Stars Are Calling Time on Perfection

#RealTalk! A-listers are proudly showing their true selves - for better or worse

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“Céline… never told me to stop filming,” director Irene Taylor said of working with Dion (bottom left) on her documentary.

For years, celebrities lived behind a veil of secrecy, keeping the intimate details of their lives and career struggles private — often giving off the perception of perfection. But recently we've seen a shift, with some of the biggest names in Hollywood getting real via documentaries and podcasts.

In late October, Megan Thee Stallion debuted the doc In Her Words and shared deeply personal stories from her life, including heartbreaking insight into the 2019 death of her mother, Holly, and the emotional trauma of being shot by fellow rapper Tory Lanez a year later. “I started to watch a lot of people dehumanize me, and a lot of people were trying to take control of my narrative and tell my story,” Megan said of making the film. “So that’s why I even agreed to do the documentary… I was trying to be a cookie-cutter celebrity for y’all but it didn’t work out.”

She’s not the only one. In February, Jennifer Lopez released The Greatest Love Story Never Told through her then-hubby Ben Affleck’s production company, sharing a behind-the-scenes look into the pair’s now ill-fated marriage as she worked on a new album and accompanying musical film. Céline Dion dropped I Am: Céline Dion in June, offering fans an honest and raw depiction of the struggles of living with stiff person syndrome. And in October, Simone Biles Rising: Part 2 began streaming on Netflix (three months after the first half hit the platform), which followed gymnast Simone Biles as she balanced her personal life and mental health amid her return to the Olympics.