Register
Wishlist
Contact Us
Many celebrities, from singers to actors and even influencers, have had their portraits taken by David LaChapelle, one of the most important and famous photographers of the 21st century. The artist has managed to combine the objective vision of photography with the creation of idyllic, dreamlike situations and landscapes.
David LaChapelle's portraits of stars and celebrities have become a true hallmark of the photographer. Numerous photographers (and artists) have immortalised the protagonists of contemporary society in evocative works and shots.
From Andy Warhol to photographer Helmut Newton, as well as David LaChapelle himself, portraits of stars have become a true symbol that tells the story of our society. Andy Warhol made Marilyn Monroe immortal, while Helmut Newton took evocative photos of Andy Warhol, Catherine Deneuve and Paloma Picasso.
Discover 10 Celebrities who appear in David LaChapelle's shots
Discover 10 celebrities, including actors, singers and influencers who have let themselves be immortalised by David LaChapelle.
- David LaChapelle - Leonardo DiCaprio
- David LaChapelle - Naomi Campbell
- David LaChapelle - Michael Jackson
- David LaChapelle - Britney Spears
- David LaChapelle - Lady Gaga
- David LaChapelle - Kardashians
- David LaChapelle - Amanda Lepore
- David LaChapelle - The Ferragnez
- David LaChapelle - Elton John
- David LaChapelle - Tupac Shakur
David LaChapelle - Leonardo DiCaprio
From 1995 to 1996, David Lachapelle took several shots in which a young Leonardo DiCaprio - even before he was made famous by the film Titanic - was immortalised by the photographer within his colourful and surrealist universe.
Shots such as Leonardo DiCaprio: Nostalgic Styling or Leonardo DiCaprio: Unspoiled unmistakably unite the style of the 1990s and the personality of the young actor with the image of LaChapelle's surreal, brightly coloured shots.
In Leonardo DiCaprio: Unspoiled, for instance, the young actor is seen lying on top of a pile of fruit while holding three bananas.
David LaChapelle - Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell was portrayed many times by David LaChapelle from the 1990s until 2021, when the photographer portrayed the model for the second volume of the digital magazine of the well-known brand Bottega Veneta.
The British model has often been the muse and inspiration for some of the artist's most famous and emblematic shots; Rape of Africa, shot in 2009 is one example. The model is portrayed in the role of Venus in a shot inspired by Botticelli's Venus and Mars. The protagonist of the scene together with Venus is Mars, the god of war who sleeps on the booty while Venus, the goddess of love, stares at him with a glassy gaze.
The shot, like Botticelli's canvas, contrasts love and beauty with greed and war. David LaChapelle takes the main elements of the late 15th century painting and places them within a more contemporary scene. As explained by the artist himself, the intention of the work he created was to denounce and criticise the consumerism of a global society fuelled by greed and power.
The shot was taken immediately after the financial market crash of 2008 and wanted to represent the African continent, embodied in the figure of Naomi Campbell, too often exploited for the recovery of resources such as gold.
LaChapelle immediately thought of Naomi Campbell for the role of the modern Venus. In fact, the artist has worked with the model since 1999 when she was the protagonist of other famous shots such as Naomi Campbell: Fruit, where the model was depicted naked on a pile of fruit.
In all the shots in which Naomi Campbell is the protagonist, David LaChapelle depicts the modern world in his own way through the excessive use of pop elements.
David LaChapelle - Michael Jackson
David LaChapelle and Michael Jackson had such a deep friendship that the photographer dedicated a series, entitled Beatification, featuring the King of Pop. The series includes shots from 1990 to 2007.
But it was in 2009 that one of the singer's most famous photographs was taken. After Michael Jackson's death, David LaChapelle hired a double of the singer and had him pose with the wings of an angel as he 'defeats' the Devil at his feet.
This image was used as the cover of the Sunday Times Magazine in September of that year. The work is part of LaChapelle's 2009 American Jesus series on Michael Jackson.
David LaChapelle - Britney Spears
He was not just a photographer. For Britney Spears, David LaChapelle was not only the photographer who took one of the very first photos of her career, but he also shot two video clips for the singer; one in 2004 for the single Everytime and the last in 2016 for the single Make Me... which was never released.
Already in 1999, at the beginning of the singer's career, David LaChapelle took one of the most iconic shots and immortalised Britney Spears, just 18 years old, in the work Britney Spears: Portrait of a Young Pop Star on the Verge of Success with a bicycle and white shorts with the inscription Baby. Both the clothing and the writing on the trousers are a strong reference to the singer's debut album entitled ...Baby One More Time.
"I've known Britney since she was 17. I shot her first cover for Rolling Stone, it was shot in Louisiana in her family home, full of her trophies." - David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle - Lady Gaga
In 2009, the Rolling Stone magazine set sparked an artistic chemistry between David LaChapelle and Lady Gaga. The photographer was also chosen to shoot the cover of the album The Remix of the same year.
Lady Gaga has been the protagonist of several shots for David LaChapelle, one of the most iconic being the one featuring her with the well-known rapper Kanye West. The shot was then used as a poster to promote the Fame Kills: Starring Lady Gaga and Kanye West tour, also known as The Lady Gaga/Kanye West Tour, which took place between 2009 and 2010. In the shot, the singer can be seen being held naked by the rapper, indicating how fame can 'kill' people.
Another famous shot featuring the singer is Lady Gaga: Now the Wildest One Of All, in which the singer is photographed in a room covered in soap and bubbles while wearing sunglasses and a dress made of soap bubbles.
David LaChapelle - Kardashians
Many times the lives of the Kardashians - the world's most followed and spied-up on entrepreneurs and influencers - have intertwined with that of surrealist photographer David LaChapelle.
In 2013, the photographer was asked to take a photo to create the classic Christmas card that became a real work of art entitled Showtime at the Apocalypse. Later alongside David LaChapelle, Kim Kardashian starred in sensual shots to promote the influencer's new beauty line.
Kim also stars alongside her - ex - husband Kanye West as the penitent Magdalene in some of the photographer's most surreal and emblematic shots.
David LaChapelle - Amanda Lepore
Undisputed muse of photographer David LaChapelle, Amanda Lepore has become an iconic symbol of identity evolution and change - not only physical - thanks to LaChapelle's shots.
The most important and unmistakable shot is Amanda Lepore as Marilyn from 2007, in which the American model is photographed as if she were Marilyn Monroe. From the colours to the pose to the unmistakable mole that characterises the face of the dramatically deceased actress, Amanda Lepore impersonates a modern Marilyn in front of David LaChapelle's lens. The work also takes up the silkscreen print created by Andy Warhol, in fact the shot was made in two versions with different colours such as blue and red.
The work not only pays homage to Marilyn Monroe or Amanda Lepore but also recalls the Pop Art artist Andy Warhol who was also the photographer's first employer. In fact, David LaChapelle was noticed by Warhol in the 1980s and hired to do a series of covers for Interview magazine, the American magazine founded by Warhol himself.
David LaChapelle - The Ferragnez
It is 2021 when the series revealing the backstage of Italy's most followed family is released, The Ferragnez. David LaChapelle was hired to create the poster featuring Chiara Ferragni and Fedez in the shot together with the whole family.
From Fedez's parents to the Ferragni sisters to little Leone and Vittoria - not present on the set but in whose place is a pink pram - everyone is gathered behind David LaChapelle's lens, who shoots the shot leaving a glimpse in the background of the Duomo of Milan, the city where the two live.
David LaChapelle - Elton John
As with Britney Spears, David LaChapelle was not only the author of the singer's most iconic shots for Elton John, but also participated in the making of five video clips for the singer.
Since the 1990s, the two have produced several of the most iconic and irreverent images. Among the most emblematic is Imma in which the singer is seen jumping on a leopard-print table inside a blue room with bananas and cherries drawn on the walls and ceiling.
Another characteristic work among the singer's influence on David LaChapelle's shots is Elton John: Someone Save My Life Tonight from 2017 in which Elton John is seen in the middle of a hospital room with all the versions of himself from his years of seeking treatment. The fantastic outfits, in which the singer used to dress, provide the backdrop for the scene in the foreground.
David LaChapelle - Tupac Shakur
It is 1996 when Tupac Shakur, known simply as 2Pac, is featured in several shots by American photographer David LaChapelle. The American rapper is portrayed inside a bathtub covered in foam and in a shower in the series Tupac Shakur: To Begin Again 1.
The iconic shots, which are among the first hyper-realistic portraits taken by LaChapelle, would see the collaboration between the two artists come to an end the same year due to the rapper's death in Las Vegas.
The shots in the series create an interesting contrast between the singer's strong personality and the lightness of the situation.
