Ciara Jarosch
Ciara Jarosch asked Taylor Jenkins Reid:

I loved your book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. It will go down as one of my all time favorite novels and I have recommend it to almost anyone I can. I became obsessed with Evelyn's life based off of how people and the media saw her versus who she really was. It really made me question the true and fade of today's Hollywood stars. Who was your inspiration and how did you get the inside details for this book?

Taylor Jenkins Reid Thank you so much! That's so kind of you. I really wanted to write a story of a woman who looked like a puppet but was a puppet master. That was the real germ of the story. She's both the product and the salesman.

But once I read Ava Gardner's lost memoirs which came out a few years ago, I realized that was the perfect set up for the character I had been envisioning.

I did a lot of research -- by far the most fun research of my career! -- learning all about the ins and outs of Hollywood back in the day. I read a lot of actress (and a few actor) biographies, a number of books about the gossip industry, and a lot about the studio system and the star machine. I loved it all.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
220,160 followers

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more