Suris
Burn Book
WELL-DRESSED COMMENTARY
FROM HOLLYWOODS
LITTLE SWEETHEART
Allie Hagan
DISCLAIMER
This book is a work of humor. It was not authorized, prepared, approved, licensed, or endorsed by Suri Cruise, or anyone on her behalf, nor does it reflect her actual viewsas far as we know.
2012 by Allie Hagan
Published by Running Press,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012931369
E-book ISBN 978-0-7624-4750-3
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing
Cover and interior design by Amanda Richmond
Edited by Jordana Tusman
Typography: Neutra and HT Gelateria
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Contents
In the celebrity world, most of us wear designer, but only one of us is a legend.
A ND ONLY ONE OF US IS QUALIFIED TO TAKE THE poorly dressed, the poorly behaved, and the just-plain-poor to task, which is what Im here today to do. If you bought this book expecting a charming tell-all about my Hollywood playground pals, then youre about to be very disappointed. I may count A-list children like Louis Bullock, Willow Smith, and all four Beckhams among my social acquaintances, but there is no love lost among us.
(Well, except for Cruz Beckham; thats a lost love from which I may never fully recover.)
Yes, Americans are now fully obsessed with celebrity familiesas well we should be. Weve been slowly building an army of fameworthy children for decades, but when Violet Affleck, Kingston Rossdale, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, and a little lady I like to call moi were born within a six-month span, the world welcomed a new generation of Hollywood royalty. Oh, gosh, did I just call Violet Affleck fameworthy? Well, lets just say that some children have squandered a great deal of potential.
Im not afraid to break some confidences, break some spirits, or break some hearts. Alls fair in love and warwhy else would they have invented the word frenemy?
I hope this isnt giving you the impression that Im elitist or unfriendly. The truth is, Im terribly nice. I just like things a certain way, and I hold my peers to the same nearly unreachable standard to which I hold myself. When my friends achieve the level of perfection that takes me a team of world-class stylists and a personal lifestyle coach to achieve, I applaud them. Actually, Ive only seen that happen a handful of times, but when it does, the only thing I feel is pride.
And, okay, a little jealousy when Reese Witherspoons daughter Ava pulls off the hipster look without also looking unshowered. Or when Harper Beckham fits into a sample size I tried to force myself into. Or when Blue Ivy Carter... you get the idea.
The point is, its only mean when you say it to their faces, right?
My rivalries may be well documented by this point, but never before have they been so detailed, so honest, so definitive. Oh, I may find Jessica Albas daughter Haven a nuisance on Monday, but so often by Tuesday, shes become just another smug baby. For this little project, Ive been forced to truly consider my opinions on just about everyone I know. Here you will find the authoritative guide to everyone from Pax Jolie-Pitt to Sasha Obama to Elizabeth McAdams-Gosling. (Okay, I made that last one up. What are you doing with your life, Rachel McAdams?)
So please, have a seat, ask your maid to bring you a cold drink, and enjoy my book.
Except you, Shiloh. I can already tell youre going to hate it.
Not every birth merits an announcement on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, but you can do better than a Twitpic.
F ROM THE MOMENT THE BABY BUMP RUMORS start, fame is a make-or-break game for a celebrity child. The hardest part about building ones image in this town is that babies are inherently dependent upon their parents in the beginning. Jessica Simpsons daughter could turn out to be a genuinely lovely person, but shell never overcome the stigma of having lived inside this.
Sure, not every girl has the privilege of coming into the world the way I didshrouded in mystery and poised for greatnessbut even C-list celebrities can ensure that their children arrive with a little grace. This chapter will cover some dos and donts for starting a baby on the right foot. (Lesson one: Louboutins.)
THIS IS ONE AREA WHERE FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION children must carry this name around for the rest of their lives. Most celebrities try to give their child a name that will stand out. How many other Knoxes or Seraphinas or Sparrows do you know? Probably not many. But there is a balance to be struck between unique and just plain crazy.
Celebrity chef Jaime Oliver and his wife Jools named their children Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow, and Buddy Bear Maurice. Let me just tell you, the only way Poppy Honey Anything is coming to my tea party is if its a new expensive blend of Darjeeling. And, I mean, Petal Blossom Rainbow? Good luck getting into college, a country club, or basically anything that isnt a commune. They didnt give you anything to work with.
Obviously the most famous A-list child with a too-wacky name is the heiress to the Goop and Coldplay fortune herself, Apple Blythe Alison Martin. Here is what Gwyneth Paltrow says about the meaning behind the name:
Basically it was because when we were first pregnant, her daddy said, If its a girl, I think her name should be Apple. And it sounded so sweet, and it conjures such a lovely picture for me. You know apples are so sweet, and theyre wholesome, and its biblical, and I just thought it sounded so lovely and clean, and then I just thoughtperfect. And then she was born, and it became like an international outrage, which I found surprising because there are people named Rose or Lily or Ivy or June, or you know, lots of pretty nouns.
First of all, international outrage is a little bit of revisionist history. When I think of an international outrage, I think of the Cuban Missile Crisis or Iran-Contra or the series finale of
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