Star photographer Annie Leibovitz at 70

Annie Leibovitz is best known for her intimate portraits of celebrities, which turned her into a world star as well. The New York-based photographer poses here in her studio in 1991, the year she became the first woman to hold an exhibition at Washington's National Portrait Gallery.

Born in Connecticut on October 2, 1949, Leibovitz started her career as a staff photographer for "Rolling Stone" magazine in 1970. She also accompanied the Rolling Stones on tour at the beginning of the 70s, covering the band's sex drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle — but that left her battling with her own drug addiction as well. She poses here at the exhibition "The Early Years."

Leibovitz worked for several years as the chief photographer of "Rolling Stone." Her most famous cover for the magazine was published in January 1981: The iconic photo of a nude John Lennon curled onto Yoko Ono was taken just five hours before the singer was murdered. Leibovitz calls it "the photograph of my life."

Another one of Leibovitz's most iconic shots is this nude portrait of a seven-months pregnant actress Demi Moore for the August 1991 cover of "Vanity Fair" magazine. Some critics felt it was obscene, while others saw it as a powerful creative statement that has since inspired many more artists.

Coal miners, a rapper or a surgeon: People from all walks of life are portrayed in Leibovitz's ongoing series, "Women," first published in book form in 2000. In the accompanying essay, Susan Sontag, who was Leibovitz's lover until her death in 2004, wrote:"The ensemble says, So this is what women are now — as different, as varied, as heroic, as forlorn, as conventional, as unconventional as this."

Disney launched an ad campaign in 2007 that was created by Annie Leibovitz. Her shots reproduced fairy tale scenes with various stars, such as this reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland featuring Beyonce as Alice, along with actor Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter and singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett as the March Hare. Several more "Dream Portraits" were produced in the following years.

She's shown here during a photo shoot with Lady Gaga in 2011. Often creating prestigious covers for "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair," it might be easier to list the major stars Leibovitz didn't portray as those she did... Still, in 2009 the photographer faced an extreme debt of $24 million that had her pawn all the photos she had ever taken. She luckily reached a settlement with her creditors.

Beyond stars in the world of entertainment, Annie Leibovitz has also portrayed major politicians. She was already covering Barack Obama's campaign when he was running for the US Senate back in 2004. This picture is from 2008, when he was a Democratic presidential hopeful.

Once Barack Obama did become US president in 2009, Leibovitz was commissioned to take the first official portrait of him with his wife Michelle Obama and their daughters, Sasha and Malia. They all posed for the First Family portrait in the Green Room of the White House on September 1, 2009.

US athlete and reality TV star Bruce Jenner came out publicly as a woman, Caitlyn, through the July 2015 "Vanity Fair" cover shot by Leibovitz. Through her portrait combining strength and vulnerability, the photographer created a powerful icon for the transgender movement.

Leibovitz became the first US photographer to officially portray Queen Elizabeth II. She is standing here in front of one the photos from the 2007 shoot. A BBC documentary wrongly implied that the Queen had stormed out of the photo session. The responsible producer had to resign after the controversy, whereas Leibovitz was asked to do more portraits of the Queen with her grandchildren in 2016.

She also turned her lens on Emmanuel Macron for a "Vanity Fair" story in 2018. It was the first time a photographer was allowed to trail the French President during his daily duties. And that also included a visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.