The Unauthorized Biographer's Challenge

How do you write a biography about someone who doesn't want to be written about?

From a piece on the Daily Beast...

Embarking on an unauthorized biography requires a strong stomach. During the four years that I spent researching Safra’s life, I struggled with public records searches on three continents. Then there were the friends and former employees who were reluctant to speak for fear of being sued by a woman who is used to getting her way. In some cases, I tracked down Safra’s friends and acquaintances only to be told that they didn’t have a clue as to whom I was speaking about.

But for me, the most difficult part surely came after all the research and legal reviews by Harper Collins’ lawyers were completed and the book was finally published. That’s when most people ignored it. Publishers in countries with weak libel laws admitted they wanted nothing to do with the book. The United Kingdom, for instance, is dangerous territory, since describing the inside of someone’s home there can result in a libel suit. But journalists and media executives in this country who are protected by the First Amendment preferred not to make waves, either.

Still, I was luckier than my much more famous counterparts. When Andrew Morton published his unauthorized biography of Angelina Jolie in August, just about every talk show in the country refused to have him as a guest, for fear of upsetting the Hollywood star.

“Even the Hollywood Reporter was moved to point out the self-censorship practiced by these broadcasters,” said Morton, who has also written what he calls “independent biographies” of Tom Cruise, Madonna, and Princess Diana. “It is a depressing development.”