Synopsis

Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is Jewish. The third of six children, her mother was a modern dance instructor, while her father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force. The family moved frequently with her father's postings, and she took her first pictures when he was posted to the Philippines. In high school, she became interested in various artistic endeavors, and began to write and play music. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute. She became interested in photography after taking pictures during her time in the Philippines as an Air Force brat where her father was assigned at the time of the Vietnam War. For several years, she continued to develop her photography skills while she worked various jobs, including a stint on a kibbutz in Israel for several months in 1969.