Annie Leibovitz (born 1949) is an American portrait photographer. She photographed John Lennon on the day he was assassinated, and her work has been used on numerous album covers and magazines. Leibovitz is the first woman to have held an exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery.
Leibovitz was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1949, the third of six children. Her father was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and her mother was a homemaker. Leibovitz began taking pictures when she was a teenager, and she attended the San Francisco Art Institute on a photography scholarship in the late 1960s.
After graduation, she moved to New York City, where she worked as an assistant to famed photographer Richard Avedon. In 1971, Leibovitz had her first solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Leibovitz’s career took off in the 1970s and 1980s, when she began photographing celebrities for magazines such as Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. She also began working for commercial clients such as Revlon and Pepsi.
In the 1990s, Leibovitz expanded her repertoire to include landscapes and other subjects. She also began directing commercials and music videos.
Leibovitz has won numerous awards for her work, including the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the International Center of Photography Lifetime Achievement Award. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007.
Leibovitz’s work often explores issues of fame and celebrity. In her portraits, she frequently captures her subjects in intimate or unexpected moments.
In 2009, Leibovitz published a book of photographs titled Annie Leibovitz at Work. The book gives a behind-the-scenes look at Leibovitz’s process and includes interviews with some of her famous subjects.
Leibovitz is one of the most successful photographers of her generation. She has built a reputation for her unique vision and her ability to capture the essence of her subjects. Annie Leibovitz is an American icon.
