celebrity

A definitive ranking of the best celebrity documentaries you can watch right now.

 

In the age of social media, it’s easy to assume that we know everything there is to know about our favourite celebrities.

From Instagram and Facebook to YouTube and TikTok, we’ve never had more of an insight into the lives of actors, musicians, and athletes.

But while we might be seeing more than ever, it’s clear that the Instagram feeds of celebrities only just scratch the surface.

Watch the trailer to Taylor Swift’s new documentary Miss Americana below. Post continues after video.

Although social media is the place for carefully curated public personas, celebrities are now turning to documentaries to give their fans a peek behind the curtain into their everyday personal lives, while simultaneously constructing their own public narrative.

And as a result, celebrity documentaries are really having a moment right now.

From Taylor Swift to Justin Bieber, a number of celebrities have recently released documentaries, offering a look into what their lives are really like.

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Amid their release, let’s take a look at some of the best celebrities documentaries available to stream right now.

8. Justin Bieber: Seasons

best celebrity documentaries
Image: YouTube.

Where can I watch it? YouTube.

Debuting last week, Justin Bieber: Seasons is a 10-part YouTube series which offers an intimate look at the singer's life.

In the new series, the now 25-year-old opens up about his time in the spotlight, his mental health and his marriage to Hailey Baldwin.

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In one episode, Bieber also opens up about his past with drug abuse, detailing how he often used drugs as an "escape" from a very young age.'

7. Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce

homecoming beyonce
Image: Getty.

Where can I watch it? Netflix.

Beyonce's Netflix documentary, Homecoming, gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at her Coachella headliner shows.

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While the documentary largely focused on the now-iconic 2018 concert, it also included a rare peek into the private world of the singer.

The documentary looks at the difficulties of her pregnancy with Rumi and Sir as well as her commitment to making black women proud.

6. Avicii: True Stories

Best Netflix documentaries
Image: Netflix.

Where can I watch it? Netflix.

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Avicii: True Stories is an absolute must-watch.

The 2017 documentary was filmed and released prior to the artist's sudden death in 2018. It chronicled the DJ’s life on the road and shone a spotlight on his health issues, linked to his drinking.

Including intimate interviews with the DJ himself, it portrays what exactly was behind Avicii's decision to retire in 2016, and his team's reaction to his mental health struggle.

5. Katy Perry: Part of Me

best celebrity documentaries
Image: Netflix.
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Where can I watch it? Netflix.

Katy Perry: Part of Me follows the singer on her yearlong California Dreams tour, which included 124 shows around the world.

Besides taking a behind the scenes look at the tour, the documentary also takes a look at the singer's childhood, her fans, and the pressure that comes with being a young music sensation.

As the documentary was filmed during Perry's separation from her former husband, Russell Brand, the film also provides a unique insight into the now 35-year-old's personal life.

4. Taylor Swift: Miss Americana

Image: Netflix.
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Where can I watch it? Netflix.

After a long-anticipated wait, Taylor Swift's Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, was released over the weekend.

The nearly 90-minute film shows how the singer has so-cleverly carved out her own career, with a publicly fearless attitude yet with private insecurities that have followed her the whole way.

From motherhood to an eating disorder, Taylor Swift talks navigating her twenties with the public’s magnifying glass on her the whole time.

The documentary also looks into the planning behind her decision to take a stand on politics and the making of her album, Lover.

From eating disorders to motherhood and loneliness, listen to a full break down of the Miss Americana moments you may have missed on The Spill.

3. Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher And Debbie Reynolds

best celebrity documentaries
Image: HBO.
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Where can I watch it? iTunes.

In the months before they both passed away, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher filmed Bright Lights together.

The documentary, which was made to pay tribute to Reynolds' career, showed the incredibly close bond that the mother and daughter shared.

The documentary takes the viewers into both Reynolds and Fisher's respective homes, and includes candid commentary from Fisher on her personal experiences with addiction and mental illness.

In Bright Lights, Fisher also visits her father, who was absent during most of her childhood. In earlier years, Fisher shared that she saw her father "more on TV than on the planet".

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2. Amy

best celebrity documentaries
Image: IMDB.

Where can I watch it? Netflix.

In comparison to the likes of Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, Amy Winehouse didn't play a role in the making of her celebrity documentary.

Instead, the documentary, titled Amy, was released in 2015, four years after the singer's sudden death at just 27 years old.

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Directed by Asif Kaspadia, the documentary includes voicemails, home videos and interviews to piece together the British singer's story, including her early success as well as her experiences with addiction and her death.

Following its release, Amy won an Academy Award and a BAFTA for best documentary in 2016.

1. Gaga: Five Foot Two

best celebrity documentaries
Image: Netflix.

Where can I watch it? Netflix.

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Lady Gaga's Netflix documentary, Five Foot Two, shows the performer at her most vulnerable.

The documentary, which follows the singer as she works on her fifth studio album Joanne as well as the lead up to her Super Bowl performance, has been described as "intimate" and "incredibly difficult to watch".

Besides a behind the scenes look at the making of Joanne, the documentary provides a look at the personal side of Lady Gaga, providing insight into her split from ex-fiance Taylor Kinney and the reality of dealing with a chronic illness.

In one scene, while dealing with fibromyalgia, the 33-year-old is seen bawling on a couch in pain.

"I just think about other people that have maybe something like this that are struggling to figure out what it is, and they don't have the money to have somebody help them," she said in one scene.

"Like, I don't know what I'd f*ckin' do if I didn't have everybody here to help me. What the hell would I do? Do I look pathetic? I'm so embarrassed."

Feature Image: YouTube.

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What's your favourite celebrity documentary? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


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