Upper Cut: Highlights of My Hollywood Life

As one of Hollywood's most sought after hairstylists, White tells a rollercoaster of hair, celebrities and surviving life in the fast lane in her memoir. Abused by her stepfather and chronically neglected by her alcoholic artist mother, White grew up in the Pacoima district of Los Angeles and moved to Hollywood for high school. Here she discovered that the right hair was the key to a better life. Working her way through cosmetology school in the early 1960s, White made a name for herself in the male-dominated world of hairdressers with her motto that she was a girl first and a hairdresser second. Soon, she was cutting the hair of film stars like Warren Beatty and studio executives' wives, jetting off for international commercial shoots. White even styled Sharon Tate's hair for her wedding to Roman Polanski. But with the fame came a lifestyle soaked in alcohol and fueled by drugs. Soon she was addicted to cocaine, despite her responsibilities as a mother to four young children. It wasn't until she lost her salon in the early 1980s that she entered rehab, returned to beauty school, and rebuilt the business that is flourishing today. White's voice is captivating%E2%80%94though some of her anecdotes drag%E2%80%94and her story is an inspiring one, spiked with Hollywood gossip. (Sept.)