Terry O'Neill (1938-2019) was a pioneering British photographer whose career spanned more than six decades and helped shape the visual culture of the 20th century. Born Terence Patrick O'Neill in Romford, East London, to Irish parents, he entered photography almost by chance while working in the technical photographic unit of BOAC at Heathrow Airport. His breakthrough came in 1959 with a candid image of Home Secretary Rab Butler, which led to a position at The Daily Sketch, where, at just 21, he became the youngest photographer on Fleet Street.
O'Neill quickly established himself as a chronicler of the vibrant cultural scene of the 1960s, gaining rare access to musicians such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Elton John and The Who. His portraits went beyond celebrity, capturing the wit, vulnerability and humanity of his sitters. He also photographed Hollywood legends including Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn, and produced a celebrated series of intimate images of Faye Dunaway the morning after her 1977 Oscar win. Political leaders such as Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela also came before his lens, further cementing his reputation as a portraitist of history.
His distinctive style was marked by warmth, humor and immediacy, often breaking with the conventions of staged portraiture to capture spontaneous, natural moments. O'Neill's practice extended into film, where he served as an executive producer on Mommie Dearest (1981) and as still photographer for Aria (1987).
His photographs are held in major collections worldwide, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Celebrated for his contribution to photography, he was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2004, its Centenary Medal in 2011, and was appointed CBE in 2019. Terry O'Neill's legacy endures as one of the defining image-makers of the "Swinging Sixties" and beyond, having created an intimate and enduring record of modern celebrity and cultural history.