12 Best Celebrity Biopics of All Time

Celebrity biopics live in a sweet spot between history lesson, star performance, and pure emotional pull. When they work, they don’t just retell a famous life; they pull you inside it. The best ones make you forget you’re watching an actor at all, blurring the line between performance and reality so completely that the subject feels newly alive.

That power has been especially evident over the past two years. 2024 and 2025 marked a major resurgence for the genre, with audiences flocking to theaters for intimate, prestige-driven portraits of cultural icons. Films like A Complete Unknown and Deliver Me from Nowhere proved there’s still an appetite for thoughtful, performance-forward storytelling—especially when paired with actors willing to disappear entirely into their roles. And the momentum isn’t slowing down: anticipation is already building for the upcoming Michael, which promises to be one of the most ambitious and scrutinized biopics yet.

Of course, Hollywood has been telling the lives of famous figures for decades. But only a select few truly stick. These are the biopics that feel immersive, emotionally resonant, and endlessly rewatchable—whether for their transformative performances, their sharp storytelling, or the lasting cultural impact they left behind.

Here are some of the best celebrity biopics of all time.

Priscilla (2023)

Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla flips the traditional music biopic on its head, telling the Elvis story through Priscilla Presley’s eyes. Cailee Spaeny delivers a quietly powerful performance that captures youth, isolation, and emotional restraint, earning major awards recognition. The film is less about fame and more about what it costs, making it one of the most intimate biopics in recent years.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Julia Roberts turned Erin Brockovich into a cultural icon with a performance that’s sharp and endlessly watchable. Playing a single mother who helps expose a massive environmental cover-up, Roberts brings humor, confidence, and real emotional weight to the role, without ever softening Erin’s attitude to make her more “likable.” The result is a biopic that’s empowering without being sentimental, stylish without being glossy, and still one of the most satisfying portraits of a woman taking on power and winning.

Selena (1997)

Selena remains one of the most heartfelt music biopics ever made, capturing the joy, ambition, and cultural impact of the late Tejano superstar. Jennifer Lopez’s breakout performance is grounded and charismatic, honoring Selena Quintanilla’s spirit without imitation or excess. Rather than rushing through tragedy, the film celebrates Selena’s rise, her connection to family, and the community that helped shape her legacy, making it a lasting touchstone for fans and a defining moment in pop culture history.

Oppenheimer (2023)

More psychological portrait than traditional biopic, Oppenheimer turns the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer into a tense, immersive character study. Cillian Murphy’s performance is restrained and unsettling as it captures both the brilliance and the unease of a man forced to reckon with the consequences of his own genius. Anchored by Christopher Nolan’s precise direction and strong supporting turns, especially Emily Blunt’s quietly formidable Kitty Oppenheimer, the film redefines biopics as ambitious, morally complex, and impossible to shake. 

Ray (2004)

Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Ray Charles set the modern benchmark for music biopics. From the vocals to the physicality, Foxx captured both the brilliance and the darkness of the legendary musician’s life. The film doesn’t shy away from Charles’s personal struggles and gives the story emotional weight beyond the music. Foxx’s Academy Award win remains one of the most universally agreed-upon Oscars in recent memory.

Walk the Line (2005)

Johnny Cash’s rise, fall, and redemption is told with grit and heart in this fan favorite. Joaquin Phoenix brings raw intensity to Cash, while Reese Witherspoon’s June Carter steals every scene, earning her an Oscar in the process. The film’s live musical performances make it feel less like a reenactment and more like a lived-in love story set to a legendary soundtrack.

The Theory of Everything (2014)

Eddie Redmayne’s Oscar-winning performance as Stephen Hawking is both physically transformative and emotionally precise. The film focuses not just on Hawking’s scientific achievements, but on his personal relationships, particularly his marriage to Jane Hawking. The result is a biopic that feels intimate, human, and quietly moving.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

A crowd-pleasing tribute to Queen and its legendary frontman, Bohemian Rhapsody features Rami Malek’s Oscar-winning performance as Freddie Mercury. Malek captures Mercury’s flamboyance, vulnerability, and commanding stage presence, while bringing Queen’s music to life through meticulously recreated performances, most notably the iconic Live Aid set. While the film takes a streamlined approach to Mercury’s life, its energy, emotional payoff, and celebration of artistic individuality helped turn it into a global box-office phenomenon.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Less a traditional biopic and more a controlled free-fall, The Wolf of Wall Street turns Jordan Belfort’s rise and collapse into a blistering satire of excess, greed, and performative masculinity. Leonardo DiCaprio’s uninhibited performance is chaotic, magnetic, and darkly comic in this Martin Scorsese’s most indulgent film. Rather than offering easy moral judgment, the film exposes how ambition, money, and celebrity blur into spectacle. Easily the most provocative biopics of the modern era.

The Social Network (2010)

Sharp, fast, and deliberately unsentimental, The Social Network reframes the origin story of Facebook as a study in ambition, power, and social currency. Jesse Eisenberg’s icy portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg, paired with Aaron Sorkin’s razor-edged dialogue and David Fincher’s precision, turns a recent tech story into something instantly iconic. Less concerned with factual minutiae than cultural impact, the film captures the moment Silicon Valley became a defining force in modern life, making it one of the most influential biopics of the 21st century.

Elvis (2022)

Baz Luhrmann’s maximalist approach makes this a biopic built for a TikTok-centric world; it’s fast, loud, and visually charged. Austin Butler’s physical and vocal commitment gives the spectacle its momentum and transforms Elvis into a full-scale pop phenomenon all over again.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

A biopic that doubles as a sleek, high-adrenaline crowd-pleaser, Ford v Ferrari moves with the urgency of a race film while staying grounded in character. Matt Damon and Christian Bale bring warmth, wit, and friction to a story about rivalry, engineering, and American ambition. The film earned multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won two Oscars for sound.