Firooz Zahedi

2023 Honoree / Achievement in Entertainment

Born in Iran in 1949, Firooz Zahedi grew up in England where he received his secondary education. He is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service as well as the Corcoran School of Art both in Washington DC. He began his photographic work in 1975 by contributing to Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. In 1978 he left for Hollywood with his friend and mentor Elizabeth Taylor as her personal photographer. Remaining in Los Angeles he worked with a variety of magazines and entertainment companies. In 1991 he signed a contract with Vanity Fair magazine. His portrait photography appeared on the covers of major magazines including Town and Country, Glamour, Self, Esquire, Time, British GQ, In Style, People, Movieline, Tatler and many others. He has worked with the Warner Brothers, 20TH Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Paramount, Disney, HBO and Showtime as well as other film companies producing posters such as The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Get Shorty, Practical Magic, Edward Scissorhands, Addicted To Love, Jackie Brown and the iconic and award winning image for the movie Pulp Fiction. He has photographed several album covers for such legends as Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross and Shakira. Besides his portrait photography, Firooz has exhibited his fine art photography as well as his collages at major galleries in Los Angeles, New York, London, Basel and Dubai. His work is in the permanent collection of LACMA, as well as the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. ‘My Elizabeth’, a photographic book of his nearly forty years of friendship with Elizabeth Taylor was published by Glitterati Incorporated in 2016. ‘City of Angels’, a book on architectural homes in Los Angeles was published by Vendome Press in 2018. ‘Look At Me’, a book of his portraits published by Pointed Leaf Press in 2020 and ‘Montecito Style’ was published by Monacelli Press in 2022. Firooz, and his wife Beth DeWoody, live between Los Angeles, Montecito, New York City and West Palm Beach.

Website: firoozzahedi.com

Photo by Darian Zahedi