2011 Book by an ‘SNL' Legend, Which Sold Millions of Copies, Named No. 1 Funniest Memoir

Goodreads users have put together a list of the funniest memoirs, which contain books from well-known comedians like Chelsea Handler, Ellen DeGeneres, and Kathy Griffin. Coming in at the very top of the list is an autobiography written by a comedy legend.

Bossypants is a 2011 memoir written by Tina Fey, who played Liz Lemon on 30 Rock and starred on SNL from 1997 to 2006. The audiobook version of the novel, narrated by the star herself, was Grammy-nominated. It went on to sell over 3 million copies and remained at the top of the The New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks in a row.

The memoir detailed Fey's journey from being a young child with dreams of becoming a comedian on television to those dreams becoming a reality. In addition to her iconic roles on SNL and 30 Rock, Fey also appeared in hits like Mean Girls, Baby Mama, and Date Night.

Fey is also a writer and producer who created the television series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and the musical adaptation of Mean Girls, which ran on Broadway and secured her a Tony Award nomination.

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Whether or not you're a fan of the comedian's past work, you can enjoy her book. As one Goodreads reader, who gave the book five stars, said, "I didn't really know who Tina Fey was when I picked it up. I had a dim awareness of her being one of the SNL people, and an actress. But that's it. I also didn't know she was in charge of 30 Rock. (A show I've seen exactly one episode of.) So I didn't come into this book as a fan. I became a fan by listening to it. I'm probably one of the few people that's going to start watching the show because of the book, rather than the other way around."

Also making the list of best memoirs were Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling and Yes Please by Fey's most prominent comedy partner, Amy Poehler.

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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 9:56 AM.