Lee Miller

Photographer

Birthday April 23, 1907

Birth Sign Taurus

Birthplace Poughkeepsie, NY

DEATH DATE Jul 21, 1977 (70)

#78,418 Most Popular

About

Remembered for her World War II-era photojournalism for Vogue magazine, this 20th-century photographer also became known for her works of surrealist and fashion photography.

Before Fame

In her late teens, she had a chance meeting with Vogue magazine founder Conde Nast -- he prevented her from stepping in front of a moving car in New York City -- that began her early, highly successful career in modeling and paved the way for her later work as a Vogue war photographer.

Trivia

During the late 1940s, haunted by childhood trauma and by the images she had taken of concentration camps, she suffered from episodes of depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Family Life

She and her brothers John and Erik grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her first marriage was to an Egyptian railroad executive named Aziz Eloui Bey; she later married English surrealist artist Roland Penrose. Her one child, Antony Penrose, also became a photographer.

Associated With

A contemporary and friend of Pablo Picasso, she photographed the renowned artist for her second husband's biography of Picasso.