Bettina Rheims

Bettina Rheims is a French photographer and visual artist who has been creating provocative and powerful images since the 1970s. She is best known for her portraits of celebrities, fashion photography, and her controversial series of female nudes.

Rheims was born in Paris in 1952 to a Jewish family. She studied art history at the Sorbonne before beginning her career as a photographer in 1975. Her early work focused on fashion photography, which she shot for magazines such as Elle and Vogue. In the 1980s, she began to focus more on portraiture, shooting celebrities such as Madonna, Catherine Deneuve, and Charlotte Rampling.

In the 1990s, Rheims began to explore more controversial topics with her photography. Her series of female nudes explored themes of gender identity and sexuality in a provocative way that was both shocking and empowering. She also created a series of photographs featuring transgender people that challenged traditional notions of gender roles.

Throughout her career, Rheims has continued to push boundaries with her work. She has exhibited her photographs around the world and published several books including “Chambre Close” (1996) and “Modern Lovers” (2003). Her work has been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The Guardian. In 2019 she was awarded the prestigious Hasselblad Award for her contributions to photography.

Rheims continues to create powerful images that challenge our preconceived notions about gender identity, sexuality, beauty, and power dynamics. Her work is an important contribution to contemporary art that will continue to inspire generations of photographers for years to come.