Star Power

Leibovitz, who was born in Connecticut in 1949, originally wanted to be a painter when she enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute. But then she discovered photography. “The idea that a photographer could travel with a camera to different places, see how other people lived, make looking a mission . . . was an amazing, thrilling idea,” Leibovitz explains. 

The artist’s first big break came in 1970, when, as a 21-year-old, she had the chance to show her portfolio to the founding editor of Rolling Stone. That meeting led to her first magazine cover assignment, and within three years, she’d become the publication’s head photographer. Leibovitz soon went on to work with top-tier national magazines, including Vanity Fair and Vogue, and became the first woman to have a feature exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

Leibovitz was born in Connecticut in 1949. She started exploring photography in college. “The idea that a photographer could travel with a camera to different places, see how other people lived . . . was an amazing, thrilling idea,” she explains. 

In 1970, at 21 years old, she had the chance to show her work to the editor of the magazine Rolling Stone. The meeting led to her first magazine cover assignment. She soon became the magazine’s head photographer. Since then, Leibovitz has worked with other big magazines, including Vanity Fair and Vogue. 

Leibovitz’s portraits are conceptual, so they don’t just depict a celebrity looking glamorous. They reveal something about who the subject is and what they do. “I kind of know what people . . . want to look like,” Leibovitz says. “I really like to please. This is their life, and I like to let them get to wherever the next step is they want to get to.”

Her portrait of singer Katy Perry, above, highlights Leibovitz’s skill as a fashion photographer. She creates a balanced composition with equal emphasis on the celebrity, the designer clothing, and the location. The image is part of a 2011 story on Perry that Leibovitz shot for Vanity Fair in Paris. What roles do the clothing and the poodle play in the scene? 

Leibovitz’s portraits are conceptual. That means they don’t just show a celebrity looking beautiful—they reveal something about the subject. “I kind of know what people . . . want to look like,” Leibovitz says. “I like to let them get to wherever the next step is they want to get to.” 

In 2011, Leibovitz photographed singer Katy Perry for Vanity Fair. In the portrait, above, Perry poses in expensive clothing in Paris. Leibovitz creates a balanced scene. She gives equal attention to Perry, the clothes, and the setting. 

In addition to making celebrity portraits, Leibovitz has also worked as a photojournalist, capturing important events and changemakers. The setting of her 2015 portrait of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, above, highlights Malala’s story. Posing Malala in her classroom in Birmingham, England, emphasizes the subject’s activism on behalf of women’s education. 

Leibovitz also makes images that blend elements of photojournalism and celebrity portraiture, such as her 2019 photograph of actress Daisy Ridley on the set of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, below. This image gives viewers a glimpse behind the scenes, showing the many people and the complex equipment involved in making movie magic. 

Today Leibovitz is as famous as many of her subjects. But fame was never her goal. She explains, “I’m more interested in being good than being famous.”

Leibovitz also works as a photojournalist. That means she captures important people and current events. In 2015, she photographed Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, above. Malala is an activist for women’s education. To help tell Malala’s story, Leibovitz shows her in a location that is important to her—Malala’s classroom in England. 

In some portraits, Leibovitz combines photojournalism and celebrity portraits. In 2019, she photographed actress Daisy Ridley on the set of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, below. She shows Ridley with some of the movie crew and film equipment. Leibovitz takes us behind the scenes of the popular movie. 

Today Leibovitz is as famous as many of her subjects. But Leibovitz says that she’s “more interested in being good than being famous.”