Famous People on Book Covers #2
I was going through my older posts and fixing all formatting / broken links etc. when I came across a post I did back in May 2015 about Famous People on Book Covers (part 1 – link here). I promised a part 2 but never delivered on that promise. I had prepped for a second post but never got around to actually writing the post itself.
I know this is coming a little late (5 years too late to be exact!) but better late than never at all…
1. Lori Loughlin
Famous for her roles in various teen dramas in the 1980s such as Secret Admirer and The Night Before, and later for being in the 90210 reboot, Lori Loughlin was also a staple of Hallmark productions. Probably more infamously known these days for her part in the college admissions scandal (which lost her the partnership with Hallmark and will probably lead to some jail time), she was a famous face back in the day, not least for her stint as a model for various young adult book covers!
Loughlin appears on the cover for Hila Colman’s Don’t Tell Me That You Love Me as well as popular young adult romance series First Love from Silhouette (the title in question being Picture Perfect by Carrie Enfield) and Wildfire’s A Funny Girl Like Me by Jan O’Donnell.
2. Yasmine Bleeth
When I think of Yasmine Bleeth, I think of Chandler and Joey’s obsession with Baywatch in the sitcom Friends. I remember watching Baywatch back in the day now and again but I wasn’t an avid watcher, by any means. I also never saw her in any of the soap operas she appeared in. Nonetheless, even if I had never watched a single episode of Baywatch, I do remember the series being splattered all over youth magazines. The iconic swimsuit and opening titles of the show is very memorable (as was Chandler and Joey’s reaction to it!)
Jasmine Bleeth appeared as a cover model for various teen romance series including Caprice (Never Say Never by Ann Boyle), Windswept ( The Disappearing Teacher by Conrad Nowels), and First Love from Silhouette (A Touch of Love by Winifred Madison) respectively.
3. Mischa Barton
Probably most well-known for her role in The OC (and also, sadly, various issues in her personal life) Mischa Barton was a familiar face to anyone in the early 2000s. I was rather surprised to see her pop up on various covers of The Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant. These were covers that were widely circulated in the mid 1990s though the series itself actually dates back to the late 1980s.
It wasn’t uncommon for young adult books (or any books really) to re-brand in order to appeal to a new audience. Book cover trends change all the time and it was important to try and gain new readers once the previous audience was no longer of an age to read them.
Other Miscellaneous / One-off Models
Yep, that is indeed Brooke Shields on the cover of Helene by John Bowers (though this one was published in the 1970’s). She was a well-known model before making it big as an actress so this one isn’t really surprising. She also appears on the cover of Frank De Felitta’s 1975 horror novel Audrey Rose (which was later turned into a movie although not one starring Shields!)
I’m not 100% sure if this is Ally Sheedy on Windswept’s The Lost Holiday by Elizabeth Olsen, although it is widely attributed to her. It certainly looks like it is her though so I’m reasonably confident. 😉
The last cover for Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, one of the Babysitters Club books, shows a very young Kirsten Dunst. Don’t believe me? Well, it was confirmed by both Dunst and the author Ann M. Martin herself right here.
During my hunt for famous people modelling for young adult book covers, I found yet another book with Jennifer Connelly! She really got around then, huh? Here she appears on the Wildfire title The Boy Next Door by Vicky Martin.
I also happened across a Sweet Dreams title called Wrong For Each Other by Debra Spector featuring a young Paula Barbieri – who is perhaps best well-known for being a girlfriend of O.J. Simpson. The title seems rather apt…
Lastly, this Sweet Dreams title Starstruck by Shannon Blair features a young model called Pamela Gidley (who is now sadly deceased). She was an actress known for movies such as Cherry 2000 and one of my personal favourites Permanent Record! She also appeared in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and had a recurring role in the early seasons of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Starstruck was one of the only Sweet Dreams titles to feature an image that wrapped round from the front cover to the back. Gidley appeared on the back cover side.
Well folks, I hoped you enjoyed this much-belated post! I couldn’t have done this without some key sources such as Book Riot, Nerdalicious, and Cliquey Pizza. Thanks for sticking with me and apologies for this follow-up post being so delayed. I definitely had fun with this, If you know of any famous folks who once graced the covers of books for teens, please feel free to share in the comments below!
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