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Family Life and Education

Born October 2, 1949
She was the 3^rd of 6 children.
Her mother was a modern dance instructor and her father was a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force which caused her family to move often.
In high school she became interested in artistic endeavors and began to both write and play music
She attended the San Francisco Art Institute and wanted to become an art teacher

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Photography beginnings

Annie became interested in photography after taking pictures when she lived in the Philippines, where her father was stationed during the Vietnam War

She continued to work on her photography skills while working various jobs including a period of time she spent on a kibbutz in Israel in 1969

A kibbutz is a collective community where people lived and worked together as equals, traditionally based on agriculture

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When she returned to the US in 1970 Annie had developed an impressive portfolio and was hired by the recently launched Rolling Stone magazine
In 1973 she was named chief photographer for the magazine
Her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone look

The Blues Brothers

Leonardo DiCaprio

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She is accredited for 142 Rolling Stone covers
Some of her most notorious include:

Mick Jagger
Sylvester Stallone
Bob Marley
Elton John
OJ Simpson
The Grateful Dead
Steven Tyler
Rodney Dangerfield

…and

David Cassidy

Jim Morrison

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…John Lennon and Yoko Ono

It was originally assigned as an individual portrait including just John, but he insisted that Yoko be included as well
It was taken 5 hours before John was shot in front of his apartment and killed
The photograph ran on the Rolling Stone Lennon commemorative issue
In 2005, American Society of Magazine Editors named it the best magazine cover from the past 40 years

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Her first book- Annie Leibovitz: Photographs was published in 1983
In the same year she joined Vanity Fair and was made the magazines first contributing photographer
At Vanity Fair she became know for her wildly lit, staged, provocative portraits of celebrities – often very controversial

Sting covered in mud to blend in with the surroundings

LeBron James and Gisele Bündchen

Rebecca Dennison – founder of Woman Organized to Respond to Life threatening Diseases (WORLD)

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The Obama Family Portrait

Nicole Kiddman

Suri Cruise’s highly anticipated first pictures

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The Bush Administration

Johnny Depp

William S. Burroughs

Cast of Knocked up spoofing Leibovitz’s photo of Keira Knightly and Scarlet Johansson with a fully clothed Tom Ford

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Willie Nelson

Meryl Streep

Lady Gaga

Tina Fey

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Personal Life

Leibovitz had a romantic relationship with noted writer and essayist, Susan Songtag, who was 16 years her senior
Annie’s father and Susan passed away within a week of each other in 2004 prompting Leibovitz to publish her most recent book, which includes both famous celebrity photos as well as personal family pictures
Leibovitz has three children

Sarah Cameron Leibovitz born when Annie was 51 years old
And twins, Susan and Samuelle, who were born to a surragote in 2005

Susan with daughter Sarah

Annie’s brother and father

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Other works and awards…

In the 80’s Leibovitz photographed celebrities for an American Express advertising campaign
She had her first museum show in 1991 at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

At the time, she was the only living portraitist – and the only woman – to be featured in an exhibition by the institution

She has been designated a “living legend” by the Library of Congress
In 1996 Annie was chosen as the official photographer of the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta

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In 2007 she was asked by Queen Elizabeth II to take her official picture and the session was filmed for the BBC documentary A Year with the Queen

Also in 2007, the Walt Disney Company hired her to do a series of photographs with celebrities in various roles for their “Year of a Million Dreams” campaign

In 2008, Annie photographed Miley Cyrus for Vanity Fair with her back exposed and a bed sheet covering the rest of her body. The photo received backlash from concerned parents who thought the photo was too racy. Miley eventually apologized for the photo but Leibovitz stood by her work saying “The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.”