Cybill Disobedience : How I Survived Beauty Pageants, Elvis, Sex, Bruce Willis, Lies, Marriage, Motherhood, Hollywood, and the Irrepressible Urge to Say What I Think (Hardcover)

by Cybill Shepherd (Author), Aimee Lee Ball (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A riveting, candid, fresh and self-revealing book." -- -- Liz Smith

"Gutsy." -- -- San Francisco Examiner

"Nobody kisses and tells like Cybill Shepherd." -- -- New York Daily News --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Few women in the past three decades have lit up the American imagination like Cybill Shepherd. From wholesome beauty queen to saucy cover girl, from heartbreaking movie star (The Last Picture Show) to one of television's most beloved comediennes (Moonlighting and Cybill), she has imbued each of her roles--right down to her current passions as devoted mother of three, champion of women's issues, and sultry cabaret singer--with an indomitable spirit that has made her, at fifty, a female icon to an entire generation. Now in her much-anticipated memoir, she tells her remarkable story with humor, pathos, and more highlights than her famously blond hair. Cybill has absorbed the lessons of Southern womanhood, including the whispered message about sex: Wait until you're married, then you won't enjoy it, and certainly never speak of it. She gleefully disobeyed these and other rules of decorum in a career laced with controversy, featuring unforgettable cameos by Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Orson Welles, Robert De Niro, and Jeff Bridges. Whether stepping on Elvis's blue suede shoes or going toe-to-toe with Bruce Willis, Cybill has never held anything back, and it's all in Cybill Disobedience, including:

the night a network executive tried to barter thirteen episodes for a horizontal tour of Cybill's bedroom

why she'll never be invited back to Ryan O'Neal's beach house or Marlon Brando's island

the time she greeted David Letterman in nothing but a towel

the real reason two of television's most popular and acclaimed series, died premature deaths

how she made Richard Nixon blush for the first and only time in his life

From her Memphis roots to her insider's track in Hollywood, Cybill Shepherd is a woman who has weathered every onslaught and withstood every rebuke to emerge as a luminous model of endurance, courage, and an insatiable lust for life.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (April 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060193506
• ISBN-13: 978-0060193508
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #733,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Genuine Cybill Fan, May 16, 2000

By	NCK (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

I have to say that I truly loved this book. I laughed out loud many times. I really enjoyed Cybill's frankness and honesty about her past experiences. I have been a fan of Cybill Shepherd since her Moonlighting days. Even back then, there was always something that I admired about her. I couldn't put my finger on it until I read this book. Cybill reveals many secrets about her life over the years, especially her various sexual encounters. She also writes about her many experiences in movies and TV. I am a young woman and could very much relate to her tales of love, lust and betrayal. Cybill states clearly that she always did what pleased her and what pleased her was sex. Only a woman like Cybill could make a comment like that. She is so candid and such a real person. Some of us feel might feel this way but don't have the guts to say so. It's very hard to take an honest look at yourself and then reveal your soul to everyone. You can see how she has grown and realized the mistakes that she has made along the way but more importantly how she has learned from them. I admire her courage and strength for that. So, Kudos to Cybill for such an honest and humerous look at her very interesting life. I am an even bigger fan now than I was before.

72 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CYBILL and the truth, April 4, 2000

By	www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/ "www.bookshippe... (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I have been waiting for this book for a long time. Although I am younger than Cybill, I feel she portrays a realistic image of women in the media and in life in general.

This book ABSOLUTELY confirmed this. Cybill's writing is to the point and honest. If you are going to do an autobiography - it should be intertaining and honest.

Cybill pulls no punches and describes her life with humour (most of the time), some wisdom and a lot of honesty.

I was a little surprised at some of the relationships she has had, but she will be the first to tell you "no regrets".

This book is interesting, real and I have absolutely no regrets about buying it. Thank you Cybill for telling it like it really is.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who can resist good gossip, May 11, 2000

By	Doug Vaughn (Washington, Dc USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I don't normally read celebrity bios but my wife laughed out loud so often while reading Cybill Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd that I just had to see why. I am not a Cybill Shepherd fan, but I enjoyed getting to know her better in this book, even when she was being clearly self-serving. Her story is made up of equal parts private history and public image. Image (her blond, beauty)and its impact on her private history is the dominant theme of the book. She shows herself constantly trying to overcome the dumb blond image while, frequently at the same time, using her beauty to seduce men she should have left alone - because she can? Needs to? Thinks she needs to?

Cybill is a complex woman in many ways and transparent in others. She was self aware early in her life but late in coming to a sure understanding of her own worth and power. Lots of missteps and bad moves - frequently sexual - in between. Her coauthor, Aimee Lee Ball, should probably be credited with making this story such an easy and entertaining read. There are recurring elements of self deprecating humor and a lot of genuinely surprising anecdotes that allow the reader to feel that they are getting the inside scoop.

And for those who don't really care about Cybill herself but just want the gossip, they won't be disappointed but will probably wish for more detail. The scenes with ELvis (sad and drugged up), Don Johnson (a five minute man), and the unnamed stunt men (the 'Cybill Sandwich') are more titillating than revelatory. Still amusing, however. I would recommend this for anyone who likes enjoys good gossip in a breezy, bright package.