“Why her?” the journalist Mark Oppenheimer writes toward the end of his first biography, “Judy Blume: A Life.” “What is it about Judy and her work that won her so many millions of fans?” Partly talent ...

The brave man is he who overcomes not only his enemies but his pleasures In a world that often equates bravery with visible acts of strength—winning battles, defeating rivals, or standing firm in the ...

If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. "Her work shaped me — both as a young woman and as a writer — in ways that can’t be overstated," the actress says of the celebrated ...

On Page 76 of the 1959 Hibbing, Minnesota, high school yearbook, a certain member of the senior class is quoted as vowing “to join ‘Little Richard’” after graduation. That didn’t happen. Once this ...

Francis Crick missed a crucial seminar in 1951, probably because he was seeing a lover. James Watson did go, failed to take notes and misremembered key details. As a result, their first model of DNA ...

In 1950, James Baldwin and his lover, the painter Lucien Happersberger, set out from Paris for the mountains of Switzerland, where Baldwin, then around 25, hoped to climb his way out of a creative ...

The word "genius" is regularly used for absurdly talented artists and writers. Take Lin-Manuel Miranda, a composer, lyricist, director and actor best known for creating the musical Hamilton. Not only ...

The biography that Sam Tanenhaus began in 1998, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, has finally been published. Part of the reason Tanenhaus spent one year writing for every ...

A new biography by Amy Odell offers an unflinching look at Gwyneth Paltrow’s life and career, from Hollywood royalty to wellness mogul. “Gwyneth: The Biography,” out now, follows the Oscar-winning ...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Amy Odell’s forthcoming biography “Gwyneth” promises an ...