I love reading memoirs and this one was great! Julianna Margulies has a way with words that made her book easy to read and very captivating!!!
It is interesting to learn in her own words the patch she took to get where she is now.

It's no wonder Julianna went into acting as she was shaped by her childhood. Her family is like others with it's drama. An appropriate title to her growing up, Sunshine Girl. Julianna let's the reader get inside her childhood, how her parents shaped her into who she is and her relationship with them as adults. I appreciated her frankness in this memoir.
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this in return for my review.

Julianna Margulies has long been among my favorite actors. I’ve even used a photo of her from a magazine article as a sample of how to perfectly shape my eyebrows! So I was delighted to have this opportunity to read her new memoir Sunshine Girl. I found her style or remembering to be honest and forthright. She didn’t pull any punches with her past hurts and feelings of failure, but always seemed to have a positive spin or insight into a lesson she learned from everything that has happened in her life. It was a breath of fresh air, a perfect read for this transition or spring to summertime. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to have read it. Thank you to both the author and publisher!!

As a huge fan of ER, when I first Julianna's autobiography announced, I knew I had to read it.

Julianna Marguiles, actress of stage, tv, and film tells of her upbringing and work life.

It's odd going into an autobiography. You never know what you're gonna run across. I can't in any fault the telling of the story. I feel Julianna rode the line of honesty and candor perfectly. She left her emotions of her parents, events, etc. come through, but also didn't betray confidences of identities. Maybe it's the Gemini in her--between the soul being able to objectively offer a level of duality.

I also really appreciated that brought up ER in particular, of course. I felt like listening to Julianna talk about her career on the stage enriched it, but ER really gave her an opportunity to break out. I think there are of us who may not have known about her otherwise. Though I'd forgot about Homicide, which I also watched.

I did love hearing her speak about her family. From her parents to her sisters, to her extended family. Julianna spoke about her whole family with such warmth and love. The story about her grandmother that she talked about on "Finding Your Roots'--I enjoyed hearing her post-response. It was intriguing to hear she was hesitant. I suppose I can understand that on some level. As someone with holes in her own genealogy, I also just can't imagine turning it down.

Overall, this was absolutely lovely. Thank you so much, Julianna for sharing your story. And thank you to the publishers for the ARC.

I have found myself choosing autobiography books more and more. I read one on Cary Grant that I thoroughly enjoyed and now reading this one on Julianna Marguilies, the Sunshine Girl! Her family tagged her the name Sunshine Girl because she was always happy go lucky and tried to smooth everything out. She never wanted to upset the apple cart.
Julianna had a dysfunctional family upbringing in that her parents were divorced, but her mother was always trying to seek that great fulfillment. She was flitting from place to place and her girls were having to follow her, but one daughter refused and went to live with dad. The other two were shocked and stayed with mom. Julianna stayed even though she was desperately unhappy, but throughout it all it became a life lesson and she found the drama stage.
Julianna made life choices and had numerous beginnings and even with her hit TV Drama ER there were things that were complicated at the end. Then Good Wife came into her life and that totally absorbed her family and her. She had a young child and husband that was consumed by the hit TV Drama. Then came the ending and the beginning of writing this difficult book. Putting to words her life and opinions, romances, decisions good and bad, emotional outpouring of feelings flooded the pages.
These are the words of a person not just a TV Actress.

I definitely would recommend this book.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Not only did I grow up in the 90s watching Julianne on er, but I also loved loved loved the Good wife, so I was really interested to read her biography and learn more about the life of an actress that I have had on my TV screen for years! If you're wanting a peek into her life this is a great way to do it!

This book exceeded my expectations. I thought I knew a lot about Julianna Margulies from watching her on tv over the years but it turns out it was just a sliver of who she is. Being bounced between her divorced parents - the US and Paris and other locations abroad she had far from a "normal" childhood. She earned her nickname- Sunshine Child- by her smiling sweet nature which was her coping through the difficulty of growing up far beyond a typical childhood. Learning about how she got into acting and where it stood on her list of priorities (family OVER fame) was such a breath of fresh air. Reading her life go full circle was enlightening and entertaining.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sunshine Girl is the latest in a string of celebrity memoirs that have gotten my attention. I didn’t know much about the life of Julianna Margulies other than her acclaimed TV roles on ER and The Good Wife. This memoir is an intriguing story of determination and the reality that I things are not always what they seem. Sunshine Girl is the perfect book for fans of Julian Margulies.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read this book. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

I always loved Julianna Margulies on The Good Wife, so I was excited to learn more about her when I got approved for this book. She’s led an interesting life and is a great writer! I had to keep putting the book down to stop myself from getting through it too quickly.

If you are an ER fan and often wondered how this wonderful cast got their start here is the tale for you. I found J. Margulies wonderfully candid. It was a solid look behind the curtain into what it takes to stand on your own in a town that is constantly changing with the whims of the public. I found her grounded and true to herself. The fact that she has emerged choosing her own vehicles it a testament to a sharp eye and a quick wit.

Y’all know I love memoirs and Sunshine Girl by Julianna Margulies was no exception! I was a big fan of ER and The Good Wife, so I’d already known a bit of her work, but this memoir focuses more on her childhood and college years. It’s not a typical celebrity memoir, in that you don’t get a lot of hot goss about co-stars and scandals, but her story is so interesting and kept me enthralled until the end. Margulies writes in a really beautiful and engaging way. I’m glad she shared her story with us!

Having watched every episode of ER and The Good Wife, I was interested in reading Julianna’s memoir. She is obviously an outstanding actress, but could she write too? The jury is in and not only can she act, but she can WRITE! Totally open in her accounting, this memoir reads as if she’s right beside you telling her story. A story that’s not what you would expect. Her upbringing was anything but conventional, yet she took the very best parts and used them to fulfill her dreams. A remarkable story from a remarkable woman.

I approached this book with no expectations. I was pleasantly surprised at what a good read it was and how much I wanted to read about all JM’s progress as she moved through a very different type of childhood. The background and stories about her parents were essential to rooting for her. . I particularly liked her honest opinions about herself and the choices she made. The open criticism of “hey here’s what I did wrong and here is what I am now doing about it “made me admire her even more. This would be a good book for HS students because of the never give up and it is ok to make mistakes messages it sends. Kids would appreciate the not typical upbringing yet made myself a success aspect. I enjoyed this book and thought JM had a story worth reading.

Complicated relationships intermingled with the author's philosophy of life is what makes this book work. The life of a television and play star does sound glamorous and, at times, it certainly is. I so enjoyed "The Good Wife" and the opening of this book certainly puts it into a new perspective. It focuses quite a bit about what makes Margulies tick, a theme so deftly explored. Interesting!

I found this disappointing. I've seen and liked Margulies on stage as well as screen. But it falls short as a memoir-- just doesnt engage or seem necessaryl

When I saw that Julianna Margulies had written a memoir, I knew I had to read it as she has been a favorite actress of mine since I first saw her on ER. This was a fantastic read, very well written. She had quite an interesting life, not always happy, moving quite often after her parents' divorced. After reading this memoir, I am more in awe of her than before. If you love reading memoirs, I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

This is a Biography Memoir Non-Fiction book which is all about Julianna Margulies who is know for television series The Good Wife and ER. I love her character in ER, and that is why I really wanted to pick this book up. I have to say this is not my favorite memoir I have read, but I enjoyed learning more about Julianna's real life. I did not know she was not set to be full time on ER. I wish there was more about her time while she was on ER. I have never watched The Good Wife. I have to say there was a darkness underline in this book. I did not get happiness from this book anytime during reading this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Ballantine Books) or author (Julianna Margulies) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

3.5 stars

_Sunshine Girl_ is a fascinating read about Julianna Margulies the person, not just *the actor*. It's important that those who find themselves interested in this read shed the illusion that this is a book about her characters as I expect that will be a thing.

I knew nothing about Margulies's life, though I have enjoyed her work for a long time, and I was fascinated by her childhood and general experiences. There is a lot of travel, family chatter, and general self-reflection.

This is not the kind of memoir that blows one's mind with extreme obstacles overcome or incredible contributions made. Yes. Margulies has led a charmed life in many ways, but come to this because you're curious in a person's inner life: not to uncover some sort of gossip or celebrity inner circle business.

Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life by Julianna Margulies
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Publication Date: May 4, 2021

I do not typically read biographies, but I was very curious about this one because of how much I loved ER and The Good Wife.

I'm so glad I chose to read this! I was immediately capitated by the author's story. She wrote the book as if she was telling you her story over a cup of coffee. And because I grew up listening to her voice, I felt as if she was speaking directly to me!

Aside from her interesting life, I found the life lessons and wisdom the author shares to be what resonated most with me. This was beautifully written and captivating.

I loved this book so much that I bought a copy for my mom for Mother's Day!

I'm so grateful to Julianna Margulies, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Loved From The Star
* * * 1/2
Julianne Margulies captivated my heart and interest from the first time I saw her on television. I may have seen her before her ER role but it was her embodying Nurse Carol Hathaway that caught me. The way she made that person three-dimensional and made me care about her is something I will never forget.

This talented actress has done other roles that made an impression on me, including The Good Wife and in a little-known film, A Price Above Rubies.

This book talks about how she became who she is, her relationships, and other impactful moments. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of "insider" information, but that is ok. Julianne is enough.