she has had done.
Really quite a fascinating book. I seem to be on a roll of biographies at the moment.
Starting from her dreadful childhood spent constantly on guard keeping her revolting father's hands off her - something her unfortunate older sister didn't manage - through her teenage years and the start of her modelling career - after that the whole sex, drugs and partying, and believe me there is plenty of all that, and I mean PLENTY. Marriages, divorces, children, one night stands with many a famous name, and watching fellow models self destruct and destroy themselves. I'm amazed that Janice herself survived by the amount of coke she snorted. She doesn't sugar coat her habits and her addictions or her life and tells it like it was.
The book shows how long it took for Janice to stop thinking of herself as how her father described her - someone useless, worthless and unloveable and realise she was a strong woman. I'm not 100% convinced she has reached that point completely looking at how much plastic surgery she has had done.
Really quite a fascinating book. I seem to be on a roll of biographies at the moment.
December 5, 2017
Janice Dickinson hired one hell of a ghostwriter for this book. It is one of the best celebrity memoirs I have read. It paints a vivid picture of Janice's family and her inner life and offers more detail than most celeb autobiographies. Whether that is a result of the ghostwriter's skill or Janice's gives-zero-fucks attitude, it really makes this book crackle. It also contains a scene in which Bill Cosby invites her back to his hotel room and she refuses him, a scene that she says Cosby's lawyers forced her to change. Supposedly, the original draft revealed the story of how Cosby drugged and raped her, but when his lawyers got wind of it they threatened her and the publisher. As a result, the scene in the book ends with Cosby giving her "the meanest look" she had ever seen. Even without the full story, the book manages to show what an entitled, rapey individual Cosby is.
If you are interested in the world of fashion, Studio 54, photography and Hollywood celebrities, this is a book you will enjoy.
If you are interested in the world of fashion, Studio 54, photography and Hollywood celebrities, this is a book you will enjoy.
August 1, 2020
Just finished reading the book “NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY” by JANICE DICKINSON. No Lifeguard on Duty is the ultimate memoir of sex, drugs, rock & roll, and redemption from modeling icon Janice Dickinson. From her supermodel glory days with Gia Carangi and Christie Brinkley to nights with Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Sylvester Stallone; from a dizzying drug and alcohol habit to three failed marriages; from cavorting around the globe to struggling to make it in Los Angeles as a working mom on America’s Next Top Model and The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Janice tells all. One of the juiciest tell-all books ever!
Loved it!
Loved it!
February 11, 2021
For someone who isn't a writer, Janice takes you on a journey through the pivots of the modeling world, being sexually abused, and the ugly glamours of drugs and fashion. This book was an absolute page-turner for me. Yes, it was self-indulgent at times, but if that's in your review clearly you aren't aware of the Janice Dickinson. I found myself at times, nearly crying at how traumatic her life was, and while I can not necessarily relate to her pitfuls, I think any person can see themselves in her woes, as we have all faced self-identity issues at our point in time. Amazing.
April 9, 2018
A funny , sad , slightly shallow look at the modeling world through the eyes of one of the best.
Janice’s book was all that I thought it was going to be . Kept me turning pages .
I could have done with out the near constant name dropping and the shallow vibe of most of the book but, it’s about modeling so ...
In the end she’s clean , a good mom and in a good place. I can’t help but admire her strength and honesty.
Janice’s book was all that I thought it was going to be . Kept me turning pages .
I could have done with out the near constant name dropping and the shallow vibe of most of the book but, it’s about modeling so ...
In the end she’s clean , a good mom and in a good place. I can’t help but admire her strength and honesty.
October 15, 2018
I had low expectations coming in to this book, but I was thrilled to find that the former supermodel has a sharp wit and a solid talent for setting up and describing scenes and personalities. The story of her rise to fame is as fascinating as it is familiar, and her brushes with other superstars are illuminating.
She downplays her interactions with Bill Cosby in this book, which was published before #metoo.
She downplays her interactions with Bill Cosby in this book, which was published before #metoo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews