You already know these famous photos, but what's their story? Annie Leibovitz's best work

There aren't many artists or photographers that come out from their setting and become celebrities overnight. But Anny Leibovitz is not one of them. She became a celebrity with her personal, bold, and revealing photographs that seize an aspect of vulnerability and openness in the portraits she makes. So much so that she literally shaped the pop culture style for the past half a century. Now that's something big! And you probably know the famous photos of the former Rolling Stone magazine photographer, but it's worth peeking a little bit behind their story. Read the article to find out more!

What began as a photographer position for Rolling Stone slowly transformed into a status of superstar for Leibovitz. Because after a couple of years of working in this role, she was promoted to the job of chief photographer. Shortly after she was announced a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and became the first woman to have an exhibition at the US National Portrait Gallery. Not to mention, her last photo of John Lennon just hours before he passed made her even more popular.

As an expert in catching a personality, Annie's work exceeds the typical façade to display personal points of vulnerability, love, and overlooked characters. Photographing some of the globe's most notorious looks, there aren’t many stars that didn't pose for Leibovitz.

 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

Annie Leibovitz – Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were sold for $6,000. It's known that as a photographer for a famous magazine, Annie had a great influence on the style of music photography during the 70s. She really caught the rock’n’roll excitement and hype, but at the same time, she could create gentle portraits like the one of Jagger and Richards who show the soft sides of their music and personality.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono

On 8 December 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed outside Dakota Apartments in Manhattan. But just a few hours ago, Leibovitz snapped Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono in a unique portrait that carried on a powerful meaning after his death. It was the last photo of John Lennon and it shows the couple’s connection, where a vulnerable man is sticking to a powerful woman.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg was a new comedian in 1984, joking about using Chlorox in an endeavor to whiten her skin. When Leibovitz proposed using a bath full of milk for her portrait, the photograph came out to make a conscious and empowering statement on race. The whole scene was set for an impact image predestined to have a political effect, but it was also light because of the actress who slipped while getting into the bath.

Keith Haring

Leibovitz’s portrait of New York artist Keith Haring in 1986 represents the pop art graffiti aesthetic of the late artist’s work. However, she still kept her unique methods and features of revealing the personality of the artist.

The photograph was shot in the studio, on a set painted in white and black lines. Leibowitz said that Keith even painted himself.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Photographed for the cover of Vanity Fair in 1990, the image of Schwarzenegger smoking a cigar on a horse became quite famous.

Here, the future governor of California was popular due to his films where he played the Terminator, and you can see the ease and fun of him posing for Annie. In fact, it was not the first time, as Arnold had been photographed by Leibovitz in 1975, at the Mr. Olympia contest in South Africa.

Demi Moore

In 1991, Leibovitz created a famous image of Demi Moore’s seven-month-pregnant body for the cover of Vanity Fair. Initially, the photographer has been tasked to cover the pregnancy and only photograph a cropped portrait of Demi's face. However, she chose to disobey the rules and created one of the most talked about magazine covers in history: an intimate, naked portrait of the actress. This became a famous photo and received many positive reactions.

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon

In 1995, Leibovitz explored gender identity indifference in a portrait that became famous and depicted Hollywood stars holding hands in their character’s underwear. Repeating their parts from the big film, Curtis stands up while Lemmon stays a little shy in an explicit photograph that’s certified to make you smile.

Queen Elizabeth II

Leibovitz broke new rules when she became the first American to make the official portrait of the late Queen in 2007 when she visited the United States. She was inspired by the atmospheric royal portraits of Cecil Beaton, so she worked with the Queen to produce many images among them a striking one with Elizabeth in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace. This photo combines modern techniques and tradition.

Gisele Bundchen and LeBron James

In 2008, Annie shot Bundchen and James for the April 2008 cover of Vogue. What's more, she used visual references from the famous 1933 King Kong film: in her portrait, James was the King Kong and Bundchen was the lady in a silk gown as Fay Wray.