''The Happy Hooker: My Own Story'' is a best-selling

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

Xaviera Hollander Xaviera Hollander (born 15 June 1943) is a Dutch former call girl, madam, and author. She is best known for her best-selling memoir '' The Happy Hooker: My Own Story''. Early life Hollander was born Xaviera "Vera" de Vries in Surabaya, Japanes ...

, a

call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...

, published in 1971. It sold over 20 million copies. Robin Moore, who took Hollander's dictations of the book's contents, came up with the title, while Yvonne Dunleavy ghostwrote it. In an interview published in 2019, Hollander said Dunleavy "was the one who wrote the book. They taped me, simply asking questions about my life and had the chapters spewed out in about three months. She wrote it, he edited it. He tried in vain to write a chapter, it was a piece of shit."

Adaptations

Hollander's book inspired a series of movies, starting with '' The Happy Hooker'' (1975), which starred

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. B ...

. The film was followed by two

sequels A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

: ''

The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington ''The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington'' is a 1977 American comedy film directed by William A. Levey. It was the sequel to '' The Happy Hooker'', which was released in 1975. Joey Heatherton replaced Lynn Redgrave as the lead character of Xaviera ...

'' (1977) and ''

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood ''The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood'', released theatrically in the UK as ''Hollywood Blue'', is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Alan Roberts and starring Martine Beswick, Adam West, Phil Silvers, Chris Lemmon, Edie Adams, and Richard ...

'' (1980).The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:''..The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood''
/ref> In the sequels the role of Hollander was played by

Joey Heatherton Davenie Johanna "Joey" Heatherton (born September 14, 1944) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. A sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s, she is best known for her many television appearances during that time, particularly as a frequent varie ...

and Martine Beswick respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Hooker 1971 non-fiction books Autobiographies Non-fiction books about American prostitution Memoirs adapted into films Sex positivism