Author kitty kelley

ARTICLES

“I do not relish living in a world where information is authorized, sanitized and homogenized. I read banned books. I applaud whistleblowers, and I reject any suppression by church or state.”

That is the fervent belief of renowned Georgetown writer Kitty Kelley, author of seven acclaimed “unauthorized” biographies of celebrities, such as Oprah, Nancy Reagan and fellow Georgetowner (for a time) Elizabeth Taylor.

Kelley talked about her life as a “controversial” author to a standing-room-only and rapt audience at the George Town Club on Oct. 10, when she was interviewed by Georgetowner Carol Joynt, also a CBS news producer, at her Q&A Cafe, now in its 22nd year.

Kelley has been a New York Times best selling author many times and contributes her book reviews to The Georgetowner in a section known as the Kitty Kelley Book Club.

Last month, the author was awarded the 14th annual BIO Award, from the Biographers International Organization. It is granted to a “distinguished colleague who has made major contributions to the advancement of the art and craft of biography.”

Kelley is the author of seven biographical works: “Oprah: A Biography” (), “The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty” (), “The Royals” (), “Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography” (), “His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra” (), “Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star” (), and “Jackie Oh!” ().

“To me, the unauthorized biography, which requires a combination of scholarly research and investigative reporting, is best directed at those figures still alive and able to defend themselves against those who exercise power over our lives,” Kelley said. “I firmly believe that unauthorized biography can be a public service and a boon to history.”

It has not been a smooth road to fame or fortune for Kelley, however – who doesn’t look anywhere near her age of Her bumpy road includes a one-million dollar lawsuit agai

Author of unauthorized biographies

For the actress, see Kitty Kelly.

Katherine Kelley (born April 4, ) is an American journalist and author of best-selling unauthorized biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British royal family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey.

For the Sinatra biography, Kelley won praise for the quality of her research and willingness to risk a lawsuit, but critics have not rated her other works as highly. She has been described as a "professional sensationalist" and the "consummate gossip monger."

Early life

Catherine Kelley was raised in Spokane, Washington, the eldest of seven children of Adele (née Martin) and William Vincent Kelley, a lawyer who served as president of the city's bar association. She had "an unhappy home life with an alcoholic mother" who "wasn’t just a closet drunk. She was often a nasty public drunk." She helped take care of her five sisters, Mary Cary, Ellen, Margaret, Adele Monica and Madeleine Sophie, as well as her brother, John. The family vacationed in Europe and spent summers at their two lakeside cottages in western Idaho. Kelley graduated from St. Augustine's Elementary School and then attended the private prep school Holy Names Academy.

According to the biography Poison Pen by George Carpozi Jr., in , Kelley was expelled from the University of Arizona in

Born

April 04,

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs