46 best movies based on true stories that will have you hooked
The world of Hollywood is full of incredible stories. But movies based on true stories are extra special, and you wouldn't believe some of the blockbusters that have real-life DNA.
Did you know that The Sound of Music was based on a memoir? Or that Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie star in an important #MeToo story, Bombshell? From J-Lo's Hustlers to Dallas Buyers Club, there are so many real-life inspired movies to choose from.
We don't blame Hollywood for turning to the world's population for their real tales of determination, survival, romance, crime and much more. Knowing that some of our favourite movies are centred on the lives of real people leaves us with an array of emotions at the end of a film. Sometimes that is one of inspiration, sometimes of pure disgust. Other times it's simply a heartwarming story that mirrors small elements from our lives, making our time on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn an insight into our self-discovery.
The early Noughties really were a golden era for films.
It's incredible to think that some of these stories, which once may have seemed minuscule and forgotten while being lived, have been brought to the big screen and given the award-season touch. Examples include Lion, one man's journey to find his biological family in India years after they were separated. Honestly, we wept at this movie which reinforced the message that family is everything. We also loved the empowering self-discovery of Cheryl Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon) in Wild as she hiked America's famous long-distance hiking trail, the Pacific Crest Trail. All the feels.
There was also the Julia Roberts starring film Erin Brockovich that inspired us to do good and have the best interest of everyone around us in the face of large corporations. It was also interesting to follow the journey of disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie, as well as the lives of the real-life teen burglars who robbed A-listers in the movie The Bling Ring. Health battles are also central to films such as The Big Sick and Brain on Fire. These movies definitely make us cling to our nearest and dearest…
So, if you're looking for some real-life inspiration, why not pick a movie based on true stories from the following list, as chosen by Glamour?
©Roadside Attractions/Courtesy Everett CollectionBob Trevino Likes It (2024)
Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira) accidentally meets a stranger with the same name as her father: Bob Trevino — and their odd friendship might just help her come to terms with her complicated relationship with her own dad. Inspired by the real friendship between writer/director Tracie Laymon and a stranger she met while looking for her father online. Some stories are too strange to be fiction!
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (2025)
A biopic about the famous all-American singer/ songwriter Bruce Springsteen, Deliver Me From Nowhere stars The Bear's Jeremy Allen White as the “Boss” himself. The film charts Springsteen's journey as he wrote Nebraska while recording Born in the USA.
Courtesy Everett CollectionMarty Supreme (2025)
Timothée Chalamet stars as the not so likeable anti-hero Marty Mauser who embarks on a madcap adventure that takes him around the world and whirling through the criminal underbelly of 1950s New York as he tries to wrangle together enough cash to take part in a ping pong championship that no one else seems to care much about. A skewering of the American dream that will leave you breathless. Loosely based on the real-life ping pong champ Marty Reisman.
©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionI Swear (2025)
A powerful, poignant biopic about Tourettes campaigner John Davidson, I Swear follows a young John as he tries to manage emerging Tourettes symptoms in a small Scottish town in the 1980s. Heartbreaking, life-affirming and utterly beautiful, with an especially powerful performance from Robert Aramayo.
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett CollectionBombshell (2019)
A huge story that came from the #MeToo movement, Bombshell follows the real-life story of the sexual harassment allegations against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie star.
REXMolly's Game (2017)
Based on the real Molly's 2014 memoir, the movie – starring Jessica Chastain – tells the story of Molly Bloom, an ex Olympic skier who ran an exclusive underground poker game that attracted mobsters and celebrities alike.
© 2018 Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC. All Rights Reserved.On the Basis of Sex (2018)
Felicity Jones brings the incredible life of the late, great Ruth Bader Ginsburg to our screens, touching on her time studying law at Harvard and Columbia, the “Sex Discrimination and the Law” class she taught and the gender discrimination case that shaped her career, and led her to become the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court .
The Iron Claw (2023)
Zac Efron and Jeremy Allan White play the Von Erich brothers, Kevin and Kerry, two famous pro wrestlers who defined the scene in the 1980s.
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett CollectionSelma (2014)
David Oyelowo plays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in the story of the historical march from the city of Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, a continued protest against racism and a key moment in the civil rights movement. It resulted in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
© 2012 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Starring Jessica Chastain and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty depicts the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, with some fictional tweaks.
Copyright © Everett Collection / Everett CollectionSpotlight (2015)
Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo Michael Keaton, and Brian d’Arcy James brought to our screens the story of The Boston Globe's journalistic exposé of the sexual abuse of children in the Roman Catholic Church.
©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett CollectionDallas Buyers Club (2013)
Matthew McConaughey plays Ron Woodroof, who sold black-market HIV meds to early AIDS patients after being diagnosed and given 30 days to live. His character is made all the more complex and compelling due to the fact he was a homophobe. Jared Leto also smashes it as (fictional) trans woman with AIDS Rayon who helps Ron with his business.
©Universal/Courtesy Everett CollectionSchindler's List (1993)
Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley, Schindler's List follows the true story of German businessman Oskar Schindler, who saved over a thousand Jews from the Nazis by employing them in his factories.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Shining a light on the lives of civil rights pioneers, Judas and the Black Messiah looks at the murder of activist Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya) and Chicago’s Black Panther Party in the 1960s. LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders and Martin Sheen also star.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett CollectionNyad (2023)
Starring Annette Benning and Jodie Foster, this sports biopic tells the true story of Diana Nyad, who set out to swim from Cuba to Florida at the age of 60.
JoJo Whilden/Universal PicturesShe Said (2022)
Adapted from the explosive book of the same name, She Said follows how two New York Times reporters – Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) – researched and published the story that would expose Harvey Weinstein's crimes, and a resurgence of the #MeToo movement.
Fox FastThe Sound Of Music (1965)
As well as being based on the 1950s stage musical of the same name, it is also loosely based on the real-life Maria von Trapp’s 1949 memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. Who knew?
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Big Short (2015)
Starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, The Big Short takes a look at three separate stories centred around the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis, and the greed that led up to it.
Wild (2014)
Wild tells the inspiring, powerful and emotional true story of Cheryl Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon), who embarks on a trek along the 1,100-mile-long Pacific Crest Trail to discover herself and gain a new perspective on life following a series of personal tragedies. Reese and her co-star Laura Dern, who played her mother in the movie, received Oscar nominations for their roles, so you can guarantee their portrayals of the real characters were done exceptionally well.
Everett CollectionI, Tonya (2017)
Margot Robbie bagged herself a Best Actress nomination for her role as the titular competitive ice skater Tonya Harding. As Tonya's fame rises, so do her personal troubles as her ex-husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan) re-enters her life, which sets off a sequence of events resulting in the infamous 1994 assault on her rival Nancy Kerrigan, who was struck by a bat in the leg. Jeff and his co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt planned the attack. While Tonya initially denied all knowledge of the attack, she soon accepted a plea agreement admitting to helping cover up the attack. She was also later banned for life from USFSA figure skating events.
A24The Farewell (2019)
Following the story of a family who gather together for a wedding, with a hidden agenda, The Farewell is based on the experiences of writer and director Lulu Wang. Protagonist Billi travels to China to spend time with her terminally ill grandmother Nai Nai, with the entire family keeping her prognosis a secret.
Courtesy Everett CollectionHustlers (2019)
The movie may star Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Julia Stiles, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Lizzo and Cardi B, but the story's roots are just as remarkable as its cast. It was inspired by a viral 2015 New York magazine article all about a group of strippers who scammed their rich clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett CollectionLion (2016)
Challenge yourself not to cry while watching this movie because we found it impossible. Lion is centred on Saroo Brierley's 2013 autobiography A Long Way Home, which detailed his accidental separation from his family in India at age five. After living on the streets, he was later adopted by an Australian couple but never forgot where he came from. Twenty-five years later, he uses the power of Google Earth to find his biological family and returns to India for an emotional reunion. Starring Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman, this movie will make you believe in miracles.
Leah Gallo/NetflixWoman of the Hour (2023)
Anna Kendrick plays a struggling actor who goes on a dating show, only to be fixed up with a serial killer. The true shocker? Woman of the Hour is based on a true story. Kendrick plays bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw, who picks Rodney Alcala in a Blind Date style situation. What could've served as her big break now puts her in huge danger.
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionWalk The Line (2005)
Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix play the infamous June Carter and Johnny Cash, bringing their tumultuous yet beautiful romance to the screens. It looks at how their budding romance is tested when Johnny grapples with addiction.
©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe Imitation Game (2014)
Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley star in the gripping, tragic biopic of mathematician Alan Turing's cracking of the enigma code during WW2, making a huge contribution towards the defeat of Hitler and the Nazis. It also looks at how he was subjected to heartbreaking homophobia, an indictment of society's views towards queer people in the 20th century.
True Spirit (2023)
True Spirit is the inspiring story of tenacious 16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson, who sets out on an adventurous mission to become the youngest person to have sail solo, non-stop around the world. With many doubting her, mother nature at her peril, and months of loneliness, does she achieve her goal? People of all ages will enjoy this story of a courageous teenager who goes after her dream.
Everest (2015)
Everest is based on the actual survival attempts of two expedition groups, one led by Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and the other by Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal), during the 1996 disaster on the world's highest mountain. Twelve people died trying to reach the summit during that year, which is widely regarded as one of the deadliest seasons on Mount Everest, falling just behind the 22 fatalities from the avalanches caused by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 16 deaths from the 2014 Mount Everest avalanche.
The Impossible (2012)
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami shocked everyone across the world, and The Impossible tells the real-life survival story of the Alvárez-Belón family (played by Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast and Samuel Joslin) as they navigated the aftermath of the deadliest tsunami in recorded history while being separated from each other.
Zodiac (2007)
Jake Gyllenhaal in a mystery-crime thriller? You know it's going to be a tense, nail-biting watch! In Zodiac, the actor portrays cartoonist Robert Graysmith, who finds himself obsessed with the Zodiac killer and uses his puzzle-solving abilities to unveil the identity of the killer terrorising the San Francisco Bay Area public and taunting the police during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Zola (2021)
Inspired by an outrageous Twitter thread that went viral in 2015, Zola is brilliantly shot and features an impressive cast of Riley Keough, Taylour Paige and Colman Domingo. The film is based on a wild true story, as tweeted by A'Ziah King, in which a part-time stripper named Zola befriends a woman who lets her in on the easy way to make money in Florida. This ultimately leads them into a massive week-long, sleepless road trip of partying, sex and crime.
Alive (1993)
Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton star in the shocking true story of an Uruguayan rugby team who are forced to eat their deceased teammates to survive after their plane crashed into the Andes mountains in the seventies. The real-life survivors of the plane crash were exposed to extreme hardships, weather conditions and starvation over two months before being rescued.
Nomadland (2021)
Nomadland, based on the 2017 book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, was the movie that took over award season in 2021. Frances McDormand expertly relayed the real-life struggles of older Americans working temporary jobs because they cannot afford retirement. As well as the true story inspiration, Chloé Zhao's directing is extraordinary, and the cinematography is beautiful, making it a heartbreakingly stunning watch.
Beautiful Boy (2018)
Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet star as father and son in this heartbreaking story of drug addiction. Based on the book Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff, the film follows teenager Nic who seems to have it all, but when his meth addiction threatens to derail his life, his father steps in to save his son.
127 Hours (2010)
The plot of 127 Hours is our worst nightmare, and the fact that it's based on a true story is even more chilling. The survival drama centres on mountain climber Aron Ralston, who embarks on a solo hiking adventure in Utah, where he slips and gets trapped in a canyon. Over the course of 127 hours, he does the unimaginable to survive before being rescued.
The Terminal (2004)
The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks, is a classic and is based on the real journey of Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasser's 18-year stay in the transit area of Terminal 1 of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, from 1988 to 2006 after France denied him entry. Director Steven Spielberg helmed the movie because he wanted to make a film "that could make us laugh and cry and feel good about the world", and that was most certainly achieved.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
The critically acclaimed movie Erin Brockovich won Julia Roberts the Best Actress gong at the Oscars, and it's no surprise why. Her portrayal of the real-life titular character was epic in the film, which followed a legal assistant in Hinkley, California, who fought against the energy corporation after discovering their actions were affecting the health of the residents.
Penguin Bloom (2020)
Hidden Figures (2016)
Hidden Figures is based on the three female African American mathematicians, Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), who had to deal with racial and gender discrimination at NASA while playing a pivotal role in astronaut John Glenn's launch into orbit during the Space Race.
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Based on the best-selling 1993 memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted tells the story of her 18-month stay at an American psychiatric hospital in the 1960s after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The movie features an impressive star cast, including Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy and Elisabeth Moss.
The Big Sick (2017)
The Big Sick is based on the real-life love story of the movie's lead actor Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon (who is played by Zoe Kazan) in the film. Pakistani comic Kumail falls in love with an American graduate student named Emily at one of his stand-up shows. However, as their relationship blossoms, Emily comes down with an illness and is placed in a medically induced coma, prompting Kumail to develop a deep bond with her worried parents.
The Bling Ring (2013)
Starring Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, and Leslie Mann, The Bling Ring looks at the actions of a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who tracked down celebrities' homes to break in and rob them of millions of dollars in clothes, shoes and jewellery. IRL, the teenagers targeted the homes of Paris Hilton, Megan Fox, Orlando Bloom, and many more.
A Beautiful Mind (2002)
The biographical film A Beautiful Mind tells the story of American Nobel Prize winner John Nash, whose battled decades of mental illness alongside his innovative work on game theory in mathematics. Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, and Paul Bettany star is this exquisitely shot drama that won four Academy Awards.
Brain On Fire (2016)
Brain on Fire, starring Chloë Grace Moretz, is based on Susannah Cahalan's memoir Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness. The film follows a young journalist who begins to experience a mysterious illness that is continuously diagnosed as psychosis and faces a life of being committed to a psychiatric ward in a hospital. However, when Syrian-American neurologist Souhel Najjar evaluates her, she can finally find the real reason behind her illness.
The Social Network (2010)
Who remembers life before social media? Yes, we know it's pretty difficult. The Social Network tells us the real story behind Mark Zuckerberg's creation of a social networking site, later known as Facebook, while he was still a student at Harvard in 2003. It also follows the personal and legal complications that resulted from the birth of his billionaire-making success.
The Sky Is Pink (2019)
Produced by Priyanka Chopra and also starring the actress herself, The Sky Is Pink is based on the heartbreaking true story of the courageous Aisha Chaudhary, who suffered from severe combined immunodeficiency and pulmonary fibrosis. The film is told from her parents' perspective (played by Chopra and Farhan Akhtar) as they navigate their marriage and personal lives while caring for their daughter. The film explores topics such as grief, acceptance, and relationships, amongst other things, making it a crucial watch.
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