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Sunshine Girl
- An Unexpected Life
- Narrated by: Julianna Margulies
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Entertainment & Performing Arts
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Publisher's Summary
Known for her outstanding performances on the groundbreaking television series The Good Wife and ER, Julianna Margulies deftly chronicles her life and her work in this deeply powerful memoir.
Named One of the Best Books of the Year by Good Housekeeping
“At once a tender coming-of-age story and a deeply personal look at a young woman making sense of the world against a chaotic and peripatetic childhood.” (Katie Couric)
As an apple-cheeked bubbly child, Julianna was bestowed with the family nickname “Sunshine Girl”. Shuttled back and forth between her divorced parents, often on different continents, she quickly learned how to be of value to her eccentric mother and her absent father. Raised in fairly unconventional ways in various homes in Paris, England, New York, and New Hampshire, Julianna found that her role among the surrounding turmoil and uncertainty was to comfort those around her, seeking organization among the disorder, making her way in the world as a young adult and eventually an award-winning actress.
Throughout, there were complicated relationships, difficult choices, and overwhelming rejections. But there were also the moments where fate, faith, and talent aligned, leading to the unforgettable roles of a lifetime, both professionally and personally - moments when chaos had finally turned to calm.
Filled with intimate stories and revelatory moments, Sunshine Girl is at once unflinchingly honest and perceptive. It is a riveting self-portrait of a woman whose resilience in the face of turmoil will leave listeners intrigued and inspired.
Critic Reviews
“Over the course of her illustrious career on screen, Julianna Margulies has played any number of unforgettable characters but as this memoir proves, she might be most fascinating as herself.... Not every celebrity autobiography has a truly compelling story to tell, but this one does and tells it with style, humor, and flair.” (Town & Country)
“[A] thought-provoking and revelatory memoir.... Though Margulies’s anecdotes may be outside readers’ own realms of experience, she relates them with such intimacy and candor that readers might recognize in her a kindred spirit.... A deeply reflective narrative that will appeal to both Margulies’s fans and anyone who enjoys a warm and well-crafted memoir.” (Library Journal)
“Margulies...shares her path to stardom in this frank memoir.... Readers looking for salacious Hollywood tales won’t find them here; instead Margulies’s fans and all readers interested in TV careers will enjoy learning her origin story.” (Booklist)
What listeners say about Sunshine Girl
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jeannette L.
- 06-21-21
Cringe-y at times, but entertaining
I feel like this book is perfect for Juliana Margulies super fans or the upper class. Since I’m neither, I didn’t love it. In fact, at certain points I was cringing and hard eye rolling. She seems like a sweet and genuine person, but sooo out of touch with what real struggle is.
She talks about “having” to waitress to make a living before she made it in acting, but she always had a rich father to fall back on for support if ever she needed. She laments not having a regular doctor as a kid and not going to the dentist for like two years. I know everyone has struggles and I am not trying to demean hers, but the complaints seemed quite out of touch with 99% of America and trite sometimes. She even complained about people recognizing her and trying to talk to her while purchasing a $300 pan at the store. Hard eye roll.
Having said all that, I listened to the whole thing and found lots of the story fun to listen to. So if you’re not already kind of angry about income inequality and the rich/poor divide, give it a listen!
19 people found this helpful
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- Edward Barck
- 05-08-21
Unexpectedly fabulous!
I saw her on the Jimmy Kimmel late night show. Just listening to her talk, I knew I had to get the book, which I did that night. I have listened to the entire book in two days and loved it. I feel like I know her. She reads her words so beautifully. It was a great listening experience. Needless to say, I loved it.
6 people found this helpful
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- Jennifer Baratta She/Her
- 05-07-21
Julianna is an outstanding narrator and author.
You really learn about what Margulies went through as a child and as an actor and how she became this incredible woman.
5 people found this helpful
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- S. Zapata
- 05-09-21
Great Book.
I have Loved Julianna Margulies since her first appearance on ER. Carol was my favorite character and still is to this day. Her book is great. Very real. I felt like I was listening to a good friend. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Julianna.
3 people found this helpful
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- Child Development teacher
- 07-13-21
Beautiful memoir
Loved every minute of this book. Juliana is not only a beautiful woman but also a beautiful soul.
1 person found this helpful
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- HappyCat
- 05-17-22
Very surprised how good it was
What an honest and fascinating story of growing up in the midst of conflict and opportunity. Very interesting.
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- C. Bunten
- 04-23-22
Couldn't stop listening !
Loved every minute, identified with her childhood, especially the horse story.
Cried at the end of the book, for the reflections...
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- Matthew S.
- 04-05-22
Love this book!
Really enjoyed Juliana’s book and learning more about her, her childhood, and adult life + her experience as an actress.
Juliana’s honestly w kindness truly made this an enjoyable read. ❤️
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- SmellyOgre
- 02-23-22
loved it
any entertaining listen, especially due to the author narrating. I guess we're all just doing our best...as kids, lovers n parents. Many truths here I'm grateful for the lessons shared
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-05-22
Captivating and Poignant.
Margulies embodies determination in her quest for professional and personal growth and success. She seeks love from her complicated parents and introspective understanding of her early life and tumultuous Transatlantic upbringing.
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- Tara Hynes
- 01-31-22
Love her, liked the book
There is no doubt JM is a great actress, she’s front-lined two of the greatest shows on TV. She has been in countless mini-series and plays and has made clever and brave choices in her acting career. She has led an interesting ‘unexpected’ life.. she comes from a wonderfully colourful family, a quirky mother and directionless father, she talks about finding love on her way via a few funny relationships .. she talks honestly about being a working parent in a busy job.. I wanted to love this book, I only liked it.
It felt a bit amateurish and clunky.. I loved some of the detail but other times I wished it would move a bit quicker.. I wanted a bit more pizzazz and drama and dare I say it.. gossip!! I think everyone deserves a great dentist- I don’t really need to hear ten pages of dialogue on choosing, meeting and visiting a dentist. I want to know about funny stories on set, anecdotes on entertainment, little snippets on actors idiosyncrasies..
I think I just thought a brave actor would have written a braver book. Maybe I’m being unfair as its a nice story of her life and I liked it. I just didn’t love it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Tricia
- 11-22-21
Didn't want it to end
I gravitated to this book because I was a Good Wife fan, but I finished it because it was a good story. Juliana's life is an interesting one with lots of lessons learned. Her voice is like velvet, so soothing even when the narrative is hard. I loved it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amanda Considine
- 04-07-22
Definitely listen to this
Loved this book, her vulnerability and honesty. Could listen to this over again. It goes through all aspects of her life to date, her struggles against public opinion. I loved
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- s j jones
- 02-25-22
Loved it
I really enjoyed listening to this book, and Julianna has such a calming voice.
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- Hazel V
- 02-19-22
As strong as the characters she plays
When I was 12, Carol Hathaway was my favorite character in E.R. I loved how natural and strong she was. In some ways I found these qualities in the other roles Julianna played, including Alicia Florrick. I don't spend much time on TV or usually don't read autobiographies but for whatever reasons, I got the audiobook and listened to it in a day, unable to stop! What an absolute delight! Beautifuly written and narrated by the author herself. It felt nice to discover the strong woman playing these characters. I loved the honnesty, humility and humour. I was touched, captivated and had a good laugh! Thank you!
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- Anonymous User
- 02-11-22
Unexpected gem
I didn't really have any expectations. I knew that JM is a good actress. I'm also Jewish and wanted to hear her story. I only ever watched her in Good wife and I ll never forget her pale face in the beginning when she is standing next to her character s husband. This book is outstanding. Her story is unusual and huge part is her excellent reading which I enjoyed enormously.