From Publishers Weekly
In this hybrid reference book and scandal sheet, film writer Parish (Hollywood Bad Boys) casts a wide net to recount a century's worth of major female stars from Theda Bara to Britney Spears. Charting how the word "diva" has taken on a more elastic meaning over the century, he notes that while decades ago, a diva once meant a female who was a "goddess in her sphere of activity," primarily in the arts, it has come to carry negative connotations: difficult, self-indulgent, wild. These characteristics are the focus for the dozens of dishy portraits here. Some choices are obvious: self-destructive Judy Garland, willful Katharine Hepburn, haughty Diana Ross. But there are also surprises. Some are welcome, like past femmes fatale, Kay Francis or Lupe Velez; others may raise eyebrows because they don't seem old enough to be divas (e.g., Spears), don't have the star wattage (e.g., Brett Butler) or don't seem tempestuous enough (e.g., Jean Arthur). The biggest problem throughout is that little here is new. Maybe not everyone remembers that in the late 1940s, Maria Montez was pushed out of prominence by Yvonne De Carlo, or that Demi Moore was once Hollywood's highest-paid actress. But the big stuff is familiar: Ava Gardner fans already know the Sinatra stories, and Jennifer Lopez fans by now know the size of her ambition. In all, these are breezy portraits that may refresh readers' memories, but may not make them contemplate, as Parish hopes, "the price of fame."
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Back Cover
Tantalizing tales about Hollywood's most demanding leading ladies
Which slapstick redhead reduced Joan "Mommie Dearest" Crawford to tears? What tragic songbird secretly carried vodka to her ambulance as she was carted off on a stretcher? Can you name the blond prima donna who went on a shopping spree so wild that she bought a whole town? These are but a few of the high jinks of Hollywood's favorite "It Girls," whose overdrive to personal and career excess has earned them the rank of diva.
From Marilyn Monroe to Madonna, Zsa Zsa Gabor to J. Lo, substance-abusing Drew Barrymore to her regal but tipsy great-aunt Ethel, Hollywood chronicler James Robert Parish reveals all the exciting details in Hollywood Divas. This photo-filled volume delivers an eye-popping, backstage peek into the wild private lives and cutthroat careers of 70 rampaging bad girls of Hollywood, assembled here for the first time and guaranteed to titillate you with shocking tales of:
- Unrestrained lust
- Drug addiction
- Alcoholism
- Hushed-up pregnancies
- Out-of-control tantrums
- And just plain bratty and brazen behavior
A must-have for every pop-culture fanatic, Hollywood Divas promises to tantalize you with juicy tidbits and saucy scandals that earned each of these devilish darlings the title of Diva.
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