Famous Autobiography Examples

30-04-2021 admin

Learn the life stories of your favorite famous figures with our extensive collection of biographies. Agatha Christie: An Autobiography – Agatha Christie Agatha Christie, known for her mysterious plots and thrillers, writes about the mystery of her own life. She shares the joy of her happy childhood, her bond with her mother, a few incidents that shaped her into who she is, her mother’s death and the truth about her marriages.

Famous Autobiography Examples
Example Of Autobiography Book

13 Celebrity Autobiographies That Are Seriously Worth Reading From crazy tales of one-night stands, to stories of overcoming obstacles, these celeb-authored reads have it all. By Lindsey Lanquis t. Year Film Subject(s) Lead actor or actress 1906: The Story of the Kelly Gang: Ned Kelly: Frank Mills: 1909: Origin of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata: Ludwig van Beethoven. A list of famous people, chosen mainly from the nineteenth, twentieth or twenty-first centuries. This list includes famous actors, politicians, entrepreneurs, writers, artists and humanitarians. Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) American actress, singer, model Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) US President during American civil war.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

How to start your autobiography can be a tricky issue.

Do you begin with your birth? With a description of your parents, or maybe even your grandparents?

With the first notable thing you did? With the biggest crisis point in your life, and then go back to the beginning?

While there is no single “best” way to start an autobiography, there are different approaches. The key is to find the one that works best for your story.

If you’d like to hire a ghostwriter to help you with your autobiography, contact Barry Fox & Nadine Taylor.

How to start an autobiography: 4 examples

Here are excerpts showing four interesting ways that have been used to open an autobiography. One author uses his birth name to foreshadow the life that lies ahead; one paints a simple sketch of his parents; one talks about the beliefs that shaped him; and one reflects on the influence of chance.

Each opening is different, and each is just right for its subject. Perhaps one of these approaches will be right for you! (I’ve linked the titles of each book below to Amazon so you can click on the “Look Inside” button and read more.)

In the opening paragraph of Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa hints at the tumultuous life he must face:

Apart from life, a strong constitution, and an abiding connection to the Thembu royal house, the only thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla. In Xhosa, Rolihlahla literally means “pulling the branch of a tree,” but its colloquial meaning more accurately would be “trouble maker.” I do not believe that names are destiny or that my father somehow divined my future, but in later years, friends and relatives would ascribe to my birth name the many storms I have both caused and weathered.

In Take Me Home, singer-song writer John Denver uses only a few words to sketch a portrait of his parents:

They met in Tulsa. Dad was a ploughboy from western Oklahoma; Mom was a hometown girl. He was in the Army Air Corps, studying the mechanics of flight at the Spartan School of Aeronautics, and she had been first-prize winner in a jitterbug contest the year before. It was 1942: She was just turning eighteen, a high-school senior; and he was twenty-one.

Chris Kyle begins his American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, by listing the life-long beliefs he inherited from his family and environment:

Every story has a beginning.

Mine starts in north-central Texas. I grew up in small towns where I learned the importance of family and tradition. Values, like patriotism, self-reliance, and watching out for your family and neighbors. I’m proud to say that I still try to live my life according to those values. I have a strong sense of justice. It’s pretty much black-and-white. I don’t see too much gray. I think it’s important to protect others. I don’t mind hard work. At the same time, I like to have fun; life’s too short not to.

Former President Ronald Reagan opens An American Life by talking about the effects of chance:

If I’d gotten the job I wanted at Montgomery Ward, I suppose I never would have left Illinois.

I’ve often wondered at how lives are shaped by what seem like small and inconsequential events, how an apparently random turn in the road can lead you a long way from where you intended to go—and a long way from wherever you expected to go. For me, the first of these turns occurred in the summer of 1932, in the abyss of the Depression.

How to start an autobiography?

There is no single best way. The goal is to draw your readers in with your first sentence—to make them want to read more by telling them something about you that makes you and your life story irresistible.

If you can do that, you’ve figured out how to start an autobiography.

Before deciding how you’d like to open your autobiography, go back and review the purpose of the autobiography and consider what it must contain.

Once you know where you’re headed, you’ll be able to zero in on the “right” opening more effectively.

See Also “How to Start a Memoir” and “Writing a Memoir: 11 Tips.”

IF YOU’D LIKE HELP WRITING YOUR LIFE STORY…

Contact us! We’re Barry Fox and Nadine Taylor, professional ghostwriters and authors with a long list of satisfied clients and editors at major publishing houses.

Check out our Testimonials Page to read their comments.

Then call us at 818-917-5362, or use our contact form to send an email. We’d love to talk to you about your exciting book project!

Sample Autobiography

Sample Autobiography # 4 - Autobiography of Nick Faldo (From Life Swings)

“It is difficult to reach for the stars when you cannot even see them twinkling through the impenetrable glare of the streetlights. But I knew that somewhere up there they shone brightly and so each night I would perch upon my bedroom windowsill gazing into the night sky above Welwyn Garden City, painting pictures of the future in my mind’s eye. However, as a young teenager, even in my wildest imaginings I could never conjure up visions of Open Championships or US Masters victories – some things are just too fantastical to contemplate. Deep in my heart, though, I believed destiny had determined that I should become a professional golfer.”

Sample Autobiography # 5 - Autobiography of Francois Pienaar (From Rainbow Warrior)

“Amid the excitement and euphoria, I had hoped the 1995 Rugby World Cup would, truly, unite all South Africans. Perhaps I was naive. But the years of racial division and enmity had seemed literally to melt away as the fledgling democracy found an extraordinary event in which every South African could share and celebrate. I still believe that on 24 June 1995 South Africa did stand together, as one country united behind one team.

I won’t easily forget the ecletic atmosphere at Ellis Park when President Nelson Mandela emerged from the tunnel wearing the Springbok jersey. An overwhelmingly white South African crowd in the stands chanted his name with real conviction “Nels-son! Nel-son! Nel-son! ” Shivers went up and down my spine. I could feel the country changing – eyes being opened, hearts being won, long-held prejudices being exposed.”

Sample Autobiography # 6 - Autobiography of Steve Waugh (From Out of my Comfort Zone.)

“Nestled among the sun-stealing skyscrapers of Hong Kong lies a small cricket ground. In 1988, this speck was the venue for a friendly match between the Australian touring team, en route back to Oz after a disastrous tour of Pakistan, and a Hong Kong XI. It was here, on perhaps cricket’s most expensive piece of real estate, where I reached the point where something had to give.”

Sample # 7 - Autobiography of Eddie Barlow (From The Autobiography)

“If there is one central theme, in which I have always believed, it is this: the secret of life is to be positive, to try your best, to get on the front foot, get stuck in and give it everything.

That’s what I have tried to do, in cricket and in every other aspect of my life. For many years, this approach seemed something instinctive inside of me. It was an attitude that just happened, and I struggled to explain exactly what I meant.”