[1] The Library of Congress declared her a Living Legend, and she is the first woman to have a feature exhibition at Washington's National Portrait Gallery.

[6] While attending Northwood High School in Silver Spring, Maryland,[7] she became interested in various artistic endeavors and began to write and play music.

[8] For several years, she continued to develop her photography skills while holding various jobs, including a stint on a kibbutz in Amir, Israel, for several months in 1969.

[10][11] She also has used the following cameras: When Leibovitz returned to the United States in 1970, she started her career as staff photographer for Rolling Stone magazine.

In 1973, publisher Jann Wenner named Leibovitz chief photographer of Rolling Stone, a job she would hold for 10 years.

Leibovitz worked for the magazine until 1983, and her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone look.

[17][18] Leibovitz photographed celebrities for an international advertising campaign for American Express charge cards, which won a Clio award in 1987.

It was on display at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from October 2007 to January 2008 and at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco from March 2008 to May 2008.

The works on display range from celebrity portraiture to images from the pages of Vogue and Vanity Fair to indelible moments in history like the Apollo 17 launch and Watergate.

In one room, a table piled high with photo books is paired with a set of cheeky Polaroid snaps of policemen who have ticketed Leibovitz over the years for driving too fast in her '63 Porsche on California's Highway 5.

With the prints pinned up on the first two sections of gallery walls in a strikingly relaxed format, the show feels akin to a tour of her studio.

The cover drew controversy due to its depiction of James posing with his hand around Bündchen's waist, similar to that of a poster of King Kong holding onto Fay Wray.

[48] Magazine analyst Samir Husni believed the photo to be deliberately provocative, adding on Today, "So when you have a cover that reminds people of King Kong and brings those stereotypes to the front, black man wanting white woman, it's not innocent".

[50] On April 25, 2008, Entertainment Tonight reported that 15-year-old Miley Cyrus had posed topless for a photo shoot with Vanity Fair.

On April 29, 2008, The New York Times clarified: though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless.

[54] Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines".

"[4] In February 2009, Leibovitz borrowed US$15.5 million, after having experienced financial challenges,[63] putting up several houses as well as the rights to all of her photographs as collateral.

[64][65] The New York Times noted that "one of the world's most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until the loans are paid off",[63] and that, despite a US$50 million archive, Leibovitz had a "long history of less than careful financial dealings" and "a recent series of personal issues" including the loss of her parents and the 2004 death of Sontag, as well as the addition of two children to her family, and controversial renovation of three Greenwich Village properties.

[67] In July 2009, the Art Capital Group filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Leibovitz for US$24 million regarding repayment of these loans.

[68] In a follow-up article from September 5, 2009, an Associated Press story quoted legal experts as saying that filing for bankruptcy reorganization might offer Leibovitz her best chance to control and direct the disposition of her assets to satisfy debts.

[69] On September 11, Art Capital Group withdrew its lawsuit against Leibovitz and extended the due date for repayment of the US$24 million loan.

Under the agreement, Leibovitz retains control over her work and will be the "exclusive agent in the sale of her real property (land) and copyrights".

[71] The following month, Brunswick Capital Partners sued Leibovitz, claiming it was owed several hundred thousand dollars for helping her restructure her debt.

[72] In December 2012, Leibovitz listed her West Village townhouse for sale at $33 million, stating she wanted to move closer to her daughter.