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About Nikki Nash
Growing up in Hollywood, Nash studied acting, took piano lessons, and wore a nun’s habit to buy alcohol so she wouldn’t get carded. She began working in TV as gofer on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and ended up as an associate director on a variety of shows including Soul Train, Love Connection, Jimmy Kimmel, The Kennedy Center Honors, Ellen, Jeopardy, and twelve years with Conan O’Brien. When she wasn’t working or napping, she tried skydiving, playwriting, screenwriting, stand-up comedy, swing-dancing, poker, and painting. She likes eating toast and still watches a lot of TV.
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MEMOIR | $20
Trade Paper | 5.315” x 8.465”
ISBN: 9781960573421
Pub Date: 8/19/2025
Collateral Stardust: Chasing Warren Beatty and Other Foolish Things
by Nikki Nash
Get it wherever great books are sold
Warren Beatty walks through the door...
Born a Valley Girl, Nikki Nash grew up in the turbulent ‘60s, surrounded by musicians, actors, conspiracy theorists, political fundraisers, and alcohol-fueled parties hosted by her unconventional trombone-playing father and politically radical mother.
At fourteen, longing for excitement and something of her own, she fixates on superstar Warren Beatty. She’s determined to find him and have him in her life forever. She creates a solid plan that she unrolls four years later at the age of 18 when she gets a job as a hostess at a restaurant she knows Beatty frequents. And after a year, on a chilly Sunday night, after breaking her finger in a judo class and looking her worst—dirty hair pulled back, no make-up, her broken finger in a glass of ice—Warren Beatty walks through the door and her plan comes to life.
This unique offbeat memoir is not only a story of her obsession with Warren Beatty, but also a remarkable, fascinating metamorphosis of Nikki Nash—an incredible tale of a how a young girl’s fantasy comes true, as well as a coming-of-age into womanhood story that doesn’t pull any punches. A hilarious, revealing, honest account of the inner workings of Hollywood where Nikki had a vibrant career as a TV associate producer, comic, writer, and actress, often trapped by her own addictions. Collateral Stardust spans a lifetime that many can only dream of living.
Praise for Collateral Stardust: Chasing Warren Beatty and Other Foolish Things
“Nash reflects on wild times in Hollywood and her relationship with Warren Beatty in this rollicking memoir. The author’s skill as a comedian is on full display here—she peppers every page with perfectly timed punchlines that communicate her quirky personality.
...her consistent, irreverent voice makes the memoir delightful. Just as she describes one of her encounters with Warren, her wonderful stories feel like “remnant[s] of stardust mixed in with a cozy blanket of nostalgia.
A dazzling kiss-and-tell that brings vintage Hollywood to life.”
–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Nikki Nash’s frank, funny memoir Collateral Stardust is about growing up in an offbeat Los Angeles family.
Nash’s adventures in dating and personal growth are covered in a self-aware manner. While others in her generation just dreamed of Warren Beatty, she concocted a plan that led to a real, lasting relationship with him. He is but one among the book’s frequent celebrity cameos...
A cool and entertaining coming-of-age memoir, Collateral Stardust relays good times and hard ones with insight and style.”
—Foreword Reviews
“Former Conan O’Brien Show staffer Nash (72 Raisins) delivers a gossipy and engrossing account of her life in Hollywood from the 1970s through 2019. Her portraits of Robert Altman, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and dozens of other stars bring them down to earth through sparkling anecdotes in which Nash isn’t afraid to paint herself as young, naive, and opportunistic. The most enduring profile subject is Beatty, whom San Fernando Valley native Nash met and seduced when she was 18, then kept up with casually even through his relationships with Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton. Elsewhere, Nash writes of how her steely intelligence led to steady work in the entertainment industry, from production jobs on the TV show Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and the Academy Awards to side pursuits in stand-up and improv comedy. Nash’s story of getting sober after years of drug and alcohol addiction, and her late-in-life epiphany regarding her musician father and frustrated-housewife mother, whose depression impacted her own early aimlessness, shape this self-aware, fascinating account of brushing up against the edge of fame. Written with humor, vulnerability, and verve, this satisfies.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Nash was born into a life some might consider a fairytale. Hollywood-born, raised by eclectic parents, Nash brushed shoulders with Black Panther members, notable stars of the 1960s, and pioneer conspiracy theorists by the time she was a teenager. Her father, a famous trombonist, and her mother, a politically revolutionary housewife, raised Nash and her brothers to follow in their unconventional footsteps. At 14, Nash's aspirations were entirely focused on Warren Beatty. It wouldn’t be long before her plan to have the star in her life forever came true. Nash invites readers into her colorful life with relatable wit and a fast-paced yet meandering narrative. Her candid exploration of the complexities of young women is so intimate, it evokes a productive discomfort as she presents the raw reality of obsession, battling an eating disorder, sexualization, and maternal connection. Readers expecting a Beatty exposé may be surprised; while a recurring figure, Beatty is more a symbol of youthful desire and parasocial longing than a central character. Dotted with star-studded moments, Nash’s honest reflections steal the spotlight.”
—Booklist
