John Randall Anthony Taraborrelli is an American journalist and celebrity biographer. Prior to his book-writing career, he was a magazine journalist and editor-in-chief of Soul magazine, the black entertainment title. Taraborrelli is known for biographies of contemporary entertainers and political figures such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

, the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family () is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...

, the Hilton family, and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. He also regularly appears on television as an entertainment news reporter on programs such as ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'', ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' and ''

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...

''. Taraborrelli lives in California.

Writing style

In a 2015 interview with ''

Gawker ''Gawker'' was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers that was based in New York City and focused on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month in 2015. Fo ...

'', Taraborrelli described his evolution as a writer:

I think as you get older as a writer, your standards change. When I was a kid, my standard was very simple: If it was true, I put it in my book. That was it. There was no wiggle room to that. I’ve been through enough in my lifetime to realize there has to be more of a standard in biography than just the truth. There has to be an eye toward empathy. There has to be an eye toward understanding interpretation. There’s a lot of nuance that goes into a biography that is bigger than whether or not something is true. When I was a kid, it was a simpler time. Today, I weigh everything on a moral compass. It has to do with: Is it fair? Is it hurtful? Is it going to cause people pain? That’s a big part of my process today that when I was a kid, I never considered.

Taraborrelli's most recent book, 'Jackie - Public, Private, Secret,' debuted at #3 on the 'New York Times' bestseller list on August 6, 2023.

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' found ''Cher – A Biography'' to be "a fun read, and even moving". ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' reviewed ''Diana Ross – A Biography'' as "fawning" and while acknowledging the comprehensiveness of the book, regretted that the writer held back unfavorable information about the subject because he was a personal fan. It said ''The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe'' was written by "an indefatigable gossip hound" and criticized his vocabulary. The ''Gay & Lesbian Review'' said that ''Michael Jackson – The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story'' was a "comprehensive and even-handed biography". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called ''Jackie, Janet & Lee'' "deliciously readable".

Bibliography

*''Diana: A Celebration of the Life and Career of Diana Ross'' (1985) *''Cher – A Biography'' (1986; updated in 1992) *''Motown: Hot Wax, City Cool and Solid Gold'' (1986; updated in 1988) *''Laughing Till It Hurts – The Complete Life and Career of Carol Burnett'' (1988) *''Call Her Miss Ross'' (1989; updated in 2007 as ''Diana Ross – A Biography'') *'' Michael Jackson – The Magic and the Madness'' (1991; updated in 2003 and 2004. In 2009, the book was updated as ''Michael Jackson – The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story'') *''Sinatra – Behind the Legend'' (1997; updated in 1998 and 2015) *''Jackie, Ethel and Joan: Women of Camelot'' (2000) *'' Madonna: An Intimate Biography'' (2001; updated in 2002, 2007 and 2018) *''Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairytale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier'' (2003) *''Elizabeth'' (2006) *''The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe'' (2009) *''Michael Jackson - The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story'' (2009) *''After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family - 1968 to Present'' (2012) *''The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty'' (2014) *''Sinatra - Behind The Legend'' (rewritten and updated) (2015) *''Becoming Beyoncé - The Untold Story'' (2015) *''Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill'' (2018) *''Madonna: An Intimate Biography of an Icon at Sixty'' (updated) (2018) *''The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline, and the New Generation - A Legacy of Triumph and Tragedy'' (2019) *''Grace & Steel: Dorothy, Barbara, Laura, and the Women of the Bush Dynasty'' (2021) *'' Jackie - Public, Private, Secret'' (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taraborrelli, J. Randy 1956 births Living people Writers from Los Angeles Celebrity biographers People from Ridley Township, Pennsylvania American writers of Italian descent 20th-century American biographers 21st-century American biographers Ridley High School alumni