The Happy Hooker: My Own Story is a best-selling memoir by Xaviera Hollander, a callgirl, 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 catchy title, while Yvonne Dunleavy either transcribed the book or ghostwrote it.
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Content
The book was notable for its frankness by the standards of the time, and is considered a landmark of positive writing about sex. In the book Hollander detailed her life as an open-minded woman. She stated that during the start of her career, she did not ask for cash in exchange for sex, but her partners voluntarily gave her money and other presents.
Adaptations
Hollander's books became the inspiration for a series of movies, starting with 1975's The Happy Hooker, which starred Lynn Redgrave. The film was followed by two sequels: 1977's The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington and 1980's The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood. In the following sequels Hollander's role was played by different actresses, Joey Heatherton and Martine Beswick respectively.