In fashion photography, he portrayed models Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington together for the January 1990 British Vogue cover, beginning an era of supermodels.

He photographed the Pirelli Calendar three times (1996, 2002, 2017),[2] made several films, and created covers for music including Tina Turner's Foreign Affair, Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions and Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce.

Lindbergh preferred black & white photography, and noted in 2014: "This should be the responsibility of photographers today to free women, and finally everyone, from the terror of youth and perfection."

Coming from a part of Germany close to the Dutch border, North Rhine-Westphalia, he spent summer holidays with his family in the Netherlands on the coast near Noordwijk.

Lindbergh recalled these years: "I preferred actively seeking out van Gogh's inspirations, my idol, rather than painting the mandatory portraits and landscapes taught in art schools."

Influenced by Joseph Kosuth and the conceptual art movement, he was invited in 1969, before graduating, to present his work at the avant-garde Galerie Denise René.

After moving to Düsseldorf in 1971, he turned his attention to photography and worked for two years assisting German photographer Hans Lux, before opening his own studio in 1973.

[5][6] In 1989, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington,[7][8] all young, little-known models, were photographed together for the first time by Lindbergh for the January 1990 British Vogue cover.

The latter, which used actresses instead of models for the first time, was shot on the backlot of Paramount Studios,[14] and was described by art critic Germaine Greer as "Pirelli's most challenging calendar yet".

[18] The result of his collaboration over the years with Azzedine Alaïa is reflected in the book of photographs dedicated to the Tunisian designer with whom he had a great friendship.

"[22] In 2016, speaking in Artforum, Lindbergh stated that: "A fashion photographer should contribute to defining the image of the contemporary woman or man in their time, to reflect a certain social or human reality.

In 1991, Models, The Film was shot in New York and starred Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Stephanie Seymour.

[41][42][30] A funeral mass was held at Saint-Sulpice church in Paris; among the guests were Carla Bruni, Charlotte Rampling, Anna Wintour, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Julianne Moore, Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault.