Johnny Rozsa facts for kids

Johnny Rozsa is a famous photographer based in New York. He is known for taking amazing fashion photos and portraits of celebrities.

A Global Childhood

Rozsa was born and grew up in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. His parents were Jewish and had roots in Hungary and the Czech Republic. In the early 1960s, his family moved to England. He went to a school called Repton and finished his studies there in 1967.

Becoming a Famous Photographer

Learning the Craft

To prepare for his career, Rozsa studied subjects like architecture and painting at the Manchester College of Art and Design. He also studied communications in London. After his studies, he got a chance to work as an intern at the famous fashion magazine Vogue.

Later, he opened his own shop called Nostalgia in an area of London called Covent Garden. It was a "vintage" shop, which means it sold cool clothes and items from the past. Because of his shop, he met many people from the fashion world, including models, actors, and other photographers.

Capturing Stars on Camera

In the late 1970s, Rozsa started his career as a professional photographer. He worked in many places, including Nairobi, London, and the United States. By 1978, he was already taking pictures of famous people for magazines like Ritz.

Over the years, Rozsa has photographed many stars, such as Hugh Grant, Halle Berry, Nicolas Cage, and John Malkovich. His pictures have been featured in popular magazines like Vogue, The New York Times, and People.

Some of his photos are so important that they are part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in London. This means the museum will keep them forever for people to see. His portraits of singer Sade and actor Ian Charleson are among those on display. Rozsa's work has also been shown in art museums and galleries all over the world.

A Book of Untouched Photos

In 2010, Rozsa released a book called Untouched. The book is special because it features photos of 115 celebrities before they became world-famous.

The pictures are "unretouched," which means they haven't been changed with computer programs like PhotoShop. They show the celebrities naturally, before things like digital editing and airbrushing became common. The book's introduction was written by the actress Susan Sarandon.

Life Outside of Photography

In 1982, the singer Tina Turner introduced Rozsa to Buddhism. He has practiced a form of Buddhism called Nichiren Buddhism ever since. He currently lives in New York City.